John Williams Biography

John Williams

Famed movie score and TV theme composer, Williams has worked with Hollywood's most famous directors and producers. His collaborations with Steven Spielberg include Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and its sequels, Hook (1991), Jurassic Park (1993) and its sequels, Amistad (1997), and Saving Private Ryan (1998). Williams won Oscars for his work in the Spielberg hits Jaws (1975), E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982), and Schindler's List (1995). Working with George Lucas, he wrote the Oscar-winning score for Star Wars (1977) and its sequels. Williams wrote scores for Oliver Stone's pictures JFK (1991), and Nixon (1995). In all, Williams has written music for 130 films and television shows. Nominated more than 30 times for an Oscar, he has won five, and been nominated for more than 40 Grammys, winning 16. He was conductor of the Boston Pops from 1980 to 1995.