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'Star Wars,' 'Jaws' composer John Williams wins lifetime achievement award

By Marilyn Malara
Composer John Williams (R), watches C-3PO, a human-shaped, protocol droid, take a hand at conducting the Boston Pops during rehearsal. Williams wrote the score for all six Star Wars films. File Photo by UPI
1 of 2 | Composer John Williams (R), watches C-3PO, a human-shaped, protocol droid, take a hand at conducting the Boston Pops during rehearsal. Williams wrote the score for all six Star Wars films. File Photo by UPI | License Photo

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Composer John Williams has been selected to receive this year's Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute.

Williams, 83, is the first writer of music to receive the honor in its 44-year history and will be given the award in 2016. One of the most successful score composers in the industry, Williams has written music for Star Wars films, E.T., Schindler's List and Jaws.

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"John Williams has written the soundtrack to our lives," said AFI chair Sir Howard Stringer. "Note by note, through chord and chorus, his genius for marrying music with movies has elevated the art form to symphonic levels and inspired generations of audiences to be enriched by the magic of the movies. AFI is proud to present him with its 44th Life Achievement Award."

Previous winners of AFI's prestigious award have been actors and directors like Alfred Hitchcock, Jack Nicholson, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and most recently, Steve Martin. Based on a resolution passed by the AFI Board of Trustees at the time of the award's establishment in 1973, the Institute's highest honor must go to someone who "has in a fundamental way advanced the film art."

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Williams received Oscars for his work for Jaws, Star Wars, E.T., Shindler's List and his original score written for Fiddler On the Roof in 1971. He holds the world record of the most Academy Award nominations for any living person with a total of 49.

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