John Williams

Biography

John Williams is an American composer and conductor whose film scores rank among the best known in movie history. Born in New York City, he moved to Los Angeles as a teenager, studied composition privately, worked as a studio orchestrator and session pianist, and made the transition from television to major Hollywood films with None but the Brave (1965). His first Academy Award nomination came for Valley of the Dolls (1967), and he went on to win for Fiddler on the Roof (1971), Jaws (1975), Star Wars (1977), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and Schindler's List (1993). Collaborations with Steven Spielberg include Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Jurassic Park, while he also scored Superman and the first three Harry Potter films. He holds five Academy Awards among 54 nominations and led the Boston Pops from 1980 to 1993. Music by John Williams (2024) chronicled his career.

94years old

Turns 95 on February 8in 90 days

Born February 8, 1932New York City
Star sign: AquariusThe sign runs January 20 to February 18
John Towner Williams (birth name)

Movie Career

Films: 9
Career span: 45 years1980 to 2025

Genres

Documentary100%, 9 films
Music33%, 3 films
Biography11%, 1 film

First and latest

John Williams movies on Netflix

Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story2025IMDb rating 7.6as Himself
Music by John Williams2024IMDb rating 8.2as Self - Composer
Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford2023IMDb rating 7.5as Himself
Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen2022IMDb rating 7.8as Himself
If These Walls Could Sing2022IMDb rating 7.2as Himself
Ennio: The Maestro2021IMDb rating 8.2as Himself
The Beginning: The Making of Star Wars Episode I2001IMDb rating 7.7as Himself
The Making of 'Jaws'1995IMDb rating 7.9as Himself
The Making of The Empire Strikes Back1980IMDb rating 8.1as Himself

Best known for

The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.

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Music by John Williams2024 Documentary, Musicas Self - Composer
IMDb rating 8.26.3K votes
Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen2022 Documentaryas Himself
IMDb rating 7.8200 votes
If These Walls Could Sing2022as Himself
IMDb rating 7.21.4K votes
Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford2023as Himself
IMDb rating 7.51.1K votes
Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story2025as Himself
IMDb rating 7.63.2K votes
Ennio: The Maestro2021as Himself
IMDb rating 8.27.7K votes
The Beginning: The Making of Star Wars Episode I2001as Himself
IMDb rating 7.7893 votes
The Making of 'Jaws'1995as Himself
IMDb rating 7.9916 votes

Most often with

Laurent Bouzereau directed four of these films. George Lucas appears in six of them, more than any other actor. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.

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George Lucas

Steven Spielberg

Harrison Ford

Kate Capshaw

J.J. Abrams

Carl GottliebLaurent BouzereauDirector, 4 films

Films together

George Lucas6 films together, 1980 to 2025
George Lucas's page
- Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story2025IMDb rating 7.6Williams as HimselfLucas as Himself
- Music by John Williams2024IMDb rating 8.2Williams as Self - ComposerLucas as Self - Filmmaker
- Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford2023IMDb rating 7.5Williams as HimselfLucas as Himself
- If These Walls Could Sing2022IMDb rating 7.2Williams as HimselfLucas as Himself
- The Beginning: The Making of Star Wars Episode I2001IMDb rating 7.7Williams as HimselfLucas as Himself
- The Making of The Empire Strikes Back1980IMDb rating 8.1Williams as HimselfLucas as Himself
Steven Spielberg5 films together, 1995 to 2025
Steven Spielberg's page
- Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story2025IMDb rating 7.6Williams as HimselfSpielberg as Himself
- Music by John Williams2024IMDb rating 8.2Williams as Self - ComposerSpielberg as Self - Filmmaker
- Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford2023IMDb rating 7.5Williams as HimselfSpielberg as Himself
- The Beginning: The Making of Star Wars Episode I2001IMDb rating 7.7Williams as HimselfSpielberg as Himself
- The Making of 'Jaws'1995IMDb rating 7.9Williams as HimselfSpielberg as Himself
Harrison Ford2 films together, 1980 to 2023
Harrison Ford's page
- Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford2023IMDb rating 7.5Williams as HimselfFord as Himself
- The Making of The Empire Strikes Back1980IMDb rating 8.1Williams as HimselfFord as Himself
Kate Capshaw2 films together, 2023 to 2024
Kate Capshaw's page
- Music by John Williams2024IMDb rating 8.2Williams as Self - ComposerCapshaw as Self - Actor / Wife of Steven Spielberg
- Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford2023IMDb rating 7.5Williams as HimselfCapshaw as Himself
J.J. Abrams2 films together, 2024 to 2025
J.J. Abrams's page
- Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story2025IMDb rating 7.6Williams as HimselfAbrams as Himself
- Music by John Williams2024IMDb rating 8.2Williams as Self - ComposerAbrams as Self - Filmmaker
Carl Gottlieb2 films together, 1995 to 2025
Carl Gottlieb's page
- Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story2025IMDb rating 7.6Williams as HimselfGottlieb as Himself
- The Making of 'Jaws'1995IMDb rating 7.9Williams as HimselfGottlieb as Himself
Laurent BouzereauDirector, 4 films, 1995 to 2025
All films by Laurent Bouzereau
- Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story2025IMDb rating 7.6Williams as Himself
- Music by John Williams2024IMDb rating 8.2Williams as Self - Composer
- Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford2023IMDb rating 7.5Williams as Himself
- The Making of 'Jaws'1995IMDb rating 7.9Williams as Himself
Also two films together4 more actors
- Lorraine GaryJaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story (2025) and The Making of 'Jaws' (1995)
- Kathleen KennedyMusic by John Williams (2024) and Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford (2023)
- Lawrence KasdanMusic by John Williams (2024) and Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford (2023)
- James MangoldMusic by John Williams (2024) and Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford (2023)
When several people share the same number of films, the ones with the most films on Netflix are in the chart.

Awards

Thirteen awards and honors from 1972 to 2016, eleven of them major.

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John Williams's awards and nominations, grouped by award
Year	Award	Film	Result
Academy Awards
1994	Best Original Score	Schindler's List	Won
1983	Best Original Score	E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial	Won
1978	Best Original Score	Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope	Won
1976	Best Original Dramatic Score	Jaws	Won
1972	Best Original Song Score	Fiddler on the Roof	Won
Golden Globes
	Awards		Won
Emmy Awards
	Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie, or a Special		Won
	Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score)		Won
	Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music		Won
Grammy Awards
2015	Best Instrumental Composition	The Book Thief	Won
2007	Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media	Memoirs of a Geisha	Won
Other honors
2016	AFI Life Achievement Award		Won
	Kennedy Center Honors		Won

Online

Official profiles and reference pages.

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