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
Credits
- 2024 · Music by John Williams as Self - Composer
- 2024 · Disney Legends Awards Ceremony as Self
- 2024 · John Williams in Tokyo as Himself
- 2023 · Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones & Harrison Ford as Self
- 2023 · The Making of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny as Self
- 2023 · Anne-Sophie Mutter - Vivace as Self
- 2023 · The Fabelmans: A Family in Film as Self
- 2022 · If These Walls Could Sing as Self
- 2022 · Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen as self
- 2022 · The Stories of West Side Story as Self
- 2022 · Ennio as Self
- 2022 · Galakonzert mit Anne-Sophie Mutter, John Williams und Beethoven aus Pittsburgh as selbst
- 2022 · Williams: Violin Concerto No. 2 & Selected Film Themes as Self - Conductor
- 2022 · John Williams & Berliner Philharmonic - The Berlin Concert as Himself
- 2021 · John Williams Live - Music from the Movies as
- 2021 · John Williams dirigiert John Williams mit den Berliner Philharmonikern as
- 2020 · A World Without Beethoven? as Self
- 2020 · John Williams: Live in Vienna as Self - Conductor
- 2020 · Disney Gallery / Star Wars: The Mandalorian as Self - Composer (archive footage)
- 2020 · The Skywalker Legacy as Self
- 2019 · Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker as Oma Tres
- 2019 · Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound as Self (archive footage)
- 2019 · Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge - Adventure Awaits as Self
- 2018 · Leonard Bernstein Centennial Celebration at Tanglewood as Self - Conductor
- 2017 · Spielberg as Self
- 2017 · Score: A Film Music Documentary as Self
- 2016 · John Williams at the BBC as self
- 2016 · John Williams: The Seventh Symphony as
- 2015 · The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as
- 2015 · A John Williams Celebration as Self
- 2013 · Lincoln: An American Journey as Self
- 2012 · The 'E.T.' Journals as Self
- 2011 · AFI's Master Class - The Art of Collaboration: Steven Spielberg and John Williams as
- 2011 · A Conversation with the Masters: The Empire Strikes Back 30 Years Later as Self
- 2011 · Return to Jurassic Park as Self
- 2010 · Music as Self
- 2010 · Deconstructing Dad: The Music, Machines and Mystery of Raymond Scott as Himself
- 2010 · Jaws: The Inside Story as Self
- 2009 · Johnny Mercer: The Dream's on Me as Self / Performer
- 2009 · The Shark Is Still Working: The Impact & Legacy of "Jaws" as Self
- 2009 · The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story as Self
- 2009 · No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos as Self
- 2007 · Love Will Tear Us Apart as
- 2006 · You Will Believe: The Cinematic Saga of Superman as Self
- 2006 · Frankie Laine: An American Dreamer as Self
- 2005 · Star Wars: Within a Minute - The Making of Episode III as Self
- 2005 · Star Wars: A Musical Journey as
- 2004 · Remember the Secret Policeman's Ball? as Self
- 2004 · The Revamping of Dracula as Self
- 2004 · When Star Wars Ruled the World as Self
- 2004 · Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy as Self
- 2003 · The Music of 'Indiana Jones' as Self
- 2003 · Catch Me If You Can: Behind the Camera as Self
- 2002 · The Music of E.T.: A Discussion with John Williams as Self
- 2001 · The Beginning: Making Episode I as Self
- 2001 · The Making of 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' as Self
- 2001 · Taking Flight: The Development of 'Superman' as Self
- 2001 · Plotting 'Family Plot' as Self
- 2001 · Making 'Superman': Filming the Legend as Self
- 1997 · The Making of 'The Lost World' as Self
- 1997 · Star Wars: The Magic & the Mystery as Self
- 1997 · In the Teeth of Jaws as Self
- 1996 · The Making of 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial' as Self
- 1996 · The Making of '1941' as Himself
- 1995 · The Making of 'Jaws' as Self
- 1992 · The Tonight Show with Jay Leno as
- 1989 · The Secret Policeman’s Biggest Ball as Self
- 1983 · From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga as Self
- 1980 · The Making of The Empire Strikes Back as Self
- 1980 · Star Wars: Music by John Williams as Self
- 1978 · The Kennedy Center Honors as Self
- 1977 · Previn and the Pittsburgh as Self
- 1973 · The American Film Institute Salute to ... as Self
- 1968 · 60 Minutes as Self
- 1956 · Playhouse 90 as Self (Pianist)
- 1953 · The Oscars as Self