John Williams
John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932) is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. Widely regarded as one of the greatest American composers of all time, he has composed some of the most popular, recognizable, and critically acclaimed film scores in cinematic history in a career spanning over six decades. Williams has won 24 Grammy Awards, seven British Academy Film Awards, five Academy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. With 51 Academy Award nominations, he is the second most-nominated individual, after Walt Disney. In 2005, the American Film Institute selected Williams's score to 1977's Star Wars as the greatest American film score of all time. The soundtrack to Star Wars was additionally preserved by the Library of Congress into the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Williams has composed for many critically acclaimed and popular movies, including the Star Wars series, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Superman, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the Indiana Jones series, the first two Home Alone films, Hook, the first two Jurassic Park films, Schindler's List, and the first three Harry Potter films. He has been associated with director Steven Spielberg since 1974, composing music for all but four of his feature films––Duel, The Color Purple, Bridge of Spies and Ready Player One. 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, the television series Lost in Space and Land of the Giants, and the incidental music for the first season of Gilligan's Island. Williams has also composed numerous classical concertos and other works for orchestral ensembles and solo instruments. He served as the Boston Pops's principal conductor from 1980 to 1993, and is its laureate conductor. He was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl's Hall of Fame in 2000, and was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 2004 and the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2016. Williams composed the score for eight of the top 20 highest-grossing films at the U.S. box office (adjusted for inflation).
Known for
SoundBirthday
February 8, 1932Gender
MaleKnown Movie Credits
215Place of birth
Queens, New York, USAAlso known as
John Towner Williams, Johnny WilliamsCast credits
From 'Star Wars' to 'Jedi' : The Making of a Saga
SelfRemember the Secret Policeman's Ball?
SelfDeconstructing Dad: The Music, Machines and Mystery of Raymond Scott
HimselfThe Secret Policeman’s Biggest Ball
HimselfThe Shark Is Still Working: The Impact & Legacy of 'Jaws'
SelfLibido
Martin (segment "The Child")A John Williams Celebration
SelfWhen Star Wars Ruled the World
SelfEmpire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy
SelfThe Beginning: Making 'Episode I'
SelfPlotting 'Family Plot'
SelfTaking Flight: The Development of 'Superman'
SelfMaking 'Superman': Filming the Legend
SelfThe Making of 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'
SelfThe Making of '1941'
HimselfScore: A Film Music Documentary
SelfSpielberg
SelfLeonard Bernstein Centennial Celebration at Tanglewood
The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story
HimselfThe Music of 'Indiana Jones'
SelfMusic
SelfCrew credits
Star Wars
Original Music ComposerWar of the Worlds
Original Music Composer, ConductorRaiders of the Lost Ark
Original Music ComposerIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Original Music ComposerIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Original Music ComposerMinority Report
Original Music ComposerIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Original Music ComposerJurassic Park
Original Music ComposerThe Lost World: Jurassic Park
Original Music ComposerSchindler's List
Original Music ComposerThe Poseidon Adventure
Original Music ComposerJaws
Original Music ComposerJaws 2
Original Music ComposerE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Original Music ComposerThe Terminal
Original Music ComposerMunich
Original Music ComposerA.I. Artificial Intelligence
Original Music ComposerHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Original Music ComposerHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Original Music ComposerHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Original Music ComposerHome Alone
Original Music Composer