This Star Wars Icon is the Only Person Nominated for Oscar in 7 Different Decades
Meryl Streep and Audrey Hepburn have won multiple Oscars, but nobody can match the longevity of this movie legend.
Summary
- This person received his first Oscar nomination in 1968.
- He's composed some of the most iconic pieces of music in film history.
- He's nominated again in 2024.
When it comes to film composers, no one can match this guy's elite status. The themes for Star Wars, Superman and Jaws are not just part of Hollywood history. They transcend movies and are part of modern culture.
The debate over his most iconic piece will no doubt rage on forever. For me, it's the Indiana Jones theme. But there are so many great Williams compositions. So it's no surprise that he's been nominated 54 times over seven decades. The themes for Star Wars, Superman and Jaws are not just part of Hollywood history. They transcend movies and are part of modern culture.
The debate over his most iconic piece will no doubt rage on forever. For me, it's the Indiana Jones theme. But there are so many great John Williams scores. It should come as no surprise that he's been nominated for Oscars 54 times over seven decades.
His first nomination came in 1968
Williams was already a rising star in the film industry when he received his first Oscar nomination for the score to Valley of the Dolls.
The film itself was widely panned and has a Rotten Tomatoes score of just 33%. Nevertheless, it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship between John Williams and the Academy Awards.
The 1970s and icon status
This was the decade in which John Williams became an icon. His first nomination was in 1970 for the 1969 film Goodbye, Mr. Chips.
He won his first Oscar in 1972 for Best Original Score: Adaptation and Original Song Score for his work on Fiddler on the Roof. He later composed the music for the classic disaster movie The Towering Inferno, for which he was nominated for Best Original Dramatic Score in 1975.
But it was his work in the late '70s that really cemented his place in history. It's hardly a shock that he won his second Oscar for producing the music for Jaws (1976). The tension and terror he created was one of the most important factors in making Jaws the success it was.
As if that wasn't enough for one man, he went on to create the now iconic score for Star Wars in 1977 – and won his third Oscar. The Star Wars theme and Imperial March are as iconic as Darth Vader, X-Wings and the Millenium Falcon. As with Jaws, William's compositions helped elevate the film to legendary status almost immediately.
Then, of course, there was Superman (1979). By this time, Williams had developed his own signature sound, which was evident in the score for the Man of Steel's theme song. It was the sound by which all future film scores would be judged.
More of the same in the 80s
Willam's collaboration with Steven Spielberg is one of the defining points of his career. There is a synergy between what each produces that makes them come together as 'art perfection'. Yes, I know there's no such thing as perfection in art, but that's the only way to describe what this pair produces.
The 80's saw Williams win another Oscar, this time for E.T. (1983) There were also nominations for both Star Wars (1981-84) films and all three Indiana Jones (1982-1990) films released during the decade. He was also nominated for Empire of the Sun (1988).
A few leftfield movies in the 90s
Surprisingly, John Williams was not nominated for an Oscar for Jurassic Park (1993), although he did win other awards for his part in one of the most successful films of all time.
However, he did receive nominations for Born on the Fourth of July (1990) and Home Alone (1991) in the 1990s. He was also nominated for Best Original Score for Nixon (1996), Sleepers (1997), Amistad (1998) and Saving Private Ryan (1999).
His only Oscar win in the 1990s was for Schindler's List in 1994.
Multiple nominations this century
Schindler's List remains John Williams' most recent Oscar success. But he's continued to receive nominations over the past 30 years.
His nominations since the turn of the century include Best Original Score for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2002) and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004). Other notable films include Catch Me If You Can(2003), Lincoln(2013) and three Star Wars films(2016-2020).
He's nominated for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny in 2024.