John Williams
Personal Info
Known for
Sound
Gender
Male
Birthday
1932-02-08 (93 years old)
Place of Birth
Queens, New York City, New York, USA
John Williams
Biography
John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932) is an American composer and conductor. In a career that has spanned seven decades, he has composed some of the most popular, recognizable, and critically acclaimed film scoresin cinema history. He has a distinct sound that mixes romanticism, impressionism and atonal music with complex orchestration. He is best known for his collaborations with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas and has received numerous accolades including 26 Grammy Awards, five Academy Awards, seven BAFTA Awards, three Emmy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards. With 54 Academy Award nominations, he is the second-most nominated person, after Walt Disney, and is the oldest Oscar nominee in any category, at 91 years old.
Williams's early work as a film composer includes Valley of the Dolls (1967), Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969), Images and The Cowboys (both 1972), The Long Goodbye (1973) and The Towering Inferno (1974). He has collaborated with Spielberg since The Sugarland Express (1974), composing music for all but five of his feature films. He received five Academy Awards for Best Score for Fiddler on the Roof (1971), Jaws (1975), Star Wars (1977), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and Schindler's List (1993). Other memorable collaborations with Spielberg include Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), the Indiana Jones franchise (1981–2023), Hook (1991), Jurassic Park (1993), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Catch Me If You Can (2002), War Horse (2011), Lincoln (2012), and The Fabelmans (2022). He also scored Superman (1978), the first two Home Alone films (1990–1992), and the first three Harry Potter films (2001–2004).
Williams has also composed numerous classical concertos and other works for orchestral ensembles and solo instruments. He served as the Boston Pops' principal conductor from 1980 to 1993 and is its laureate conductor. Other works by Williams include theme music for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games; NBC Sunday Night Football; "The Mission" theme (used by NBC News and Seven News in Australia); and the television series Lost in Space, Land of the Giants and Amazing Stories.
Among other accolades, he has received the Kennedy Center Honor in 2004, the National Medal of the Arts in 2009 and the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2016. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1998, the Hollywood Bowl's Hall of Fame in 2000 and the American Classical Music Hall of Fame in 2004. He has composed the score for nine of the top 25 highest-grossing films at the U.S. box office. In 2022, Williams was appointed an Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) by Queen Elizabeth II, "for services to film music". In 2005, the American Film Institute placed Williams's score to Star Wars first on its list AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores; his scores for Jaws and E.T. also made the list. The Library of Congress entered the Star Wars soundtrack into the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Description above from the Wikipedia article John Williams, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Acting
(2024)
Music by John Williams
as Self - Composer
(2024)
John Williams in Tokyo
as Self
(2024)
(2024)
(2023)
Anne-Sophie Mutter - Vivace
as Self
(2023)
(2023)
(2023)
(2022)
Ennio
as Self
(2022)
(2022)
(2022)
Williams: Violin Concerto No. 2 & Selected Film Themes
as Self - Conductor
(2022)
(2022)
(2022)
If These Walls Could Sing
as Self
(2021)
(2020)
The Skywalker Legacy
as Self
(2020)
John Williams: Live in Vienna
as Self - Conductor
(2020)
A World Without Beethoven?
as Self
(2019)
Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound
as Self (archive footage)
(2019)
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
as Oma Tres
(2019)
(2018)
Leonard Bernstein Centennial Celebration at Tanglewood
as Self - Conductor
(2017)
(2017)
Spielberg
as Self
(2016)
John Williams at the BBC
as self
(2016)
John Williams: The Seventh Symphony
as Self (archive footage)
(2015)
A John Williams Celebration
as Self
(2013)
Lincoln: An American Journey
as Self
(2012)
The 'E.T.' Journals
as Self
(2011)
(2011)
Return to Jurassic Park
as Self
(2011)
(2010)
(2010)
Jaws: The Inside Story
as Self
(2010)
Music
as Self
(2009)
(2009)
(2009)
(2009)
Johnny Mercer: The Dream's on Me
as Self / Performer
(2007)
(2006)
(2006)
(2005)
(2005)
(2004)
(2004)
(2004)
(2004)
The Revamping of Dracula
as Self
(2003)
(2003)
The Music of 'Indiana Jones'
as Self
(2002)
(2001)
(2001)
Plotting 'Family Plot'
as Self
(2001)
(2001)
(2001)
(1997)
(1997)
In the Teeth of Jaws
as Self
(1997)
(1996)
(1996)
The Making of '1941'
as Self
(1995)
The Making of 'Jaws'
as Self
(1989)
(1983)
(1980)
(1980)
(1978)
Star Wars Concert
as Self
Crew
(2025)
(2024)
(2024)
Jonas Kaufmann: The Sound of Movies
Compositor
(2024)
(2023)
The Making of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Original Music Composer
(2023)
Eastwood Symphonic
Music
(2023)
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Original Music Composer, Orchestrator, Conductor
(2023)
(2022)
Jurassic World Dominion
Main Title Theme Composer
(2022)
Piano Cinéma
Original Music Composer
(2022)
Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous: Hidden Adventure
Main Title Theme Composer
(2022)
The Fabelmans
Original Music Composer
(2021)
John Williams Live - Music from the Movies
Original Music Composer
(2020)
(2019)
Battle at Big Rock
Main Title Theme Composer
(2019)
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Original Music Composer
(2017)
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Original Music Composer
(2017)
Dear Basketball
Music
(2017)
The Post
Original Music Composer
(2016)
Hoshino
Original Music Composer
(2016)
The BFG
Original Music Composer
(2015)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Original Music Composer
(2013)
The Book Thief
Original Music Composer
(2012)
Lincoln
Original Music Composer
(2011)
The Adventures of Tintin
Original Music Composer
(2011)
War Horse
Original Music Composer
(2011)
LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace
Original Music Composer
(2009)
LEGO Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2
Original Music Composer
(2008)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Original Music Composer
(2008)
(2008)
A Timeless Call
Music
(2006)
An Inconvenient Truth
Thanks
(2006)
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut
Original Music Composer
(2005)
War of the Worlds
Original Music Composer, Conductor
(2005)
Munich
Original Music Composer
(2005)
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
Original Music Composer
(2005)
Memoirs of a Geisha
Original Music Composer
(2004)
The Terminal
Original Music Composer
(2004)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Original Music Composer
(2004)
Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy
Original Music Composer
(2002)
Minority Report
Original Music Composer
(2002)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Original Music Composer
(2002)
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
Original Music Composer
(2002)
Catch Me If You Can
Original Music Composer
(2002)
The Music of E.T.: A Discussion with John Williams
Music, Thanks
(2001)
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Original Music Composer
(2001)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Original Music Composer
(2000)
The Patriot
Original Music Composer
(1999)
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
Original Music Composer
(1999)
Angela's Ashes
Original Music Composer
(1999)
The Unfinished Journey
Original Music Composer
(1998)
Saving Private Ryan
Original Music Composer, Conductor
(1998)
Lost In Space Forever
Original Music Composer
(1998)
Stepmom
Original Music Composer
(1997)
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Original Music Composer
(1997)
Seven Years in Tibet
Original Music Composer
(1997)
Amistad
Original Music Composer
(1997)
Rosewood
Original Music Composer
(1996)
Sleepers
Original Music Composer
(1995)
Nixon
Original Music Composer
(1995)
Sabrina
Original Music Composer, Songs
(1993)
Jurassic Park
Original Music Composer
(1993)
Schindler's List
Original Music Composer
(1993)
(1992)
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
Original Music Composer
(1992)
Far and Away
Original Music Composer
(1991)
JFK
Original Music Composer
(1991)
Hook
Original Music Composer, Songs
(1990)
Home Alone
Original Music Composer
(1990)
Presumed Innocent
Original Music Composer
(1990)
Stanley & Iris
Original Music Composer
(1989)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Original Music Composer
(1989)
Born on the Fourth of July
Original Music Composer
(1989)
Always
Original Music Composer
(1988)
The Accidental Tourist
Original Music Composer
(1987)
Empire of the Sun
Original Music Composer
(1987)
The Witches of Eastwick
Original Music Composer, Conductor
(1986)
SpaceCamp
Original Music Composer
(1986)
Amazing Stories
Original Music Composer
(1984)
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Original Music Composer
(1984)
The River
Original Music Composer
(1983)
From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga
Original Music Composer
(1983)
Return of the Jedi
Original Music Composer
(1983)
(1982)
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Original Music Composer
(1982)
Monsignor
Original Music Composer
(1982)
Yes, Giorgio
Songs
(1981)
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Original Music Composer
(1981)
Great Movie Stunts: Raiders of the Lost Ark
Original Music Composer
(1981)
Heartbeeps
Original Music Composer
(1980)
The Empire Strikes Back
Original Music Composer
(1980)
Superman II
Music, Theme Song Performance
(1979)
1941
Original Music Composer
(1979)
Dracula
Original Music Composer
(1978)
Jaws 2
Original Music Composer
(1978)
The Fury
Original Music Composer
(1978)
Superman
Original Music Composer
(1978)
Star Wars Concert
Music
(1977)
Star Wars
Original Music Composer
(1977)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Original Music Composer
(1977)
Black Sunday
Original Music Composer
(1976)
Family Plot
Original Music Composer
(1976)
Midway
Original Music Composer
(1976)
The Missouri Breaks
Original Music Composer
(1975)
Jaws
Original Music Composer
(1975)
The Eiger Sanction
Original Music Composer
(1974)
The Sugarland Express
Original Music Composer, Conductor
(1974)
Conrack
Original Music Composer
(1974)
Earthquake
Original Music Composer
(1974)
The Towering Inferno
Original Music Composer
(1973)
The Long Goodbye
Original Music Composer
(1973)
Tom Sawyer
Original Music Composer
(1973)
The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing
Original Music Composer
(1973)
Cinderella Liberty
Original Music Composer
(1973)
The Paper Chase
Original Music Composer
(1972)
The Poseidon Adventure
Original Music Composer
(1972)
Pete 'n' Tillie
Original Music Composer
(1972)
The Screaming Woman
Main Title Theme Composer
(1972)
Images
Conductor, Orchestrator, Original Music Composer
(1972)
The Cowboys
Original Music Composer
(1971)
Fiddler on the Roof
Music, Orchestrator, Conductor, Music Arranger
(1970)
Jane Eyre
Original Music Composer
(1970)
Story of a Woman
Original Music Composer
(1969)
The Reivers
Original Music Composer
(1969)
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Original Music Composer, Conductor, Music Supervisor
(1969)
Daddy's Gone A-Hunting
Original Music Composer
(1968)
Heidi
Original Music Composer
(1968)
Sergeant Ryker
Original Music Composer
(1967)
Valley of the Dolls
Original Music Composer
(1967)
A Guide for the Married Man
Original Music Composer
(1967)
Ghostbreakers
Original Music Composer
(1967)
Fitzwilly
Original Music Composer
(1966)
How to Steal a Million
Original Music Composer
(1966)
The Rare Breed
Original Music Composer
(1966)
Penelope
Original Music Composer, Songs
(1966)
The Plainsman
Original Music Composer
(1966)
Not With My Wife, You Don't
Original Music Composer
(1965)
The Kathryn Reed Story
Original Music Composer
(1965)
John Goldfarb, Please Come Home!
Original Music Composer, Conductor
(1965)
None But the Brave
Original Music Composer
(1964)
The Killers
Original Music Composer
(1964)
Nightmare in Chicago
Original Music Composer
(1963)
Gidget Goes to Rome
Original Music Composer
(1962)
Diamond Head
Music
(1962)
Stark Fear
Music
(1962)
Flashing Spikes
Original Music Composer
(1961)
The Secret Ways
Original Music Composer
(1961)
Bachelor Flat
Original Music Composer
(1960)
I Passed for White
Original Music Composer
(1960)
The Apartment
Orchestrator
(1960)
(1958)
Daddy-O
Original Music Composer