NetflixMovies
Paul Williams

Paul Williams

13 movies on Netflix

Biography

Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Paul Williams is an American songwriter and actor who started his songwriting work in Los Angeles with Biff Rose. With Roger Nichols, he wrote 1970s pop hits for Three Dog Night, Helen Reddy, and the Carpenters, among them Rainy Days and Mondays and We've Only Just Begun. He wrote the score and lyrics for Bugsy Malone and contributed songs to films, including the Oscar-nominated Rainbow Connection from The Muppet Movie and the lyrics for Evergreen from A Star Is Born, which earned him an Academy Award for Best Original Song and a Grammy in the Song of the Year category. He also wrote lyrics for The Love Boat theme. On screen he played Swan in Phantom of the Paradise (1974), which he co-scored, and Little Enos Burdette in the Smokey and the Bandit films. He voiced the Penguin in DC Animated Universe projects and has served as ASCAP president and chairman since 2009.

86years old

Turns 87 on September 19in 341 days

  • Born Omaha
  • Star sign: VirgoThe sign runs August 23 to September 22
  • Paul Hamilton Williams (birth name)Also credited as Paul H. Williams and Paul Hamilton Williams Jr.

Movie Career

Films
13
Career span
50 years1970 to 2020

Genres

Share

Did you know?!

  1. First role

    Williams played Gunther Fry in his first film role. The part was in The Loved One, a satire that came out in 1965.

  2. A role that slipped away

    Williams unsuccessfully auditioned for the Monkees, and an early collaboration with Roger Nichols, "Someday Man," was later covered by the group.

  3. A role that slipped away

    Williams tried out for The Mickey Mouse Club in early 1955 but was turned down, and 25 years later he hosted the show's 25th anniversary special.

  4. Getting ready for a role

    On February 9, 1973, Williams appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and sang a song in full makeup as Virgil. He stayed in the makeup because filming on the set ran late.

  5. Beyond film

    Williams worked on Random Access Memories, the album by Daft Punk, the French electronic duo. He co-wrote "Touch" and provided vocals on it, and he also co-wrote "Beyond".

Paul Williams movies on Netflix

Best known for

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

Top of the page, the section list
  1. Smokey and the Bandit1977 Action, Comedyas Little Enos

    IMDb rating 7.064K votes

  2. Smokey and the Bandit Part 31983 Comedy, Crimeas Little Enos Burdette

    IMDb rating 3.510K votes

  3. Smokey and the Bandit II1980as Little Enos

    IMDb rating 5.319K votes

  4. Phantom of the Paradise1974as Swan

    IMDb rating 7.327K votes

  5. Battle for the Planet of the Apes1973as Virgil

    IMDb rating 5.438K votes

  6. Superman: Red Son2020as Brainiacvoice

    IMDb rating 6.419K votes

  7. Watermelon Man1970as Employment Office Clerk

    IMDb rating 6.73.3K votes

  8. The Night They Saved Christmas1984as Ed

    IMDb rating 6.52.0K votes

Most often with

Hal Needham directed two of these films. Five actors appear in three of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.

Top of the page, the section list

Films together

Box office

What Paul Williams's films earned in cinemas worldwide.

Top of the page, the section list

Combined worldwide box office

$236 million

8 of the 13 films have a worldwide figure.

Of the 13 films: 8 worldwide figure; 2 never in cinemas; 3 figure not found.

  • 8Worldwide figure
  • 2Never in cinemas
  • 3Figure not found

Highest grossing

The eight biggest films earned 100% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.

  1. 1
    Smokey and the Bandit1977as Little Enos
    $127M53.6% of the total
  2. 2
    Smokey and the Bandit II1980as Little Enos
    $66M28.0% of the total
  3. 3
    Georgia Rule2007as Mr. Wells
    $25M10.6% of the total
  4. 4
    $8.8M3.7% of the total
  5. 5
    Smokey and the Bandit Part 31983as Little Enos Burdette
    $7.0M3.0% of the total
  6. 6
    A Million to Juan1994as Jenkins
    $1.2M0.5% of the total
  7. 7
    Watermelon Man1970as Employment Office Clerk
    $1.1M0.5% of the total
  8. 8
    $250K0.1% of the total

Awards

Nine awards and honors from 1976 to 2015, five of them major.

Top of the page, the section list
Paul Williams's awards and nominations, grouped by award
YearAwardFilmResult
Academy Awards
1977Best Original SongEvergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)Won
Golden Globes
1977Best Original ScoreA Star Is BornWon
1976Best Original SongEvergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)Won
Grammy Awards
1980Best Children's Music AlbumThe Muppet MovieWon
1976Song of the YearEvergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)Won
Other honors
2015World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Song Written Directly for a FilmThe Book of LifeWon
2012Satellite Auteur AwardWon
1986ASCAP Film and Television Music AwardsWon
Star on Hollywood Walk of FameHonored

Online

Official profiles and reference pages.

Top of the page, the section list