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John Williams (composer)

John Williams (composer)

:For other people with the same name, see John Williams. John Williams.]] John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932 in New York City) is one of the most widely recognized composers of film scores. He is often credited with the revival of the grand symphonic film score, specifically with his richly thematic and highly popular 1977 score to George Lucas' Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. In addition to six Star Wars films (see Star Wars music), Williams has composed the music to some of the highest grossing films of all time, including Jaws, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, and the first three Harry Potter movies. While skilled in a variety of 20th century compositional idioms, his most familiar style may be described as a form of neoromanticism, informed by the large-scale orchestral music of the late 19th century and that of Williams's film-composing predecessors. The influence of Korngold and other Hollywood Golden Age composers is strong in much of Williams' most famous work. Although Williams is best known for heroic, rousing themes to adventure and fantasy films (such as Star Wars, Superman (see Superman music), and Raiders of the Lost Ark), his long career also includes many sensitive dramatic scores (such as Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan) and more experimental concert works.

Early life

In 1948, John Williams and his family moved to Los Angeles, where he attended the University of California, Los Angeles. He also studied composition privately with Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, who also taught another famous film score composer, Jerry Goldsmith. In 1952, Williams was drafted and entered the United States Air Force, where he conducted and arranged music for Air Force bands. When discharged in 1954, he returned to New York. There, he went to Juilliard, one of the most well-known music schools in America and the alma mater of other famous musicians including the composer Philip Glass and violinist Itzhak Perlman (with whom Williams released an album, Cinema Serenade, in 1997). He studied piano at the school with Rosina Lhevinne. In New York, he worked as a jazz pianist. He also played with noted composer Henry Mancini and even performed on the recording of the famous Peter Gunn theme. In the early 1960s, he served as arranger/bandleader on a series of popular albums with singing great Frankie Laine.

Film scoring

Williams later returned to Los Angeles, where he started working in the film studios. There he worked with some of the finest film score composers of that time: Franz Waxman, Bernard Herrmann, and Alfred Newman. He began his career composing TV scores for series including Gilligan's Island, Lost in Space, and The Time Tunnel. In the early 1970s, he established himself as a composer for big-budget disaster films with scores for The Towering Inferno, Earthquake, and The Poseidon Adventure. In 1974, Williams was approached by a young Steven Spielberg to write the music for his feature debut, The Sugarland Express. They re-teamed for the director's second film, Jaws, featuring an ominous two-note motif representing the shark. Spielberg's friendship with director George Lucas led to Williams's composing for the Star Wars movies. Over thirty years later, the Williams-Spielberg collaboration has proven to be one of Hollywood's most enduring and fruitful. To date, Williams has composed the music to all but one of Spielberg's movies (Quincy Jones was composer for 1985's The Color Purple). He wrote the scores for several TV shows, including Gilligan's Island, Lost in Space, and NBC Nightly News. He has been nominated for 43 Academy Awards, of which he has won five (for Fiddler on the Roof, Jaws, Star Wars, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Schindler's List). He currently holds the record for the most Oscar nominations for a living person and has the third most Oscar nominations in history; he also holds the record for the most Academy Award losses ever (38). Williams has received two Emmy Awards, eighteen Grammy Awards, and has been inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame and the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame. In 2004 he received a Kennedy Center Honor. He also won a Classical Brit award in 2005 for his soundtrack work of the previous year.

Notable film scores

- Munich (2005) (Not released yet)
- Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)
- War of the Worlds (2005)
- Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
- The Terminal (2004)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
- Minority Report (2002)
- Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
- Catch Me If You Can (2002)
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)
- A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001)
- The Patriot (2000)
- Angela's Ashes (1999)
- Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
- Saving Private Ryan (1998)
- Amistad (1997)
- Seven Years in Tibet (1997)
- Schindler's List (1993)
- Jurassic Park (1993)
- Far and Away (1992)
- Hook (1991)
- Home Alone (1990)
- The Witches of Eastwick (1989)
- Empire of the Sun (1987)
- Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
- E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
- Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
- Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
- Dracula (1979)
- Superman (1978)
- Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
- Jaws (1975)
- The Towering Inferno (1974)
- The Paper Chase (1973)
- The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
- Images (1972)
- Jane Eyre (1970)
- Daddy-O (1958)

Notable television themes

- NBC Nightly News
- Meet The Press
- Amazing Stories
- Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure (Wicket's theme reprised from Return of the Jedi)

With Steven Spielberg

John Williams' relationship with Producer/Director Steven Spielberg has been long and fruitful. Their second project together: Jaws grossed well over 300 million dollars at the Box Office and elevated Producer and Composer to previously un-attained heights of stardom. The dynamic production duo of Williams and Spielberg would go on to team up on over twenty other successful projects, including:
- The Indiana Jones trilogy
- ET: The Extra Terrestrial
- Amistad
- Saving Private Ryan
- Schindler's List
- Jurassic Park :See also List of noted film producer and composer collaborations

Conducting and performing

From 1980 to 1993, Williams succeeded the legendary Arthur Fiedler as the principal conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra. He is now the Laureate Conductor of the Pops and still has ties to the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), which have much overlap and both perform out of Boston's Symphony Hall. He conducts several concerts with the Boston Pops every year, particularly during their Holiday Pops season and typically a week of concerts in May. He also frequently enlists the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, the official chorus of the BSO, to sing choral music in his movie scores (such as Saving Private Ryan). He is an accomplished pianist, as can be heard in various scores in which he provides solos, as well as a handful of classical recordings. Williams has written many concert pieces, including a symphony, a sinfonietta for wind ensemble, a cello concerto premiered by Yo-Yo Ma and the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood in 1994, concertos for the flute and violin recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra, concertos for the clarinet and tuba, and a trumpet concerto, which was premiered by the Cleveland Orchestra and their principal trumpet Michael Sachs in September 1996. His bassoon concerto, The Five Sacred Trees, which was premiered by the New York Philharmonic and principal bassoon player Judith LeClair in 1995, was recorded for Sony Classical by Williams with LeClair and the London Symphony. In addition, Mr. Williams has composed the well-known NBC News theme "The Mission," "Liberty Fanfare" composed for the re-dedication of the Statue of Liberty, "We're Lookin' Good!," composed for the Special Olympics in celebration of the 1987 International Summer Games, and themes for the 1984, 1988, 1996, and 2002 Olympic games. His most recent concert work Seven for Luck – for soprano and orchestra – is a seven-piece song cycle based on the texts of former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove. Seven for Luck was given its world premiere by the Boston Symphony under Mr. Williams with soprano Cynthia Haymon.

The Olympics

Williams has composed the official theme for four of the Olympic Games held in the last 26 years. They are:
- "Olympic Fanfare and Theme" - 1984 Summer Olympics, Los Angeles
- The opening trumpet fanfare was the previous Olympic Theme written by Leo Arnaud, which Williams elaborated on and fleshed out with underscore.
- "The Olympic Spirit" - 1988 Summer Olympics, Seoul
- The 1988 theme was commissioned by NBC Sports and was the theme for their television coverage of the 1988 Summer Games.
- "Summon the Heroes" - 1996 Summer Olympics, Atlanta
- "Call of the Champions" - 2002 Winter Olympics, Salt Lake City

External links

- [http://www.johnwilliams.org The John Williams Web Pages]
- [http://www.soundtrackinfo.com/composer.asp?id=178&s=y John Williams @ the SoundtrackINFO project]
- [http://www.bso.org Boston Symphony Orchestra]
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- [http://www.hollywoodbowl.com/misc/halloffame.cfm/ Hollywood Bowl's Hall of Fame]
- http://www.jwfan.net
- http://jw-music.net/
- [http://hometown.aol.com/musbuff/page37.htm Film Composer Tributes - John Williams]
- http://www.americanclassicalmusic.org
- http://www.johnwilliamscomposer.com Williams, John Williams, John Category:Star Wars music Williams, John Williams, John Williams, John Williams, John Williams, John Williams, John ko:존 윌리엄스 (작곡가) ja:ジョン・ウィリアムズ (作曲家)

John Williams

There have been a number of noteworthy men named John Williams:
- John Williams (actor) (1903–1983), actor
- John Williams (archer) American archer and Olympic gold medallist
- John Williams (author) (1922—), wrote historical novel Augustus
- John Williams (accordionist), Chicago-born accordion player
- John Williams (archbishop) (1582–1650), archbishop
- John "Hot Rod" Williams, former professional basketball player from 1986-1999
- John Williams, former professional basketball player 1986-1994
- John Williams (captive), subject of John Williams, The Redeemed Captive, Returned to Zion ( 1707 )
- John Williams (composer) (1932—), U.S. film score composer
- John Williams (delegate) (1731–1799), North Carolina delegate to Continental Congress
- John Williams (equestrian), American equestrian
- John Williams (guitarist) (1941—), Australian guitarist
- John Williams (missionary) (1796–1839), missionary
- John Williams (North Carolina) (1740–1804), North Carolina State Senator
- John Williams (Pitt County) (c.1735–?), US revolutionary from Pitt County, North Carolina
- John Williams (Rochester) (1807–1875) U.S. Congressman from New York
- John Williams (Salem) (1752–1806), U.S. Congressman from New York
- John Williams (saxophonist), saxophonist
- John Williams (referee), retired snooker referee
- John Williams (Tennessee) (1778–1837), U.S. Senator from Tennessee
- John Williams (wrestler), professional wrestler known as Ian Rotten
- John Williams (VC), recipient of the Victoria Cross Also see:
- John G. Williams (1964—), Canadian MP for Edmonton-St. Albert, Alberta
- John Henry Williams (1969–2004), son of baseball player Ted Williams
- Dr. John Williams, third husband of Eva Gabor
- Dr. John Williams, member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists
- Major General John F. Williams was National Guard Bureau chief from January 31, 1940 to January 30, 1944 ko:존 윌리엄스 ja:ジョン・ウィリアムズ

February 8

February 8 is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 326 days remaining, 327 in leap years.

Events

- 421 - Constantius III becomes co-Emperor of the Western Roman Empire
- 1555 - Laurence Saunders is led barefoot to his execution and burned at the stake.
- 1587 - Mary, Queen of Scots is executed.
- 1601 - Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, rebels against Elizabeth I of England - revolt is quickly crushed
- 1622 - King James I of England disbands the English Parliament
- 1692 - A doctor in Salem Village, Massachusetts Bay Colony declares that three teenaged girls are under domination of Satan, leading to the Salem witch trials.
- 1693 - The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia is granted a charter.
- 1807 - Battle of Eylau - Napoleon defeats Russians under General Benigssen.
- 1837 - Richard Johnson becomes the first Vice President of the United States chosen by the United States Senate.
- 1849 - Roman Republic established
- 1855 - The Devil's Footprints mysteriously appear in southern Devon.
- 1867 - The Ausgleich results in the establishment of the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary,
- 1887 - The Dawes Act authorized the President of the United States to survey Native American tribal land and divide it into individual allotments.
- 1900 - British troops are defeated by Boers at Ladysmith, South Africa.
- 1904 - Battle of Port Arthur: A surprise torpedo attack by the Japanese at Port Arthur, China starts the Russo-Japanese War.
- 1910 - The Boy Scouts of America is incorporated by William D. Boyce.
- 1915 - D.W. Griffith's controversial film The Birth of a Nation premieres in Los Angeles.
- 1918 - The Stars and Stripes newspaper publishes for the first time.
- 1922 - President Warren G. Harding introduces the first radio in the White House.
- 1924 - Death penalty: The first state execution using gas in the United States takes place in Nevada.
- 1936 - Jay Berwanger becomes the first person to be selected by a National Football League draft, by the Philadelphia Eagles.
- 1943 - World War II: Battle of Kursk - the Russian army captures the city
- 1943 - World War II: Battle of Guadalcanal - United States forces defeat Japanese troops.
- 1949 - Cardinal Mindszenty of Hungary sentenced for treason.
- 1960 - Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom issued an Order-in-Council, stating that she and her family would be known as the House of Windsor, and that her descendants will take the name "Mountbatten-Windsor".
- 1963 - Travel, financial and commercial transactions by United States citizens to Cuba are made illegal by the John F. Kennedy administration.
- 1968 - American civil rights movement: A civil rights protest staged at a white-only bowling alley in Orangeburg, South Carolina is broken-up by highway patrolmen leading to the deaths of three college students.
- 1969 - The last weekly issue of the Saturday Evening Post hits magazine stands.
- 1971 - The Nasdaq stock market index debuts.
- 1974 - After 84 days in space, the crew of the temporary American space station Skylab return to Earth.
- 1974 - Military coup in Upper Volta.
- 1978 - Proceedings of the United States Senate are broadcast on radio for the first time.
- 1979 - Denis Sassou-Nguesso became the President of the People's Republic of the Congo for the first time.
- 1983 - Racehorse Shergar is kidnapped in County Kildare, Ireland. The fate of the horse is still unknown.
- 1984 - 1984 Winter Olympics open in Sarajevo.
- 1985 - After 6-1/2 years, the television series The Dukes of Hazzard goes off the air.
- 1989 - An Independent Air Boeing 707 crashes into Santa Maria mountain in Azores Islands off the coast of Portugal, killing 144.
- 1993 - General Motors sues NBC after Dateline NBC allegedly rigs two crashes intended to demonstrate that some GM pickups can easily catch fire if hit in certain places. NBC settles the lawsuit the next day.
- 1996 - The U.S. Congress passes the Communications Decency Act.
- 2001 - Disney's California Adventure, the Disneyland Resort's second park in its 46-year history, opens.
- 2002 - Opening ceremony of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games.
- 2005 - Israel and Palestinians agree to cease-fire.
Births

- 412 - Proclus, Greek philosopher (d. 487)
- 1191 - Yaroslav II of Russia (d. 1246)
- 1291 - King Afonso IV of Portugal (d. 1357)
- 1487 - Ulrich, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1550)
- 1552 - Agrippa d'Aubigné, French poet and soldier (d. 1630)
- 1577 - Robert Burton, English cleric and writer (d. 1640)
- 1586 - Jacob Praetorius, German composer (d. 1651)
- 1649 - Gabriel Daniel, French Jesuit historian (d. 1728)
- 1677 - Jacques Cassini, French astronomer (d. 1756)
- 1685 - Charles-Jean-François Hénault, French historian (d. 1770)
- 1720 - Emperor Sakuramachi of Japan (d. 1750)
- 1804 - Richard Lemon Lander, British explorer (d. 1834)
- 1807 - Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, English sculptor and naturalist (d. 1889)
- 1819 - John Ruskin, English author
- 1820 - William Tecumseh Sherman, American Union general (d. 1891)
- 1828 - Jules Verne, French author (d. 1905)
- 1834 - Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist (d. 1907)
- 1851 - Kate Chopin, American author (d. 1904)
- 1878 - Martin Buber, German philosopher (d. 1965)
- 1880 - Franz Marc, German painter (d. 1916)
- 1886 - Charles Ruggles, American actor (d. 1970)
- 1888 - Dame Edith Evans, British actress (d. 1976)
- 1894 - Ludwig Marcuse, German author and philosopher (d. 1971)
- 1895 - King Vidor, American film director (d. 1982)
- 1902 - Demchugdongrub, Mongolian politician (d. 1966)
- 1903 - Greta Keller, Austrian-born cabaret singer and actress (d. 1977)
- 1906 - Chester Carlson, American physicist and inventor (d. 1968)
- 1911 - Elizabeth Bishop, American poet (d. 1979)
- 1911 - Big Joe Turner, American singer (d. 1985)
- 1918 - Fred Blassie, American professional wrestler (d. 2003)
- 1920 - Lana Turner, American actress (d. 1995)
- 1925 - Jack Lemmon, American actor and film director (d. 2001)
- 1926 - Neal Cassady, American writer (d. 1968)
- 1926 - Audrey Meadows, American actress (d. 1996)
- 1930 - Alejandro Rey, Argentine actor (d. 1987)
- 1931 - James Dean, American actor (d. 1955)
- 1932 - John Williams, American composer and conductor
- 1933 - Elly Ameling, Dutch soprano
- 1933 - Jack Larson, American actor
- 1937 - Manfred Krug, German actor
- 1940 - Ted Koppel, American journalist
- 1941 - Nick Nolte, American actor
- 1942 - Robert Klein, American comedian
- 1942 - Terry Melcher, American musician and record producer (d. 2004)
- 1948 - John Ford Coley, American pop singer
- 1949 - Brooke Adams, American actress
- 1950 - Dan Seals, American singer
- 1953 - Mary Steenburgen, American actress
- 1955 - John Grisham, American novelist
- 1961 - Vince Neil, American musician
- 1968 - Gary Coleman, American actor
- 1972 - Paul Wight, American professional wrestler
- 1974 - Seth Green, American actor
- 1977 - Dave Farrell, American musician (Linkin Park)
- 1977 - Yucef Merhi, Venezuelan artist
- 1983 - Jim Verraros, American singer
- 1987 - Jessica Huang, Saudi Arabian born Asian-American actress
Deaths

- 1250 - Robert I of Artois, French crusader (killed in battle) (b. 1216)
- 1250 - William II Longespee
- 1265 - Hulagu Khan, Mongol ruler (b. 1217)
- 1296 - King Przemysł II of Poland (b. 1257)
- 1587 - Mary, Queen of Scots (executed) (b. 1542)
- 1599 - Robert Rollock, Scottish educator
- 1623 - Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, English politician (b. 1546)
- 1696 - Tsar Ivan V of Russia (b. 1666)
- 1709 - Giuseppe Torelli, Italian composer (b. 1658)
- 1725 - Tsar Peter I of Russia (b. 1672)
- 1749 - Jan van Huysum, Dutch painter (b. 1682)
- 1750 - Aaron Hill, English writer (b. 1685)
- 1768 - George Dance the Elder, English architect (b. 1695)
- 1772 - Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, Princess of Wales (b. 1719)
- 1849 - France Prešeren, Slovenian poet (b. 1800)
- 1856 - Agostino Bassi, Italian entomologist (b. 1773)
- 1910 - Hans Jæger, Norwegian writer and political activist (b. 1854)
- 1921 - Peter Kropotkin, Russian anarchist (b. 1842)
- 1929 - Maria Christina, Queen Regent of Spain (b. 1858)
- 1956 - Connie Mack, baseball commissioner and manager (b. 1862)
- 1957 - Walther Bothe, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
- 1957 - John von Neumann, Hungarian-born mathematician and physicist (b. 1903)
- 1960 - Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, English architect (b. 1880)
- 1964 - Ernst Kretschmer, German psychiatrist (b. 1888)
- 1973 - Max Yasgur, American Woodstock Festival host
- 1975 - Robert Robinson, British chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1886)
- 1977 - Eivind Groven, Norwegian composer and ethnomusicologist (b. 1901)
- 1984 - Karel Miljon, Dutch boxer (b. 1903)
- 1985 - Sir William Lyons, British automobile manufacturer
- 1990 - Del Shannon, American entertainer (suicide) (b. 1934)
- 1993 - N. Shanmugathasan, Sri Lankan communist leader
- 1994 - Raymond Scott, American actor and inventor
- 1998 - Halldór Laxness, Icelandic writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
- 1998 - Julian Lincoln Simon, American economist and author (b. 1932)
- 1999 - Iris Murdoch, Irish author (b. 1919)
- 2000 - Sid Abel, Canadian hockey player and coach
- 2000 - Derrick Thomas, American football player
- 2001 - Ivo Caprino, Norwegian animated film director
- 2002 - Joachim Hoffmann, German historian
- 2004 - Julius Schwartz, American comic book and science fiction editor
Holidays and observances

- Feast day of Saint Jerome Emiliani
- Slovenia - Prešeren Day, the Slovenian cultural holiday
External links

- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/8 BBC: On This Day]
- [http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20050208.html The New York Times: On This Day] ---- February 7 - February 9 - January 8 - March 8 -- listing of all days ko:2월 8일 ja:2月8日 nb:8. februar simple:February 8 th:8 กุมภาพันธ์

1977

:For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). 1977 (MCMLXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1977 calendar).

Events

January-February

- January 1 - First woman Episcopal priest ordained.
- January 10 - Major eruption of Mount Nyiragongo in eastern Zaire.
- January 17 - Gary Gilmore executed by a firing squad in Utah
- January 18 - Scientists identify a previously unknown bacterium as the cause of the mysterious "legionnaire's disease"
- January 18 - Australia experiences its worst railway disaster at Granville, near Sydney, in which 83 people died.
- January 19 - President Gerald Ford pardons Iva Toguri D'Aquino (aka "Tokyo Rose").
- January 19 - Snow falls in Miami, Florida. This is the only time in the history of the city that this occurred, and the farthest south a snowfall has been recorded in the United States.
- January 20 - Gerald Rudolph Ford, 38th President of the United States is succeeded by Jimmy Carter.
- January 21 - President Jimmy Carter pardons Vietnam War draft evaders.
- January 27 - Record company EMI sacks the controversial UK punk rock group the Sex Pistols.
- February 7 - The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 24.
- February 11 - A 20.2-kg (44-lb.-9-oz.) lobster is caught off Nova Scotia (heaviest known crustacean).
- February 18 - The Space Shuttle Enterprise test vehicle goes on its maiden "flight" while sitting on top of a Boeing 747.

March-April

- March 1 - Sara Lowndes Dylan files for divorce from her husband of 11 years, Bob Dylan
- March 4 - 1977 Bucharest Earthquake - kills more than 1,500
- March 9 - Approximately a dozen armed Hanafi Muslims take over three buildings in Washington, DC, killing one person and taking more than 130 hostages. The hostage situation ends two days later.
- March 27 - A collision between KLM and PanAm Boeing 747s at Tenerife, Canary Islands, kills 583, worst plane crash ever
- April 1 - Hay-on-Wye declares independence
- April 7 - German Federal Prosecutor Siegfried Buback and his driver are shot by two Red Army Faction members while waiting at a red light near his home in Karlsruhe. "The Ulrike Meinhof Commando" later claims responsibility
- April 7 - Toronto Blue Jays play their first-ever game of baseball against the Chicago White Sox
- April 28 - Stuttgart court sentences RAF members Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin and Jan-Carl Raspe to life imprisonment

May-June

- May 17 - The Likud lead by Menachem Begin wins the elections in Israel.
- May 23 - Scientists report using bacteria in lab to make insulin
- May 23 - Moluccan terrorists take over a school in Bovensmilde, northern Netherlands (105 hostages) and a passenger train in Bovensmilde-Assen route nearby (90 hostages) at the same time. June 11 Dutch Royal Marines storm the train - six terrorists and two hostages are killed
- May 25 - Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope opens in theaters.
- May 26 - George Willig climbed the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
- May 28 - In Southgate, Kentucky, the Beverly Hills Supper Club is engulfed in fire, killing 165 inside.
- June 5 - A coup takes place in Seychelles.
- June 7 - After campaigning by Anita Bryant and her anti-Gay "Save Our Children" crusade, Dade County, Florida voters overwhelmingly vote to repeal the county's Gay rights ordinance, igniting a wave of violence against Gays across the United States.
- June 6-June 9 - Jubilee celebrations are held in the United Kingdom to celebrate twenty-five years of Elizabeth II's reign.
- June 10 - James Earl Ray escapes from Brushy Mountain State Prison in Petros, Tennessee (he was recaptured on June 13).
- June 15 - Spain has its first democratic elections after 41 years under the Franco regime.
- June 20 - The Supreme Court of the United States rules that states are not required to spend Medicaid funds on elective abortions.
- June 20 - Anglia Television broadcasts fake documentary "Alternative 3". it enters into conspiracy theory canon.
- June 22 - Robert Hillsborough, a Gay San Franciscan, is brutally stabbed to death just steps from his home by four youths, calling him "fag" and "queer" and allegedly shouting "this one's for Anita Bryant".
- June 25 - US man Roy Sullivan in struck by lightning for the 7th time
- June 26 - Some 200,000 Gays march through the streets of San Francisco, protesting Anita Bryant's homophobia and Robert Hillsborough's murder.

July-August

- July 4 - Manchester United manager Tommy Docherty is sensationally sacked by the club's directors.
- July 5 - Military coup in Pakistan Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto the very first elected Prime Minster of Pakistan overthrown.
- July 13 - The New York City Blackout of 1977 lasts for 25 hours and results in looting and other disorder.
- July 15 - Anti Drugs Campainer Donald Mackay disappears near Griffith N.S.W (New South Wales) presumed Murdered
- July 22 - The purged Chinese communist leader Deng Xiaoping is restored to power as the "Gang of Four" is expelled from the Communist Party of China.
- July 28 - First oil through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System reaches Valdez, Alaska
- July 30 - Left-wing German terrorists Susanne Albrecht[http://www.baader-meinhof.com/who/terrorists/raf/albrechtsusanne.html], Brigitte Mohnhaupt[http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigitte_Mohnhaupt] and a third person assassinate Jürgen Ponto[http://www.dresdner-bank.com/content/03_unternehmen/05_gesellschaftliches_engagement/02_ponto_stiftung/], chairman of the Dresdner Bank in Oberursel, West Germany
- August 3 - United States Senate Hearing on MKULTRA.
- August 4 - US President Jimmy Carter signs legislation creating the United States Department of Energy
- August 12 - NASA space shuttle makes its first test flight off the back of a jetliner
- August 15 - The Big Ear, a radio telescope operated by The Ohio State University as part of the SETI project, receives a radio signal from deep space; the event is named the "WOW!" signal for notation made by a volunteer on the project.
- August 16 - Rock singer Elvis Presley dies in Tennessee.
- August 19 - Groucho Marx dies.
- August 19 - Indonesia Earthquake and Tsunami of 1977
- August 20 - Voyager program: The United States launches the Voyager 2 spacecraft

September

- September 5 - Voyager program: Voyager 1 is launched after a brief delay
- September 5 - Hanns-Martin Schleyer, President of the Employers Association, is kidnapped in Cologne, West Germany. Kidnappers kill three escorting police officers and his chauffeur. They demand release of Red Army Faction prisoners
- September 6 - (approx) - Steve Biko suffers a massive head injury in police custody in South Africa.
- September 7 - Treaties between Panama and the United States on the status of the Panama Canal are signed. The US agrees to transfer control of the canal to Panama at the end of the 20th century
- September 8 - INTERPOL issues a resolution against piracy of video tapes and other material, which is still cited in warnings on videotapes and DVDs now.
- September 10 - Hamida Djandoubi is the last guillotine execution in France.
- September 11 - The last "wild" infection of smallpox is reported in Somalia.
- September 12 - Steve Biko dies of his injuries.
- September 21 - Nuclear-proliferation pact, curbing spread of nuclear weapons, is signed by 15 countries including the United States and USSR.
- September 28 - Porsche 928 debuts at the Geneva Auto Convention

October-December

- October 13 - Four Palestinians hijack a Lufthansa Airlines flight to Somalia and demand release of 11 members of the Red Army Faction. See German Autumn
- October 17-October 18 - GSG-9 troopers storm a hijacked Lufthansa passenger plane in Mogadishu, Somalia - three of the four hijackers die
- October 18 - Red Army Faction members Andreas Baader, Jan-Carl Raspe and Gudrun Ensslin commit suicide in Stammheim prison. Irmgard Möller fails. Their supporters continue to claim they were murdered. Bodies are buried October 27
- October 19 - Kidnapped industrialist Hanns-Martin Schleyer is found killed in Mulhoull, France
- October 20 - Three members of rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd die in charter plane crash
- October 21 - The European Patent Institute is founded
- October 26 - The last natural case of smallpox was discovered in Merca district, Somalia. The WHO and the CDC consider this date the anniversary of the eradication of smallpox, the most spectacular success of vaccination and, by extension, of modern science.
- November 6 - The Kelly Barnes Dam, located above Toccoa Falls Bible College near Toccoa, Georgia, fails, killing 39
- November 19 - Egyptian President Anwar Sadat becomes the first Arab leader to officially visit Israel when he meets with Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin and speaks before the Knesset in Jerusalem, seeking a permanent peace settlement (much of the Arab world is outraged by the visit).
- November 22 - British Airways inaugurates regular London to New York City supersonic Concorde service
- December 1 - First flight of Lockheed's top-secret stealth project aircraft designated Have Blue, the precursor to the US F-117A Nighthawk.
- December 4 - Jean-Bédel Bokassa, president of the Central African Republic, crowns himself Emperor.
- December 4 - Malaysia Airlines Flight 653 is hijacked and crashed in Johor, Malaysia, killing 100.

Unknown dates

- 2060 Chiron, first of the outer solar system asteroids known as Centaurs, discovered by Charlie Kowal.
- Color TV Game 6 is created by Nintendo.
- Portugal's traditional naming conventions change such that children's surnames can come from either the mother or the father, not just from the father.

Births

January-March

- January 7 - Dustin Diamond, American actor
- January 8 - Amber Benson, American actress
- January 13 - Orlando Bloom, British actor
- January 22 - Hidetoshi Nakata, Japanese footballer
- January 26 - Vince Carter, American basketball player
- January 28 - Daunte Culpepper, American football player
- January 28 - Joey Fatone, American musician
- February 2 - Shakira, Colombian musician
- February 3 - Daddy Yankee, Latin Reggaeton musician
- February 5 - Ben Ainslie, British sailor
- February 8 - Yucef Merhi, Venezuelan artist
- February 11 - Randy Moss, American football player
- February 11 - Mike Shinoda, American musician
- February 16 - Ian Clarke, Irish computer scientist
- February 20 - Stephon Marbury, American basketball player
- February 21 - Kevin Rose, American television host
- March 1 - Rens Blom, Dutch athlete
- March 5 - Wally Szczerbiak, Spanish-born basketball player
- March 7 - Mitja Zastrow, German-born swimmer
- March 14 - Mervyn Colley, British kabbalist and ceremonial magician
- March 28 - Devon, American actress

April-June

- April 13 - Gerard Way, American singer (My Chemical Romance)
- April 14 - Sarah Michelle Gellar, American actress
- April 14 - Chandra Levy, American federal government intern (d. 2001)
- April 21 - Jamie Salé, Canadian figure skater
- April 22 - Andruw Jones, Antillean baseball player
- April 23 - John Cena, American professional wrestler
- April 24 - Carlos Beltrán, Puerto Rican baseball player
- April 26 - Tom Welling, American actor
- May 13 - Samantha Morton, British actress
- May 14 - Roy Halladay, American baseball player
- May 14 - Ada Nicodemou, Australian actress
- May 23 - Ilia Kulik, Russian figure skater
- May 26 - Misaki Ito, Japanese actress
- June 1 - Danielle Harris, American voice actress
- June 8 - Kanye West, American rapper and record producer
- June 9 - Peja Stojakovic, Serbian basketball player
- June 14 - Chris McAlister, American football player
- June 16 - Kerry Wood, American baseball player
- June 19 - Peter Warrick, American football player
- June 20 - Stefán H. Ófeigsson, Icelandic space engineer.
- June 27 - Raúl, Spanish footballer

July-November

- July 1 - Jarome Iginla, Canadian hockey player
- July 1 - Liv Tyler, American actress
- July 8 - Milo Ventimiglia, American actor
- July 8 - Wang Zhizhi, Chinese basketball player
- July 10 - Schapelle Corby, Australian in Indonesian prison
- July 14 - Victoria, Princess of Sweden
- July 27 - Martha Anne Madison, American actress
- July 28 - Emanuel Ginóbili, Argentine basketball player
- July 31 - Tim Couch, American football player
- August 2 - Dave Farrel, American musician
- August 3 - Angela Beesley, British Internet entrepreneur
- August 3 - Tom Brady, American football player
- August 9 - Chamique Holdsclaw, American basketball player
- August 12 - Plaxico Burress, American football player
- August 13 - Michael Klim, Australian swimmer
- August 15 - Igor Cassina, Italian gymnast
- August 17 - Thierry Henry, French footballer
- August 25 - Jonathan Togo, American actor
- August 27 - Deco, Portuguese footballer
- September 1 - Aaron Schobel, American football player
- September 11 - Ludacris, American rapper
- September 13 - Fiona Apple, American musician
- September 28 - Se Ri Pak, South Korean golfer
- October 7 - Meighan Desmond, New Zealand actress
- October 11 - Claudia Palacios, Colombian journalist and newsreader
- October 14 - Kelly Schumacher, Canadian basketball player
- October 25 - Birgit Prinz, German footballer
- October 29 - Brendan Fehr, Canadian actor
- November 1 - Alistair Griffin, British singer/songwriter
- November 2 - Randy Harrison, American actor
- November 3 - Aria Giovanni, American model and actress
- November 10 - Brittany Murphy, American actress
- November 13 - Chanel Cole, New Zealand-born singer
- November 16 - Oksana Baiul, Ukrainian figure skater
- November 17 - Ryk Neethling, South African swimmer
- November 19 - Kerri Strug, American gymnast
- November 21 - Jonas Jennings, American football player
- November 28 - DeMya Walker, American basketball player

December

- December - Ahmed al-Nami, Saudi Arabian hijacker (d. 2001)
- December 3 - Adam Malysz, Polish ski jumper
- December 7 - Fernando Vargas, American boxer
- December 12 - Dahm triplets:
- December 12 - Erica, American model
- December 12 - Jaclyn, American model
- December 12 - Nicole, American model
- December 18 - Ryan Scott Ottney, American comic book writer
- December 23 - Alge Crumpler, American football player
- December 30 - Laila Ali, American boxer
- December 30 - Kenyon Martin, basketball player

Deaths

January-March

- January 2 - Errol Garner, American musician (b. 1921)
- January 14 - Anthony Eden, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1897)
- January 14 - Peter Finch, English-born actor (b. 1916)
- January 14 - Anaïs Nin, French author (b. 1903)
- January 17 - Gary Gilmore, American murderer (executed) (b. 1940)
- January 19 - Yvonne Printemps, French singer and actress (b. 1895)
- January 29 - Buster Nupen, South African cricketer (b. 1902)
- January 29 - Freddie Prinze, American actor and comedian (b. 1954)
- February 4 - Brett Halliday, American writer (b. 1904)
- February 11 - Louis Beel, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1902)
- February 27 - Allison Hayes, American actress (b. 1930)
- February 28 - Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, American actor (b. 1905)
- March 4 - Andrés Caicedo, Colombian writer (b. 1951)
- March 11 - Ulysses S. Grant IV, American geologist and paleontologist (b. 1893)
- March 16 - Kamal Jumblatt, leader of the Lebanese Druze (b. 1917)
- March 18 - Marien Ngouabi, President of The Republic of the Congo (assassinated) (b. 1938)
- March 22 - A.K. Gopalan, Indian communist leader (d. 1904)

April-August

- April 21 - Gummo Marx, American actor and comedian (b. 1892)
- May 5 - Ludwig Erhard, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1897)
- May 10 - Joan Crawford, American actress (b. 1905)
- June 3 - Archibald Vivian Hill, English physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1886)
- June 16 - Werner von Braun, German-born rocket scientist (b. 1912)
- June 19 - Lady Olave Baden-Powell, English Chief Girl Guide (b. 1889)
- June 19 - Ali Shariati, Iranian sociologist (b. 1933)
- July 2 - Vladimir Nabokov, Russian-born writer (b. 1899)
- July 13 - Carl Gustav von Rosen, Swedish pilot (b. 1909)
- July 23 - Arsenio Erico, Paraguayan footballer (b. 1915)
- August 4 - Edgar Douglas Adrian, 1st Baron Adrian, English physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1889)
- August 14 - Ron Haydock, American actor, writer, and musician (b. 1940)
- August 16 - Elvis Presley, American singer and actor (b. 1935)
- August 19 - Groucho Marx, American actor and comedian (b. 1890)

September-December

- September 1 - Ethel Waters, American singer (b. 1896)
- September 6 - John Edensor Littlewood, British mathematician (b. 1885)
- September 12 - Steve Biko, South African activist (b. 1946)
- September 13 - Leopold Stokowski, English conductor (b. 1882)
- September 16 - Marc Bolan, English musician (b. 1947)
- September 16 - Maria Callas, American-born soprano (b. 1923)
- October 14 - Bing Crosby, American singer and actor (b. 1903)
- October 20 - Members of the American rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd killed in a plane crash:
- Cassie Gaines (b. 1948)
- Steve Gaines (b. 1949)
- Ronnie Van Zant (b. 1948)
- November 5 - René Goscinny, French comic book writer (b. 1926)
- November 8 - Bucky Harris, baseball player (b. 1896)
- November 11 - Greta Keller, Vienna-born cabaret singer and actress (b. 1903)
- November 15 - Princess Charlotte of Monaco (b. 1898)
- November 25 - Tommy Prince, Canadian war hero (b. 1915)
- December 19 - Jacques Tourneur, French director (b. 1904)
- December 25 - Charlie Chaplin, English-born comedian (b. 1889)

Nobel Prizes

- Physics - Philip Warren Anderson, Sir Nevill Francis Mott, John Hasbrouck van Vleck
- Chemistry - Ilya Prigogine
- Physiology or Medicine - Roger Guillemin, Andrew V. Schally, Rosalyn Yalow
- Literature - Vicente Aleixandre
- Peace - Amnesty International
- Economics - Bertil Ohlin, James Meade

Templeton Prize

- Chiara Lubich Category:1977 als:1977 ko:1977년 ja:1977年 simple:1977 th:พ.ศ. 2520

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally titled simply Star Wars, is a 1977 science fiction film written and directed by George Lucas. It was the first film to be released in the Star Wars saga, but it is the fourth part of the series by chronology of events. Among fans, it is commonly referred to as ANH. Nineteen years after the formation of the Galactic Empire, Luke Skywalker is thrust into the struggles of the Rebel Alliance when he meets Obi-Wan Kenobi, who has lived in seclusion for years, on the desert planet of Tatooine. Obi-Wan begins Luke’s Jedi training as Luke joins him on a daring mission to rescue the Rebel leader Princess Leia from the clutches of the evil Empire. Unlike Episodes I-III, this film, along with the two films that follow, are mostly focused on the events of one particular sector of the galaxy, rather than the intergalactic perspective that the first three films take. The film was released on May 25, 1977, and was re-released, sometimes with significant changes, in 1979, 1981, 1982, 1995 (VHS), 1997 (also VHS later that year) (all with the exception of 1995 cinema), 2000 (VHS), and 2004 (DVD). A 3-D release is planned for 2007. A novelization was written in 1976, and a radio drama was produced by and broadcast on the National Public Radio in 1981.

Plot summary

National Public Radio The opening crawl reveals that the galaxy is in a state of civil war. The Rebel Alliance has stolen secret plans to the Galactic Empire's secret weapon, the Death Star. The ship carrying Princess Leia, custodian of the plans, is captured by an enormous Star Destroyer. Stormtroopers take control of the ship, and Darth Vader arrives to assess the damage. Before being detained, Princess Leia is able to record a holographic message and give it to R2-D2. The droids R2-D2 and C-3PO use an escape pod which brings them to the planet Tatooine. On Tatooine, the droids are captured by Jawas while wandering the desert. They come into the possession of Owen Lars and his nephew, Luke Skywalker. Luke accidentally triggers part of the holographic message, causing him to suspect that the R2-D2 may have been stolen, and that it really belongs to an "Obi-Wan Kenobi". Returning to his garage before nightfall, Luke discovers that R2-D2 has escaped. The next day, Luke and C-3PO set out to find R2-D2. After finding him, they are attacked by Sandpeople, but rescued by the arrival of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke and the droids are brought to Obi-Wan's hut, where Obi-Wan tells of his days as a Jedi Knight and reveals to Luke that his father was a Jedi as well. When Luke asks how his father died, Obi-Wan says he was betrayed and murdered by Darth Vader. He then talks about the mysterious energy field called the Force. Finally, Obi-Wan and Luke see the holographic message from Princess Leia, who asks for Obi-Wan's assistance to take the droid and the plans to the planet Alderaan. Obi-Wan invites Luke to come with him to Alderaan, but Luke refuses, citing his responsibilities at home. Force Obi-Wan, Luke and the droids discover dead Jawas and scattered Bantha tracks. Obi-Wan suspects that Imperial Stormtroopers ambushed the Jawas in an attempt to find the droids. Realizing that the troopers likely learned who the droids were sold to, Luke races back to the Lars homestead, only to find his family murdered and his home destroyed. He returns to Obi-Wan and decides to come to Alderaan and become a Jedi. The group goes to Mos Eisley Spaceport, where they encounter a smuggler named Han Solo who agrees to transport them on his ship, the Millennium Falcon. As the old Jedi and his companions make their way to the ship, they are attacked by Stormtroopers. They hastily board the Millennium Falcon and make a speedy launch. After leaving the planet's surface and dodging attacks, the ship and its crew escape. On the Death Star, Leia remains imprisoned and has resisted interrogation. However, when threatened with the destruction of her home planet of Alderaan, she discloses that the Rebel Base is on Dantooine. Grand Moff Tarkin destroys Alderaan anyway, as a display of the Death Star's power. Later, when it is discovered that the Rebel Base on Dantooine is deserted, Tarkin orders the Princess executed. Grand Moff Tarkin En route to Alderaan, Obi-Wan instructs Luke in the ways of the Force. When they arrive at where Alderaan should be, the crew discovers only a hail of debris and a moon-sized space station - the Death Star. A tractor beam takes hold of the Falcon and pulls it into the Death Star. Inside the Death Star, Obi-Wan attempts to disable the tractor beam holding them there. The rest of the group learns that Leia is being held in a nearby cell awaiting execution. They make their way through the station and rescue the Princess. After switching off the tractor beam, Kenobi encounters Vader, and a lightsaber duel ensues. The duel distracts the guards long enough to allow Luke and his companions to board the Falcon. Once he sees that they are safely near the ship, Obi-Wan allows himself to be struck down by Vader, which causes Kenobi's body to vanish, and allows him to become one with the Force. Luke screams in horror, gaining the attention of the Stormtroopers, who attack Luke and company. Obi-Wan advises Luke through the Force to run into the Falcon. The Millennium Falcon escapes, fighting off Imperial starfighters along the way. Unknown to them, the Empire allowed the escape in order to track their ship to the Rebel Base. They finally reach the Rebel hideout, where they pass the plans on to the Rebel leadership. The Rebels retrieve the Death Star plans and make preparations to assault it. The tactic involves flying along a canyon-sized groove in the station's surface, then firing a torpedo down a narrow ventilation shaft. The torpedo will travel to the main reactor and start a chain reaction that will destroy the entire station. lightsaber Luke and a group of Rebel fighters begin their assault on the approaching Death Star. They make it down to the canyon, with Vader in pursuit. As Luke makes his run down the canyon, he hears the voice of Kenobi, instructing him to use the Force. Luke lets go of the targeting computer of the Rebel fighter, and successfully launches torpedoes down the shaft, destroying the Death Star and scoring a huge victory for the Rebellion against the Empire. In a civil ceremony, Luke and Han are awarded medals by Princess Leia for destroying the Death Star.

Cast

Overview

lightsaber Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope remains one of the most financially successful films of all time. Adjusted for inflation, the US gross profit is second only to Gone with the Wind, and in terms of cumulative gross is second only to the movie Titanic. Considering the distributor, and to some degree the producers, had little confidence in the potential of the film, it was a word-of-mouth sleeper hit, having opened only on 37 movie screens in theaters that were persuaded to show it. However, there was immediate impressive business upon release that wildly surpassed the highest hopes of the producers. Furthermore, the revenue increased dramatically as 20th Century Fox acted to capitalize on the spectacular popularity and moved to make the film a profitable success. Some theaters showed the film continuously for over a year. The American Film Institute listed it 15th on a list of the top 100 films of the 20th century; in the UK, a poll created by Channel Four named A New Hope (together with its successor, The Empire Strikes Back) the greatest film of all time. However, the film is not universally admired. Some blame it for accelerating a trend towards special-effects-driven movies targeting teenagers. Others claim that the trend is a natural consequence of economic and technological forces in the film industry. When originally released in 1977, it was released simply as "Star Wars", both on promotional material and during the opening crawl of the film itself. For this reason, this film, more than its sequels, is often referred to as "Star Wars", instead of by the "Episode IV" number or the subtitle "A New Hope". In 1980, the sequel, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, was released with the episode number and subtitle in the opening crawl. In a re-released version a year later, "Episode IV: A New Hope" replaced the original opening title of "Star Wars" above the opening crawl. The film became the fourth chronologically and first released in the series of six to date. While producer Lucas claims that only six films were ever planned, many fans disagree, asserting that they had heard of plans for three trilogies for a total of nine films.

The music

Sound

A New Hope was originally presented in monaural sound in many theatres, though the first-run 70mm prints were some of the earliest wide-release examples of surround sound--something not seen in the commercial cinema since the Cinerama and Cinemascope experiments of the early 50's.

Score

Lucas wanted a grand musical sound for Star Wars, with leitmotifs where distinction was necessary. This approach was effective in, among others, the operas of Richard Wagner. Lucas therefore compiled a set of classical pieces for composer John Williams's review to convey the styles he desired. The final compositions often bore considerable resemblance to the original pieces -- In particular:
- The music associated to the opening capture of the blockade runner is very similar to Mars, from Holst's The Planets. In the liner notes to the original sound track recording, Williams implicitly acknowledged the connection by explaining why he didn't simply use Holst's The Planets. He said that he felt he could give the music a more unified feel if he wrote it all himself.
- The "Force Theme" (or "Ben's Theme") has been compared to parts of the ballet Swan Lake.
- The music for the awards ceremony at the end of the movie begins with the Force/Ben's Theme, and then transitions into a theme that, in the liner notes, Williams says is reminiscent of "The Coronation", which probably refers to Elgar's, or, more likely, William Walton's Coronation March.
- The opening title (the "theme from Star Wars", or "Luke's Theme") has been said to resemble the theme from Born Free, but has a similar facade to the opening strains of the 1942 film, King's Row, scored by Eric Wolfgang Korngold. Later John Williams themes, such as those from Chariots of Fire and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial have been said to bear a resemblance to it. Listening to them together, one observes that none is identical to any of the others, but they use many of the same musical intervals to achieve similar, or at least related, emotional effects.
- The music for C-3PO's and R2-D2's arrival on Tatooine is very similar to the beginning of the second part titled The Sacrifice of