John Towner Williams

February 8, 1932-Present

Biography

• Born: February 8, 1932

• Born in Long Island, NY

• Parents: Johnny and Esther Williams

• Three siblings

• Drafted in the Air Force, where he

conducted and preformed music for the

band.

Family

• First wife: Barbara Ruick; Died of a

cerebral hemorrhage in 1974.

• Current wife: Samantha Winslow

• Three children: Jennifer, Mark, and

Joseph

• Three siblings; Don, Jerry, Joan

John Williams first solo album

produced in 1957.

Education

• North Hollywood High, Graduated 1950.

• 1948 moved to L.A. where he attended

UCLA.

• Moved to New York in 1955 and attended

Julliard where he studied Piano.

• A member of Kappa Kappa Psi, a

fraternity for band members.

Career

• Began with composing TV scores

• Scored the Poseidon Adventure and The

Towering Inferno.

• 1975 got his big break after meeting

Spielberg, who asked him to compose

Jaws. Dum-dum-dum-dum

• 1980-1993 Principle conductor of the

Boston Pops Orchestra.

John Williams conducting

Boston Pops Orchestra.

Influences

• Father who was a Jazz percussionist

• Shostakovich

• Prokofiev

• Holst

• Dvorak

• Tchaikovsky

• Stravinsky

Accomplishments

• Five academy awards

• Four Golden Globes

• 21 Grammy Awards

• 14 Honorary Degrees from American

Universities

• 45 academy award nominations making

him the most nominated person alive.

• Accomplished Pianist

John Williams receiving an

Academy Award in 1977

John Williams Filmography

• Aliens From Another Planet (1982), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Monsignor

(1982), Yes, Giorgio (1982), Heartbeeps (1981), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981),

The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Superman II (1980), 1941 (1979), Dracula

(1979), The Fury (1978), Jaws 2 (1978), Superman (1978), Black Sunday (1977),

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Star Wars (1977), Family Plot (1976),

Midway (1976), The Missouri Breaks (1976), The Eiger Sanction (1975), Jaws

(1975), Conrack (1974), Earthquake (1974), The Sugarland Express (1974), The

Towering Inferno (1974), Cinderella Liberty (1973), The Long Goodbye (1973),

The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing (1973), The Paper Chase (1973), Tom Sawyer

(1973), The Cowboys (1972), Images (1972), Pete 'n' Tillie (1972), The Poseidon

Adventure (1972), Fiddler on the Roof (1971), The Screaming Woman (1971),

Jane Eyre (1970), Story of a Woman (1970), Daddy's Gone A-Hunting (1969),

Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969), The Reivers (1969), Heidi (1968), Sergeant Ryker

(1968), Fitzwilly (1967), A Guide for the Married Man (1967), Valley of the Dolls

(1967), How to Steal a Million (1966), Not with My Wife, You Don't (1966),

Penelope (1966), The Plainsman (1966), The Rare Breed (1966), John Goldfarb,

Please Come Home (1965), None But the Brave (1965), The Killers (1964),

Nightmare in Chicago (1964), Gidget Goes to Rome (1963), Diamond Head

(1962), Flashing Spikes (1962), Bachelor Flat, The Secret Ways (1961), Stark

Fear (1961), Because They're Young (1960), I Passed for White (1960), Daddy-O

(1959)

John Williams Filmography

Continued… • Lincoln (2012), War Horse (2011), Adventures of Tintin (2011), Indiana Jones

and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), Munich (2005), Memoirs of a

Geisha (2005), Munich (2005), War of the Worlds (2005), Revenge of the Sith

(2005), The Terminal (2004), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2003),

Catch Me If You Can (2002), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002),

Minority Report (2002), Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002), A.I.

Artificial Intelligence (2001), Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001),

Jurassic Park III (2001), The Patriot (2000), Angela's Ashes (1999), Star Wars

Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Stepmom

(1998), Amistad (1997), The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), Rosewood (1997),

Seven Years in Tibet (1997), Sleepers (1996), Nixon (1995), Sabrina (1995),

Jurassic Park (1993), Schindler's List (1993), Far and Away (1992), Home Alone

2: Lost in New York (1992), Hook (1991), JFK (1991), Home Alone (1990),

Presumed Innocent (1990), Stanley & Iris (1990), Always (1989), Born on the

Fourth of July (1989), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), The

Accidental Tourist (1988), Empire of the Sun (1987), Superman IV: The Quest

for Peace (1987), The Witches of Eastwick (1987), SpaceCamp (1986), Jaws IV:

The Revenge (1985), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), The River

(1984), Return of the Jedi (1983), Superman III (1983)

John Williams with a variety of

films he has composed.

John Williams 2012

• Williams shows no signs of slowing down.

• Best friends with Lucas and Spielberg.

• His music remains on the whistling lips of

people around the globe, in the concert

halls, on the promenades, in album

collections, sports arenas, and parades,

and, this writer hopes, touching some

place in ourselves

John William‘s Timeline Up To

His Big Break. 1975 Williams composes score for Jaws

1974 Ruick Dies

1971 Williams composes Fiddler on the Roof

1960 Williams' youngest child is born

1958 Williams' second child is born

1956 Williams is Married

1956 Williams' Daughter is born

1955 Williams' Time in New York

1952 Williams drafted

1950 Education

1948 Williams Family moves to LA

1932 John Williams Born

John Williams Random Facts

• Williams's first wife passed in 1973, the violin concerto

was completed in 1975.

• The only film of Steven Spielberg’s that William’s did not

score was, The Color Purple.

• John Williams will not read scripts for the movies. He

would rather be just as surprised as the audience.

• Has scored nearly 90 films.

• Williams has only asked once to score a film and that

was Memoirs of a Geisha.

Up and Coming…

• Currently working on the TV series “Star

Wars: Underground.” Release date

unknown.

• Composing the music for “Star Wars

Clone Wars.”

Quote

• “It’s still baffling to me. I sit down with a

pencil and a piece of paper and do my

best… The remarkable thing is that my

music is heard by billions of people.”

Bibliography

• JW-Collection.de/start.htm

• 8notes.com/biographies/john_williams.asp

#Film_career

• http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/look_insid

e/19221852

• http://www.dlwaldron.com/JohnWilliamsbio

.html