John Williams is the most well-known and successful film score composer in the history of Hollywood.  With 52 Academy Award nominations, he is second in the most nominations in any category, trailing Walt Disney by seven nominations, and he holds the record for most nominations for a living person.  He has won the award five times. In addition to composing, John Williams is also a renowned conductor, having served as the Music Director for the Boston Pops from 1980-1993.   

Williams was born in New York, but at the age of 16, his family moved to Los Angeles, where he attended high school and later UCLA.  He studied privately with Italian composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco.  In 1952, Williams was drafted into the Air Force where he played in a band for his service.  After his tour, he resided in New York City, playing in jazz clubs, and composing jazz and popular arrangements.  He returned to Los Angeles and worked as a session musician during which he met Henry Mancini.  He worked with Mancini on the music to Peter Gunn which turned out to be his big break.  He worked on television series soundtracks including cult favorites Gilligan’s Island, Lost in Space, and Land of the Giants.  

His first Oscar nomination came in 1967 with his score adaptation to Valley of the Dolls, and his first Oscar award came for his adaptation for the film version of Fiddler on the Roof in 1971.  His other four Academy Award wins were for his work on Jaws (1975), Star Wars (1977), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), and Schindler’s List (1993).  In addition to his Oscar nominations, Williams has been nominated for a Grammy Award 25 times, winning four times. 

The 1993 fantasy film Jurassic Park based on a Michael Crichton novel, tells the story of what happens when you try to capitalize on a theme park that includes live dinosaurs.  The popularity of the movie led to five subsequent sequels, making the Jurassic Park movie franchise one of the highest grossing film series in history.  The most recent sequel, Jurassic Park Dominion was released earlier this year, and as of this writing was the third highest grossing film of the year. 

-Notes by Kevin Lodge