User:Master Fredcerique/John Williams

"Once again, John Williams has exceeded my expectations and produced a lavish, rich, moving and thrilling score. Every fan of Star Wars—and of great music—is in his debt."

- George Lucas

John Towner Williams is the composer of nearly all of the music heard in the Star Wars films. He has also composed scores for many other well known movies and older television shows.

Early life
John Towner Williams was born on February 8, 1932 in Flushing, Queens, New York to mother Esther (née Towner) and father Johnny Williams. Williams' exposure to music started at a very young age, as his father was a member of the CBS Radio Orchestra of New York. He was also introduced to the film industry early on due to his father's work for the Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation in Los Angeles, and the Williams family moved to the city in 1948 for this reason. While residing in LA, Williams attended North Hollywood High School, from which he graduated in 1950. He then attended the University of California, Los Angeles where he studied privately with renowned Italian composer and guitarist Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. While in college, Williams was a member of the national college band fraternity Kappa Kappa Psi. In the year 1952, Williams was drafted into the United States Air Force where he had the opportunity to arrange and conduct music for the United States Air Force Band. Following his discharge in 1954, Williams moved back to New York City to study at the Juilliard School of Music. There Williams studied piano under Rosina Lhevinne. While in New York, Williams played jazz piano for several clubs and recordings. In 1956, Williams married actress Barbara Ruick, and they had their first child, Jennifer, the same year.

Beginnings in television
Not long after graduating from college, Williams moved back to Los Angeles to begin working in the film industry, getting the chance to orchestrate and perform for studios alongside composers such as Bernard Herrmann, Alfred Newman, Morris Stoloff, Dimitri Tiomkin, and Franz Waxman, as well as orchestrators Conrad Salinger and Bob Franklyn. Williams also performed as a studio pianist for film scores by composers like Henry Mancini, who did the score for Peter Gunn (1958-1961), a show that aired on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC).