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CHILDHOOD

• John Towner Williams was born in February 1932
• His parents were Ester and Johnny Williams
• He was the eldest of 3 siblings
• His siblings were Jerry Joan and Donald

OTHER FAMILY

• In 1956, he married Barbara Ruick
• He had three children, Joseph Williams, Mark Williams, and Jenny Williams
• In 1974. Barbara Died
• In 1980 he married Samantha Winslow

Introduction to music

John’s father was a percussionist for the CBS radio orchestra, introducing him to music early in life. He learned to play piano, and later also learned other instruments like trombone and clarinet.

In 1949, John and his family moved to Los Angeles
where he privately learned from composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. Three years later John Williams was drafted into the US Air Force. While serving he arranged during music and started conducting.

KIND OF A BIG DEAL

• In the ‘70s he began to gain popularity as he wrote for larger budget films
• Williams then wrote the score for The Sugarland Express directed by Steven Spielberg
• This started a partnership between Steven Spielberg that boosted Williams’s career.

CLAIMS TO FAME

• Jaws theme
• Imperial March
• “Cantina Band”
• Jurassic Park theme
• Indiana Jones theme
• Superman theme
• Headwig’s theme
• StarWars Main theme
• Duel of fates

AWARDS

• 7 British academy film awards
• 25 Grammies
• 4 golden globe awards
• 52 Academy Award nominations, second most to Walt Disney
• Won 5 Acadamy awards

THE IMPERIAL MARCH

RAIDERS MARCH

JAWS THEME

BY SHAWN MORRIS