Skip to main content

Happy Birthday John Williams. Here's 15 Facts On The Iconic Composer

15 facts on john williams

15 Facts On John Williams

It's John Williams' birthday today so to celebrate the maestro's 90th Birthday, we've compiled fifteen facts on the iconic composer that you may or may not know.  Happy Birthday John, keep swinging that baton.

1 - John William's son, Joseph Williams, became the lead singer of the band Toto who you may know from the song, “Africa”


2 - There have been three Steven Spielberg theatrical movies that have not had a John Williams score.  "The Color Purple" (which was composed by Quincy Jones, who also produced the film) "Bridge of Spies" (composed by Thomas Newman) and Ready Player One (composed by Alan Silvestri.)


3 - With 51 Oscar nominations, Williams currently holds the record for the most Oscar nominations for a living person, and is the second most nominated person in Academy Awards history behind Walt Disney's 59. Forty-six of Williams's Oscar nominations are for Best Original Score and five are for Best Original Song.


4 - He won four Oscars for Best Original Score and one for Best Scoring: Adaptation and Original Song Score


5 - John Williams is most famous for some of the most memorable movie soundtracks ever to grace the big screen but did you know that he has also written some of the most iconic themes for the small screen too?  In the 1960's "Johnny Williams" as he was known back then composed the themes for some of the most popular TV shows at that time.  Themes to Land of the Giants, The Time Tunnel, Gilligan's Island and Lost in Space were all thanks to Johnny Williams.  Obviously Irwin Allen was a fan as he signed up John Williams to compose the soundtracks to some of his movies too.  He is also responsible for the NBC news theme "The Mission."


6 - He met Spielberg on a blind lunch date in 1972.  We can all agree that was the start of a beautiful relationship.
john williams dinner date with steven spielberg

7 - He composes using a pencil and paper on a small writing desk next to his Steinway piano. He has never had time to learn to write music using a computer.  In an interview back in 2016, John Williams confessed to not owning a computer.  He said "I still use the piano, I still use a pencil and paper; I have not evolved to the point where I use computers and synthesizers. First of all, they didn’t exist when I was studying music and luckily, mercifully, I have been so busy in the interim years that I haven’t had time to go back and retool. And so my evolution, in very practical terms, i.e. piano and pencil and paper, has not changed at all."
john williams pencil

8 - John Williams drafted into the U.S. Air Force in 1952.  There, he joined the band and arranged, played, and conducted music for various military bands including the U.S. Air Force Band.

9 - After service in the Air Force, Mr. Williams returned to New York to attend the Juilliard School, where he studied piano with Madame Rosina Lhevinne.


10 - His middle name is Towner.  John Towner Williams
john towner williams academy award wins

11 - John Williams was born in New York and moved to Los Angeles with his family in 1948
a young john williams

12 - It's not just TV and movies that you can here the magic of John Williams.  He has written a number of concert pieces too.  A symphony, a sinfonietta for wind ensemble, a cello concerto premiered by Yo-Yo Ma and the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood in 1994, concertos for the flute and violin recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra, concertos for the clarinet and tuba, and a trumpet concerto, which was premiered by the Cleveland Orchestra and their principal trumpet Michael Sachs in September 1996.


13 - It seems the Olympics are a big fan of John Williams as he has composed music for the 1984, 1988, and 1996 Summer Olympic games.  He also composed music for the Special Olympics in 1987.


14 - On June 23, 2000, he became the first inductee into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame.


15 - His father was a jazz percussionist who played with the Raymond Scott Quintet.


Do you know any facts on John Williams that we should include?  Let us know and we'll share with our readers.

The Bearded Trio - The Site For Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, John Williams and a whole lot more.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Did Paul Freeman Accidentally Eat A Fly In Raiders of the Lost Ark?

The Famous Indiana Jones Fly In Belloq's Mouth Scene.  Did It Really Happen? I've always wondered if Paul Freeman unintentionally consumed a fly in this scene in  Raiders of the Lost Ark ?  It's the scene where Indiana Jones shouts down to Bellosh...I mean Belloq and threatens to blow up the ark.  Did a fly go in his mouth? I remember watching this scene back in the early eighties and my ten year old mind thought he definitely had a snack while filming.  I recall talking about 'flygate' in my school playground at the time and the general consensus with my friends was that Freeman definitely had a sneaky snack. Paul Freeman talks about the famous 'fly' scene in an interview with TheIndyExperience.com  and settled 'flygate:' This is a bit of a dicey question so don’t get too upset. (Laughs) A movie’s always got bloopers in it, some have a lot, and some only have three or four. And the most remarkable blooper was right before the opening of th

Star Wars VII Movie Poster - Every End Is A New Beginning

Star Wars VII Movie Poster Just saw this Star Wars VII movie poster on Kyle Newman's Facebook fee d.  The poster is by  Lyndon Berresford and Paul Bateman.  I am loving this.  Who do you think the two characters are?  Lando and Leia?  Han and Leia's children? Have you seen other Star Wars VII movie posters?  Let me know. Rob Wainfur @welshslider

Pinewood Studios To Expand To The Usa

BBC News have reported that Pinewood Studios are to expand to the USA.  This is great news for the famous studio that is rich in movie history. UK film studio Pinewood Shepperton has announced plans to build its first sound stages in the United States. The Pinewood Atlanta complex will be built on 288 acres of land south of Atlanta, Georgia, as a joint venture with a US investment company. Georgia has been among the US states drawing film-making away from Hollywood with tax incentives in recent years. The deal is the latest sign of expansion at Pinewood, the home of the James Bond franchise. Earlier this month it announced a joint venture with a Chinese media group, potentially giving it access to the fast-growing Chinese market. Read the full article here. THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+