- "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.
Biography
Edit
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 workEdit
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. |
Other worksEdit
Films
Television |
AwardsEdit
Academy AwardsEdit
Williams (with Jonathan Tunick, winner for Best Score Adaptation-A Little Night Music) holding his Oscar for Best Original Score
| Year | Project | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Valley of the Dolls[5] | Best Score Adaptation | Nominated |
| 1969 | Goodbye, Mr Chips[5] | Best Score Adaptation | Nominated |
| The Reivers[5] | Best Original Score | Nominated | |
| 1971 | Fiddler on the Roof[5] | Best Scoring Adaptation and Original Song Score | Won |
| 1972 | Images[5] | Best Original Dramatic Score | Nominated |
| The Poseidon Adventure[5] | Best Original Dramatic Score | Nominated | |
| 1973 | Cinderella Liberty[5] | Best Original Dramatic Score | Nominated |
| "Nice to Be Around" (from Cinderella Liberty)[5] | Best Original Song | Nominated | |
| Tom Sawyer[5] | Best Score Adaptation | Nominated | |
| 1974 | The Towering Inferno[5] | Best Original Score | Nominated |
| 1975 | Jaws[5] | Best Original Dramatic Score | Won |
| 1977 | Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope[5] | Best Original Score | Won |
| Close Encounters of the Third Kind[5] | Best Original Score | Nominated | |
| 1978 | Superman[5] | Best Original Score | Nominated |
| 1980 | Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back[5] | Best Original Score | Nominated |
| 1981 | Raiders of the Lost Ark[5] | Best Original Score | Nominated |
| 1982 | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial[5] | Best Original Score | Won |
| "If We Were in Love" (from Yes, Glorgio)[5] | Best Original Song | Nominated | |
| 1983 | Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi[5] | Best Original Score | Nominated |
| 1984 | Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom[5] | Best Original Score | Nominated |
| The River[5] | Best Original Score | Nominated | |
| 1987 | Empire of the Sun[5] | Best Original Score | Nominated |
| The Witches of Eastwick[5] | Best Original Score | Nominated | |
| 1988 | The Accidental Tourist[5] | Best Original Score | Nominated |
| 1989 | Born on the Fourth of July[5] | Best Original Score | Nominated |
| Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade[5] | Best Original Score | Nominated | |
| 1990 | Home Alone[5] | Best Original Score | Nominated |
| "Somewhere in My Memory" (from Home Alone)[5] | Best Original Song | Nominated | |
| 1991 | JFK[5] | Best Original Score | Nominated |
| "When You're Alone" (from Hook)[5] | Best Original Song | Nominated | |
| 1993 | Schindler's List[5] | Best Original Score | Won |
| 1995 | Nixon[5] | Best Original Dramatic Score | Nominated |
| Sabrina[5] | Best Original Musical or Comedy Score | Nominated | |
| "Moonlight" (from Sabrina)[5] | Best Original Song | Nominated | |
| 1996 | Sleepers[5] | Best Original Dramatic Score | Nominated |
| 1997 | Amistad[5] | Best Original Dramatic Score | Nominated |
| 1998 | Saving Private Ryan[5] | Best Original Dramatic Score | Nominated |
| 1999 | Angela's Ashes[5] | Best Original Score | Nominated |
| 2000 | The Patriot[5] | Best Original Score | Nominated |
| 2001 | A.I. Artificial Intelligence[5] | Best Original Score | Nominated |
| Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone[5] | Best Original Score | Nominated | |
| 2002 | Catch Me If You Can[5] | Best Original Score | Nominated |
| 2004 | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban[5] | Best Original Score | Nominated |
| 2005 | Memoirs of a Geisha[5] | Best Original Score | Nominated |
| Munich[5] | Best Original Score | Nominated | |
| 2011 | The Adventures of Tintin[6] | Best Original Score | Nominated |
| War Horse[6] | Best Original Score | Nominated | |
| 2012 | Lincoln[7] | Best Original Score | Nominated |
BAFTA AwardsEdit
| Year | Project | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Jaws/The Towering Inferno[8] | Original Film Music | Won |
| 1978 | Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope[8] | Original Film Music | Won |
| Close Encounters of the Third Kind[8] | Original Film Music | Nominated | |
| 1980 | Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back[8] | Original Film Music | Won |
| 1981 | Raiders of the Lost Ark[8] | Original Film Music | Nominated |
| 1982 | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial[8] | Score for a Film | Won |
| 1988 | Empire of the Sun[8] | Score for a Film | Won |
| 1993 | Schindler's List[8] | Score for a Film | Won |
| 1998 | Saving Private Ryan[8] | Original Film Music | Nominated |
| 2002 | Catch Me If You Can[8] | Original Film Music | Nominated |
| 2005 | Memoirs of a Geisha[8] | Original Film Music | Won |
| 2011 | War Horse[8] | Original Film Music | Nominated |
| 2012 | Lincoln[8] | Original Film Music | Nominated |
BibliographyEdit
- 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 referencesEdit
- ↑ 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 (December 30, 2017). 'Solo' Locks In Key 'Star Wars' Veteran (EXCLUSIVE). Variety. variety.com. Retrieved on December 30, 2017.
- ↑ John Williams - Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge Symphonic Suite (Audio Only) on the DisneyMusicVEVO YouTube channel
- ↑ Hood, Cooper (January 11, 2018). Star Wars 9: John Williams Confirmed To Write Score. Screen Rant. Retrieved on January 11, 2018.
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 5.19 5.20 5.21 5.22 5.23 5.24 5.25 5.26 5.27 5.28 5.29 5.30 5.31 5.32 5.33 5.34 5.35 5.36 5.37 5.38 5.39 5.40 5.41 5.42 5.43 5.44 Awards. The John Williams Web Pages (2006-06-05). Retrieved on October 9, 2013.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Nominees and Winners for the 84th Academy Awards. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved on October 9, 2013.
- ↑ The 85th Academy Awards (2013) Nominees and Winners. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved on October 9, 2013.
- ↑ 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 8.11 8.12 BAFTA Awards Search (John Williams). British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved on October 9, 2013.
External linksEdit
- John Williams at the Internet Movie Database
- John Williams on Wikipedia
- JOHN WILLIAMS Fan Network
