born Feb. 8, 1932, New York, N.Y., U.S.
U.S. composer and conductor.
Williams studied music at UCLA and Juilliard. He began his career as a jazz pianist but began to compose for TV and film in the 1960s. He has scored over 75 films, including Jaws (1975), the Star Wars trilogy, Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), E.T. (1982), Schindler's List (1993), and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001), and has won five Academy Awards. He has also written many concert works. From 1980 to 1993 he was conductor of the Boston Pops.