John Williams is easily the most recognized name in film music. His scores have helped define how we experience cinema for decades.
This quiz covers the details of his career, from his early work and professional pseudonyms to his long-standing collaborations and record-breaking Oscar nominations.
If you enjoy this, check out our trivia on classic film scores, dive into New Hollywood history, or see how much you know about Oscars history.
Which legendary film composer has received 54 Academy Award nominations in his career?
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone
John Williams
John Williams
James Horner
James Horner
Hans Zimmer
Hans Zimmer
Which iconic film score was composed by John Williams and later selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry?
Star Wars
Star Wars
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Jaws
Jaws
Schindler’s List
Schindler’s List
Which famous director has John Williams famously collaborated with on almost all of his feature films since 1974?
Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola
George Lucas
George Lucas
Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Which of these disaster films, scored by John Williams, was released first?
The Towering Inferno
The Towering Inferno
Jaws
Jaws
The Poseidon Adventure
The Poseidon Adventure
Earthquake
Earthquake
In what year did John Williams clarify that he was not actually retiring from film scoring, despite previous comments suggesting otherwise?
2025
2025
2022
2022
2023
2023
2024
2024
Which major 2023 film featured a score that John Williams declared would likely be his final project before later retracting his retirement plans?
Jurassic World
Jurassic World
The Fabelmans
The Fabelmans
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
What instrument did John Williams primarily study in his youth at the Juilliard School?
Piano
Piano
Cello
Cello
Violin
Violin
Trumpet
Trumpet
Before becoming established as a film composer, what name did the composer use professionally in the 1950s?
Johnny Williams
Johnny Williams
Jonathan William
Jonathan William
Jack Williams
Jack Williams
J. T. Williams
J. T. Williams
John Williams composed music for the theme of which 1960s science fiction television series?
The Jazz Singer
The Jazz Singer
Gilligan’s Island
Gilligan’s Island
Peter Gunn
Peter Gunn
Lost in Space
Lost in Space
Which of these films earned John Williams an Academy Award for Best Original Score for a film released in 1977?
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Schindler’s List
Schindler’s List
Star Wars: A New Hope
Star Wars: A New Hope
Jaws
Jaws
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