Real name: Williams, John Towner Birthdate: 8 February 1932, Floral Park, Long Island, New York, USA Spouse:
'Samantha Winslow' (9 June 1980 - present)
'Barbara Ruick' (1956 - 3 March 1974) (her death); 3 children Trademarks:
Thundering theme pieces for major science fiction and fantasy
films.
Extensive use of leitmotifs in scores.
Biography
'John Williams' born 1932 studied music at the University of California in Los
Angeles. He joined the Air Force in 1951 for three years, returning to
his studies as a pianist at the Julliard School of Music, New York.
Went back to Los Angeles for further studies, including composition
with 'Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco' . He was hired by Columbia Pictures in 1956 as a session
pianist in film orchestras. He became fascinated with scoring for film
and less interested in being a concert pianist. He moved to 20th
Century Fox and became involved in arranging and orchestration. He
ultimately became involved in composition. As 'Johnny' Williams, he
wrote scores for the classic TV series of the day - episodes of 'Wagon
Train', 'Gilligan's Island' and 'Bachelor Father'. This led onto work
with the Director and Producer, 'Irwin Allen' starting with 'Lost in Space'.
The rest is history... Author: Peter J Corrigan
Filmography
AFI's 100 Years, 100 Thrills: America's Most Heart-Pounding Movies (2001) (TV) [Himself] <31> Fiddler on the Roof: 30 Years of Tradition (2001) (TV) (uncredited) [Himself] John Williams: The Music of Jaws 2 (2001) (V) [Himself] Making of 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind', The (1998) (V) [Himself] Making of 'E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial', The (1996) (V) [Himself] Making of Steven Spielberg's 'Jaws', The (1995) (V) [Himself] "Evening at Pops" (1970) [Conductor (1979-1995)] "Staccato" (1959) [Pianist]
Trivia
Conductor of the Boston Pops for 12 years.
Composed for all but one of Steven Spielberg's feature films.
His father and mother-in-law were the late actors Melville Ruick and
Lurene Tuttle.
Composed his first symphony at the urging of fellow film composer
Bernard Herrmann.
Performed the famous piano riff on the original recording of Henry
Mancini's theme to Peter Gunn.
Father of composer Joseph Williams. The two worked together on Return
of the Jedi, collaborating on the song performed by the alien band in
Jabba's Palace. However, the song was replaced for the Special Edition.
Worked extensively with the London Symphony Orchestra
Son of jazz musician 'Johnny Williams (II)' , who was best known as the drummer in The
'Raymond Scott' Quintette.
His son, Joseph Williams, became a member of the band Toto in 1986.
This year (2002) distingiushes Williams as the most Oscar-nominated
living individual, with an astounding 41 nominations, rounded out by
this year's Harry Potter as well as AI: Artificial Intellegence.
Interview(s)
"Empire" (UK), August 1999, Iss. 122, pg. 81, by: Ian Freer
"Star Wars Insider" (USA), June 1999, Iss. 44, pg. 54-58, by: Scott Chernoff, "Score of Force"
"Total Film" (UK), September 1997, Iss. 8, pg. 74-79, by: David Thomas
Article(s)
"Vox" (Hungary), June 1999, Iss. 26, pg. 86, by: Gábor Szilágyi
"Vox" (Hungary), May 1999, Iss. 25, pg. 82, by: Gábor Szilágyi
Other work(s)
(1996) "Summon the heros" - composer and conductor of the theme for the
Atlanta 1996 Olympics. Performed during the opening ceremony.
Director of the "Boston Pops Orchestra" (January 1980 to 1995)
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