2002 distinguished him as the most Oscar-nominated living individual, with an astounding 41 nominations. In 2003 his total increased to 42, after receiving a nomination for Catch Me If You Can (2002). In 2004, he received his 43rd nomination, for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004).
Attended UCLA, Los Angeles City College & Juilliard
Composed for all but two of Steven Spielberg's feature films.
Composed his first symphony at the urging of fellow film composer Bernard Herrmann.
Composed the "Olympic Fanfare and Theme" for the 1984 Olympic Games, which were held in Los Angeles and was awarded a Grammy in 1985.
Composed the score to Alfred Hitchcock's final film.
Composer of the biggest-selling instrumental single of all-time, and the only one to be officially awarded Platinum status - 2 million units by the RIAA, Meco's recording of "Star Wars Theme and Cantina Band". And, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, Meco's "Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk" album also outsold Williams' soundtrack by 300,000 units.
Conductor of the Boston Pops for 12 years.
During a live orchestral concert of film music in late 2004, Williams presented a tribute to the late Jerry Goldsmith, David Raksin, and Elmer Bernstein, explaining how he played piano on some of their scores at the beginning of his career. He joked "They were my former employers - I must have been something like 12 when I played for them.".
Father of composer and former Toto lead singer Joseph Williams. The two worked together on Return of the Jedi, collaborating on the song performed by the alien band in Jabba's Palace. However, the song was replaced for the Special Edition.
Grand marshal, Tournament of Roses parade [2004]
He was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts on February 25, 2010 at the White House in Washington D.C. for his services and contributions to music.
He's an admirer of Japanese animation composer Yôko Kanno.
Honorary Member of Kappa Kappa Psi National Honrary Band Fraternity. Member of Boston University Chapter Theta Beta, Brother # 93, Nickname: "Pops"
In 2005, his scores for Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), Jaws (1975), and E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) were respectively ranked #1, #6, and #14 on the AFI's list of the Top 25 Film Scores in the past 100 years.
In 2006, he tied Alfred Newman for the most number of Oscar nominations (45) received by a composer-conductor, when he was nominated for "Memoirs of a Geisha" and "Munich".
In 2012, he surpassed Alfred Newman as the most nominated composer in Oscar history with 42 nominations for Best Original Score when his scores for The Adventures of Tintin (2011) and War Horse (2011) were nominated for the award.
Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1998.
Is a recipient of the prestigious Connor Award given by the Phi Alpha Tau brotherhood of Emerson College located in Boston, Massachusetts.