Jump to content

500 Things I Know About John Williams


Quintus

Recommended Posts

500. He loves black turtle neck sweaters.

499. He likes to "condition" the audience with his music.

498. He writes the best marches in the biz.

497. Out of all the orchestral composers working in film today, he's the one who most looks the part.

496. There is no high quality footage of an entire film score concert conducted by him available to the public.

495. He tells the same Schindlers List story everywhere he goes, like it's the first time he's told it. It always gets a laugh.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

491. He really doesn't give a rat's ass about you if you're not famous or if you haven't donated money to the Pops. And I mean that in the best possible way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

496. There is no high quality footage of an entire film score concert conducted by him available to the public.

What about those 'Evening at the pops' TV programs? None was comprised exclusive of film scores?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

490: He was very close friend to the late Robert Altman, and also is close to actor Peter O'Toole.

489: Many, many of his concerts have been taped, but fortunatelly, none featuring one single film score.

489 bis: Williams isn't a film composer, he is a composer who happens to write a lot for film.

488: He only wrote one symphony, and since he wasn't all that please with it, he took it out of his catalogue of works.

487: Barbara Ruick, was Williams sweetheart at High School. She had a short marriage with a Hollywood producer, and after the divorce, married Williams. They were happylly married for abou 18 years untill her sudden death.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

481. He loves to end concerts with "The Mission (Theme for NBC News)" in case audiences have missed the news by being at the concert.

480. He often seems to forget about various music he's written or films he's scored.

479. He sees writing film music as an obsession rather than a job, and becomes more in love with it the more he does it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

478. He was approached to score Ridley Scott's Alien.

477. His daughter is a psychologist, according to rumors; she's a doctor for sure.

476. His favorite own score is Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

475. He loves Daniel Baremboim playing, particularly Beethoven's piano sonatas.

474. He was the first choice to score Batman, but was busy with the third Indy movie. And Burton easily preferred Elfman.

473. His wife is an interior decorator.

472. Schindler's List is the favorite Williams score of Jerry Goldsmith, Hans Zimmer, Howard Shore and Thomas Newman.

471. His first wife, Barbara Ruick died in 1974 of a brain hemmorage.

470. IHe's played the trumpet, clarinet, tuba, and obviously the piano.

469. When Williams first played the famous Jaws theme on the piano, Spielberg just thought the guy had a sense of humor.

468. Spielberg never heard the Catch me if You Can music until it was recorded, as he was too busy somewhere else. He had complete and blind trust on Williams.

467. He appreciates Shadows of the Empire because it's coherent with the musical flow of the saga.

466. As a studio pianist, John Williams played piano on the soundtracks of Elmer Bernstein's The Magnificent Seven, Sweet Smell of Success and To Kill A Mockingbird amongst others.

465. Andre Previn suggested that John Williams would be the right man to handle the music in a proposed 70s remake of Fantasia featuring the music of The Beatles. Previn understandably turned down the assignment himself.

464. John Williams worked with director Robert Altman much earlier than Images. Altman's "Nightmare In Chicago", a 1964 episode of Kraft Suspense Theater later expanded for a TV movie slot, was scored by Williams. It concerned a serial killer named Georgie Porgie and is highly rated by critics.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

470. I've read in various places that he's played the trumpet, clarinet, tuba, and obviously the piano.

... and the bassoon and the cello...

I'm not sure about the instruments you mentioned but I always thought he played the trombone. Don't know why that is in my mind...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

461 - He has male pattern baldness

460 - He is a humble, soft spoken person

459 - He has had a beard for most of his life

Link to comment
Share on other sites

496. There is no high quality footage of an entire film score concert conducted by him available to the public.

What about those 'Evening at the pops' TV programs? None was comprised exclusive of film scores?

489: Many, many of his concerts have been taped, but fortunatelly, none featuring one single film score.

According to Miquel.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

455: He performed the piano line on Henry Mancini's Peter Gunn Theme

454: The most financially successful film composer alive today (or for that matter, ever)

453: He is over 9000

Link to comment
Share on other sites

450-Williams has been re-married to that woman who was with him at the Kennedy Center Honors.

449-John Williams was Grand Marshal of the Rose Bowl parade in 2005

448-JW likes to smoke cigars

Link to comment
Share on other sites

443. He's widely credited in film music circles with causing the art of film scoring to digress 40 years, with Star Wars

I'll take that as a joke.

436: He went by the name "Johnny" in his early years to fit in with the times.

Actually his first credits were as John T. Willams and John Towner (and by credits, I don't mean screen credits, but any credits at all.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

443. He's widely credited in film music circles with causing the art of film scoring to digress 40 years, with Star Wars

I'll take that as a joke.

Hey, I totally disagree with it, but it needs to be said. That's a very prominant feeling, even amongst big fans of his.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

434: He wrote the score to Daddy-o

433: He wrote the score to I Passed for White

432: He wrote the score to Because They're Young

431: He wrote the score to The Secret Ways

430: He wrote the score to Stark Fear

429: He wrote the score to Bachelor Flat

428: He wrote the score to Diamond Head

427: He wrote the score to Gidget Goes to Rome

426: He wrote the score to The Killers

425: He wrote the score to None but the Brave

etc etc :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Stark Fear? Never heard of that one.

Actually, Morlock, there is some debate as to whether the music for that movie was by John Williams (the famous one with the beard) or another John Williams. When I e-mailed the webmaster (Jeff Eldridge?) at www.johnwilliams.org a few years ago to ask whether it was really JTW's work, he kindly replied to the effect that he had watched the film and thought it unlikely that the music was by John Towner Williams.

Anyone here ever seen the movie and would care to comment?

Damien - igniting the filmographic tinder with a scintilla of doubt. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Guidelines.