- "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 an American composer, conductor, and pianist. He has composed nearly all of the music heard in the Star Wars films. He has also composed scores for multiple other well-known movies and television shows.
Contents
- 1 Biography
- 2 Star Wars work
- 2.1 Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
- 2.2 Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
- 2.3 Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
- 2.4 Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
- 2.5 Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
- 2.6 Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
- 2.7 Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
- 2.8 Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)
- 2.9 Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
- 2.10 Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge
- 2.11 Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
- 3 Awards
- 4 Bibliography
- 5 Notes and references
- 6 External links
Biography[edit | edit source]
John Towner Williams was born on February 8, 1932,[1] in Floral Park, New York, USA. His father was a jazz drummer and percussionist in the CBS Radio Orchestra and the Raymond Scott Quintette. After moving to Los Angeles in 1948, he attended the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Los Angeles City College, where he studied orchestration under MGM musical associate Robert van Eps and was privately tutored by composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco.
In 1952, he was drafted into the United States Air Force, spending the next two years conducting and arranging music for Air Force bands. Afterward, he went to the famous music school Juilliard in New York, where he was able to improve his piano performance skills under the tutelage of the renowned Madame Rosina Levinne. Later, he returned to Los Angeles and worked as a piano player for film studios. In 1956, he became a staff arranger at Columbia Pictures, and then at 20th Century Fox. His combined dream of music and film were merged.
As "Johnny" Williams, he composed music to such classic TV series as Wagon Train, Gilligan's Island, and Bachelor Father. These works paved the way for him to Irwin Allen's Lost in Space.
Williams conducting the London Symphony Orchestra
He achieved success with None But the Brave (1965), followed by an Oscar nomination for Valley of the Dolls in 1968. Four years later, he won the Oscars for Best Music, Scoring Adaptation, and Original Song Score for Fiddler on the Roof. Much of what he worked on won him awards and nominations. He became one of the most popular composers and was mentioned with talent equal to Jerry Goldsmith, John Barry, and Elmer Bernstein. He had six nominations within five years, among them two double-nominations in 1969 and 1972 for the films Goodbye Mr. Chips, The Rievers, Images, The Poseidon Adventure, Cinderella Liberty, and Hell Tower.
In 1974, he met Steven Spielberg, then just a novice director, who asked him to write music for The Sugarland Express. For their next film, Jaws, Williams created frightening compositions that convincingly expressed the approach of the shark and set a basic feeling for the film. John Williams was pivotal to the huge success of the movie, which earned him his first Academy Award for Best Original Score.
In 1977, he composed the music for Star Wars, which turned out to be a huge success. Star Wars became the best-selling score-only soundtrack of all time and won him yet another Oscar.
Throughout the years, Williams' longtime collaboration with Spielberg had earned him two more Oscars for his scores to E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and Schindler's List.
He was also contracted to write the music for the Olympic Games.
With 46 Academy Award nominations to date, Williams holds the record for the most Oscar nominations for a living person.
Williams's son, Joseph Williams, chose a musical career like his father. The two worked together on Return of the Jedi and Attack of the Clones.
Rick McCallum stated at Star Wars Reunion II that he had hoped to have John Williams on the musical score for the Star Wars live-action TV series and added that each episode would have had its own original score.
Some of his most notable work includes many of the works of Steven Spielberg.
Star Wars work[edit | edit source]
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge
Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker (2019)Williams composed the score for Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker.[4] He also appeared in the film as Oma Tres. |
Awards[edit | edit source]
Academy Awards[edit | edit source]
Williams (with Jonathan Tunick, winner for Best Score Adaptation-A Little Night Music) holding his Oscar for Best Original Score
| Year | Project | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope[5] | Best Original Score | Won |
| 1980 | Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back[5] | Best Original Score | Nominated |
| 1983 | Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi[5] | Best Original Score | Nominated |
BAFTA Awards[edit | edit source]
| Year | Project | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope[6] | Original Film Music | Won |
| 1980 | Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back[6] | Original Film Music | Won |
Bibliography[edit | edit source]
- The Star Wars Album
- The Jedi Master's Quizbook
"Star Tours: 'The Ultimate Adventure' is Still the Ultimate Ride at Disneyland"—The Lucasfilm Fan Club Magazine 2- The Secrets of Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
- Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire Limited Collector's Edition
- Lucas Presents Maestro Award to Williams on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film
- Star Wars Year by Year: A Visual Chronicle
- "Launch Pad"—Star Wars Insider 146
- Star Wars Rebels: An Interview with Composer Kevin Kiner on StarWars.com (backup link)
- "Authors of the Expanded Universe: Matthew Woodring Stover"—Star Wars Insider 149
- Star Wars: Episode VII Adds Academy Award Winner Lupita Nyong'o and Game of Thrones' Gwendoline Christie on StarWars.com (backup link)
- Introducing Star Wars Rebels: The Visual Guide on StarWars.com (backup link)
- Master Filmmaking Team Announced for Star Wars: Episode VII on StarWars.com (backup link)
- Star Wars: Episode VII to Open December 18, 2015 on StarWars.com (backup link)
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens Receives 5 Oscar Nominations on StarWars.com (backup link)
Notes and references[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1
Battlefront II Updates, A Look Into Poe Dameron's Past, and More! on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
- ↑ Burlingame, Jon (2017-12-30). 'Solo' Locks In Key 'Star Wars' Veteran (EXCLUSIVE). Variety. Archived from the original on August 2, 2020. Retrieved on December 30, 2017.
- ↑
John Williams - Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge Symphonic Suite (Audio Only) on the DisneyMusicVEVO YouTube channel (backup link)
- ↑ Hood, Cooper (2018-01-11). Star Wars 9: John Williams Confirmed To Write Score. Screen Rant. Archived from the original on February 10, 2019. Retrieved on January 11, 2018.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Awards. The John Williams Web Pages (2006-06-05). Archived from the original on June 10, 2002. Retrieved on October 9, 2013.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 BAFTA Awards Search (John Williams). British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved on October 9, 2013.
External links[edit | edit source]
- John Williams at the Internet Movie Database
- John Williams on Wikipedia
- JOHN WILLIAMS Fan Network
