John Williams
Known for Sound · 84 credits
- Born
- 1932-02-08 (age 94)
- Place of birth
- Queens, New York City, New York, USA
- Also known as
- John Towner Williams · Johnny Williams
Biography
John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932) is an American composer and conductor. In a career that has spanned seven decades, he has composed some of the most popular, recognizable, and critically acclaimed film scoresin cinema history. He has a distinct sound that mixes romanticism, impressionism and atonal music with complex orchestration. He is best known for his collaborations with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas and has received numerous accolades including 26 Grammy Awards, five Academy Awards, seven BAFTA Awards, three Emmy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards. With 54 Academy Award nominations, he is the second-most nominated person, after Walt Disney, and is the oldest Oscar nominee in any category, at 91 years old.
Williams's early work as a film composer includes Valley of the Dolls (1967), Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969), Images and The Cowboys (both 1972), The Long Goodbye (1973) and The Towering Inferno (1974). He has collaborated with Spielberg since The Sugarland Express (1974), composing music for all but five of his feature films. He received five Academy Awards for Best Score for Fiddler on the Roof (1971), Jaws (1975), Star Wars (1977), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and Schindler's List (1993). Other memorable collaborations with Spielberg include Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), the Indiana Jones franchise (1981–2023), Hook (1991), Jurassic Park (1993), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Catch Me If You Can (2002), War Horse (2011), Lincoln (2012), and The Fabelmans (2022). He also scored Superman (1978), the first two Home Alone films (1990–1992), and the first three Harry Potter films (2001–2004).
Williams has also composed numerous classical concertos and other works for orchestral ensembles and solo instruments. He served as the Boston Pops' principal conductor from 1980 to 1993 and is its laureate conductor. 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); and the television series Lost in Space, Land of the Giants and Amazing Stories.
Among other accolades, he has received the Kennedy Center Honor in 2004, the National Medal of the Arts in 2009 and the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2016. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1998, the Hollywood Bowl's Hall of Fame in 2000 and the American Classical Music Hall of Fame in 2004. He has composed the score for nine of the top 25 highest-grossing films at the U.S. box office. In 2022, Williams was appointed an Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) by Queen Elizabeth II, "for services to film music". In 2005, the American Film Institute placed Williams's score to Star Wars first on its list AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores; his scores for Jaws and E.T. also made the list. The Library of Congress entered the Star Wars soundtrack into the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Description above from the Wikipedia article John Williams, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
TV Shows (9)
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015
60 Minutes
1968
as Self
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1992
The Oscars
1953
as Self
Playhouse 90
1956
as Self (Pianist)
Disney Gallery / Star Wars: The Mandalorian
2020
as Self - Composer (archive footage)
The Kennedy Center Honors
1978
as Self
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
1973
as Self
Previn and the Pittsburgh
1977
as Self
Movies (75)
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
2019
as Oma Tres
Ennio
2022
as Self
Spielberg
2017
as Self
Music by John Williams
2024
as Self - Composer
Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound
2019
as Self (archive footage)
Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy
2004
as Self
Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford
2023
as Self
Star Wars: The Magic & the Mystery
1997
as Self
The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story
2009
as Self
Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story
2025
as Self
The Skywalker Legacy
2020
as Self
The Making of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
2023
as Self
The Beginning: Making Episode I
2001
as Self
Return to Jurassic Park
2011
as Self
Score: A Film Music Documentary
2017
as Self
You Will Believe: The Cinematic Saga of Superman
2006
as Self
Remember the Secret Policeman's Ball?
2004
as Self (archive footage)
Catch Me If You Can: Behind the Camera
2003
as Self
No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos
2009
as Self
Disney Legends Awards Ceremony
2024
as Self
The Making of 'Jaws'
1995
as Self
The Stories of West Side Story
2022
as Self
The Secret Policeman’s Biggest Ball
1989
as Self
If These Walls Could Sing
2022
as Self
From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga
1983
as Self
Star Wars: Within a Minute - The Making of Episode III
2005
as Self
The Making of 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'
2001
as Self
The Making of 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'
1996
as Self
The Shark Is Still Working
2009
as Self
The Music of 'Indiana Jones'
2003
as Self
The Fabelmans: A Family in Film
2023
as Self
Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge - Adventure Awaits
2019
as Self
Henry Mancini: 100 at the Hollywood Bowl
2024
as Self
Frankie Laine: An American Dreamer
2006
as Self
Lincoln: An American Journey
2013
as Self
The Making of 'The Lost World'
1997
as Self
When Star Wars Ruled the World
2004
as Self
The 'E.T.' Journals
2012
as Self
The Making of The Empire Strikes Back
1980
as Self
Taking Flight: The Development of 'Superman'
2001
as Self
SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back
1980
as Self
A World Without Beethoven?
2020
as Self
Johnny Mercer: The Dream's on Me
2009
as Self / Performer
A Conversation with the Masters: The Empire Strikes Back 30 Years Later
2011
as Self
The Making of '1941'
1996
as Self
Deconstructing Dad: The Music, Machines and Mystery of Raymond Scott
2010
as Self
Making 'Superman': Filming the Legend
2001
as Self
John Williams: The Berlin Concert
2021
as Self
Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen
2022
as self
John Williams: Live in Vienna
2020
as Self - Conductor
Jaws: The Inside Story
2010
as Self
Music
2010
as Self
In the Teeth of Jaws
1997
as Self
Leonard Bernstein Centennial Celebration at Tanglewood
2018
as Self - Conductor
The Revamping of Dracula
2004
as Self
Plotting 'Family Plot'
2001
as Self
John Williams in Tokyo
2024
as Self
The Royal Variety Performance 1977
1977
Star Wars: Music by John Williams
1980
as Self
The Hollywood Soundtrack Story
1995
as Self
Anne-Sophie Mutter - Vivace
2023
as Self
The Music of E.T.: A Discussion with John Williams
2002
as Self
A John Williams Celebration
2015
as Self
Star Wars: A Musical Journey
2005
John Williams: The Seventh Symphony
2016
as Self (archive footage)
AFI's Master Class - The Art of Collaboration: Steven Spielberg and John Williams
2011
as Self
John Williams Live - Music from the Movies
2021
Williams: Violin Concerto No. 2 & Selected Film Themes
2022
as Self - Conductor
Building a Scene
2003
Live at the Shrine! John Williams and the World Premiere of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial: The 20th Anniversary
as Self
John Williams: A Legacy In Sound
2024
as Self
Anne-Sophie Mutter, John Williams & Friends: Beethoven and Williams
2022
as selbst
Montage: Great Film Composers and The Piano
John Williams at the BBC
2016
as self
Love Will Tear Us Apart
2007
About John Williams
John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932) is an American composer and conductor. In a career that has spanned seven decades, he has composed some of the most popular, recognizable, and critically acclaimed film scoresin cinema history. He has a distinct sound that mixes romanticism, impressionism and atonal music with complex orchestration. He is best known for his collaborations with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas and has received numerous accolades including 26 Grammy Awards, five Academy Awards, seven BAFTA Awards, three Emmy Awards a… With 84 credits spanning from 1953 to 2025, John Williams has appeared in 75 films and 9 TV shows.
Fans searching for John Williams movies, John Williams filmography, or the latest projects starring John Williams can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular John Williams Movies
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) — as Oma Tres
- Ennio (2022) — as Self
- Spielberg (2017) — as Self
- Music by John Williams (2024) — as Self - Composer
- Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019) — as Self (archive footage)
Where to Watch John Williams Films
Most John Williams movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring John Williams, check our movies catalogue and browse page.