Composer John Williams Becomes The Most Oscar-Nominated Person Alive, Breaking His Own Record

John Williams continues to write history. The Fabelmans, directed by Steven Spielberg, earned the renowned composer a nomination for Best Original Score at the upcoming 95th Academy Awards on Tuesday. Additionally, this is his 53rd overall Oscar nomination and 48th nomination for a score. Furthermore, Williams, 90, is the most-nominated person alive, and with this nomination, he broke his own record, which he last did in 2020 when he was nominated for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. In addition, the composer has garnered five Oscar nominations for his work on Schindler's List, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Star Wars, Jaws, and Fiddler on the Roof. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="2048"] Image credit: Financial Times[/caption] According to Forbes, in terms of the most Oscar nominations in history, Williams comes second after Walt Disney, who garnered 59 nominations (with 22 total wins). In a news release, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences stated that Williams is, "to the best of our knowledge," the oldest nominee for an Oscar in a competitive award category.

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John Williams stated in a statement, according to The Hollywood Reporter, "I'm very grateful to the Academy for their kind recognition, and I'm enormously grateful to Steven Spielberg for offering me the opportunity to compose the score for this very special and personal film." Also read: Drew Barrymore channeled M3GAN as she mimicked the movie doll’s viral dance Moreover, Williams received his first Oscar nomination when he wrote the score for the 1967 movie Valley of the Dolls. After that, he received two nominations for The Reivers and Goodbye, Mr. Chips at the 1969 awards ceremony. The composer then went on to receive multiple nominations each year after that. And since Williams scored the music for all nine Star Wars films, four Indiana Jones movies, and the first three Harry Potter movies, the majority of his work is well recognized and well acclaimed.

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Williams' composition for the 1977 Star Wars movie was named the best American cinema score of all time by the American Film Institute in 2005, and the Library of Congress included the soundtrack in the National Recording Registry because it was "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Image credit: Consequence of Sound[/caption] Additionally, in 2016, Williams was honored with the AFI Life Achievement Award. And Spielberg, who has collaborated with Williams on all but five of his films, complimented the composer's career achievements as he handed the award to his frequent collaborator. Spielberg said at the time, "Without John Williams, bikes don't really fly, nor do brooms in Quidditch matches, and nor do men in red capes. There is no Force. Dinosaurs do not walk the Earth. We do not wonder, we do not weep, we do not believe." Lastly, Jimmy Kimmel will host this year's Oscars ceremony, which will be broadcast live on ABC on Sunday, March 12.