Early life

Williams was born in Omaha, Nebraska, the son of Paul Hamilton Williams, an architectural engineer, and his wife, Bertha Mae (née Burnside), a homemaker. His father died in a car accident in 1953 when Williams was 13 years old, after which Williams grew up living with his aunt.

One of his brothers was John S. Williams, a NASA rocket scientist, who participated in the Mercury and Apollo programs and was awarded the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, their highest honor, in 1969. His other brother is Mentor Williams, a songwriter as well who penned Dobie Gray's 1973 hit "Drift Away".

Musical career

Williams began his professional songwriting career with Biff Rose in Los Angeles. The two men first met while working together on a television comedy show. Together they wrote the song "Fill Your Heart" which was recorded by Rose on his first album, The Thorn in Mrs. Roses Side. Soon thereafter Tiny Tim covered it as the B-side of his hit "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" (1968). David Bowie also recorded a faithful version of the song on his album Hunky Dory (1971). Rose and Williams also wrote "I'll Walk Away" (recorded by Rose on his third, eponymous album). Rose was instrumental in getting Williams his break with A&M Records which resulted in Williams working with songwriter Roger Nichols. Williams and Nichols were responsible for a number of successful pop hits from the 1970s, including several hits for Three Dog Night (the aforementioned "An Old Fashioned Love Song", as well as "The Family of Man", and "Out in the Country"), Helen Reddy ("You and Me Against the World"), and the Carpenters, most notably "Rainy Days and Mondays", "I Won't Last a Day Without You", and "We've Only Just Begun", originally a song for a Crocker National Bank television commercial featuring newlyweds, and which has since become a cover-band standard and de rigueur for weddings throughout North America. An early collaboration with Roger Nichols, "Someday Man", was covered by The Monkees (a group for which he auditioned but was not chosen) on a 1969 single, and was the first Monkees' release not published by Screen Gems. He also auditioned for, but was not selected to be, a Mouseketeer. Bobby Sherman also sang "Cried Like a Baby". Anne Murray sang "Talk It Over in the Morning". He also wrote the cantata Wings with music by Michel Colombier.

A frequent cowriter of Williams was musician Kenneth Ascher; their songs together included the popular children's favorite "Rainbow Connection", sung by Jim Henson (as Kermit the Frog) in The Muppet Movie (1979). They also wrote "You And Me Against The World", and it became a Top 10 hit on Billboard for Helen Reddy in 1974. He also wrote for Mort Sahl in the 1960s.

Williams has worked on the music of a number of films, including writing and singing on Phantom of the Paradise (1974) in which he also starred and earned an Oscar nomination for the music, and Bugsy Malone (1976). Williams also wrote and sang the song "Where Do I Go Frome Here," which was used in the end credits of the Michael Cimino-directed film Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, which starred Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges. He contributed lyrics to the Cinderella Liberty song "You're So Nice to Be Around" with music by John Williams, and it earned them an Oscar nomination. Along with Ascher and Rupert Holmes, he wrote the music and lyrics to A Star Is Born (also 1976), with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. The love ballad, "Evergreen", (lyrics by Paul Williams, melody by Barbra Streisand) from the movie A Star Is Born won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and a Grammy for Song of the Year. He has been nominated on other occasions for an Academy Award. and several Golden Globe Awards.

He wrote the music for a musical production of Happy Days that debuted in 2007 and also made a cameo appearance as an animated version of himself singing "Breathe in the Sunshine" in the hit animated TV series Dexter's Laboratory. He wrote and sang "What Would They Say", the theme song from the made-for-television film The Boy in the Plastic Bubble (1976), a film starring John Travolta alongside Diana Hyland.

More recently, Williams wrote music and lyrics of "Silence is Our Song" for Richard Barone's acclaimed 2010 album Glow and collaborated with Scissor Sisters on their second album, Ta-Dah.

In March 2012 it was announced that Williams had "written a couple of tunes" on Random Access Memories, the album of French electronic duo Daft Punk. Williams co-wrote and sang vocals on "Touch" and co-wrote "Beyond". Williams and Nile Rodgers were the only featured artists to speak on behalf of Daft Punk at the 2014 Grammy Awards upon their receipt of the Album of the Year award for Random Access Memories. Williams told an anecdote about his work with Daft Punk: "Back when I was drinking, I would imagine things that weren't there and I'd get frightened. Then I got sober and two robots called and asked me to make an album." He also communicated a "message from the robots" to the audience: "As elegant and as classy as the Grammy has ever been is the moment when we saw those wonderful marriages and Same Love is fantastic. It is the height of fairness and love and the power of love for all people at any time in any combination. Captain Kirk uses the Enterprise. They sail on a ship called Generosity. They are generous in spirit...This is a labor of love and we are all so grateful."

Williams is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and his songs have been performed by both pop and country music artists. In April 2009, Williams was elected President and Chairman of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).

Film and television career

Although predominantly known for his music, Paul Williams has also appeared in films and many television guest spots, such as the Faustian record producer Swan in Brian DePalma's film Phantom of the Paradise (1974)—a rock and roll adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera, Faust and The Picture of Dorian Gray, for which Williams also wrote the songs—and as Virgil, the genius orangutan in Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973). On February 9, 1973, Williams made a joke appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in which he sang a song in full make-up as Virgil. He also played Migelito Loveless, Jr. in The Wild Wild West Revisited (1979), a reunion movie featuring the original cast of Wild Wild West television series, and played himself, singing a song to Felix Unger's daughter Edna, in The Odd Couple television series in 1974. He made his film debut as Gunther Fry in the satire The Loved One (1965) .

After appearing on The Muppet Show in 1976, Williams worked closely with Jim Henson's Henson Productions on The Muppet Movie, most specifically on the soundtrack, and even had a cameo in the movie as the piano player in the nightclub (who had a sign on the piano saying "Don't shoot piano player") where Kermit the Frog meets Fozzie Bear. He was also the lyricist for Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas.

Williams was hired by TV producers Paul Junger Witt and Tony Thomas to write title tracks for two of their ABC comedies, It Takes Two (1982-1983), on which he also co-sang with Crystal Gayle, and Condo (1983), in which Williams' theme was sung by Drake Frye.

Williams has appeared in many minor roles. He provided the voice of The Penguin in Batman: The Animated Series. He appeared on an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger as a radio DJ covering a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde. He appeared in 2009 in an episode of Nickelodeon's children's show Yo Gabba Gabba! entitled "Weather", where he performed "Rainbow Connection". He has also appeared on Cartoon Network's Dexter's Laboratory where he played Professor Williams in an episode entitled "Just An Old Fashioned Lab Song".

He made numerous television appearances in the 1970s and 1980s, including on Hawaii Five-O, Match Game '79, Hollywood Squares, The Love Boat, The Hardy Boys, The Fall Guy, and The Gong Show. He has also guest-starred in the Babylon 5 episode "Acts of Sacrifice" (Season 2 Episode 12) as Taq, the aide to Correlilmurzon, an alien ambassador whose species finalizes treaties and agreements by having sex with the other signees. In a bit of subtle irony, Williams also appeared in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Virtuoso" as the leader of a planet that has never heard music before. Williams appeared on an episode of Picket Fences as the brother of the just deceased Ginny Weedon (Zelda Rubinstein). While eulogising Ginny, he sings a small part of "Rainbow Connection". He starred as Ferdinand the Bull in a musical half-hour TV production of the same name written by the Sherman Brothers.

In October 1980, Williams was host of the Mickey Mouse Club 25th Anniversary Special on NBC-TV. He stated that he tried out for the show in early 1955 and was turned down. He was a frequent guest and performer on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. He also appears as the man making the phone call at the beginning of the music video for Hank Williams Jr.'s song "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight". In 2014, he appeared on Community as an illegal textbook dealer who declines to purchase a batch of misprinted chemistry textbooks.

Personal life

Williams has been married three times. He has two children, Sarah and Cole Williams (born 1981), from his first marriage (1971) to Kate Clinton. In 1993 he married Hilda Keenan Wynn, daughter of actor Keenan Wynn. He is now married to writer Mariana Williams.

In September 2011, director Stephen Kessler's documentary Paul Williams Still Alive premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Williams struggled with alcohol and substance abuse during the 1970s—'80s. Sober since 1990, Williams has been active in the field of recovery from addictions and became a Certified Drug Rehabilitation Counselor through UCLA. In 2014, he co-authored Gratitude and Trust: Recovery is Not Just for Addicts, with Tracey Jackson.

Songwriting

Notable songs "Nice to Be Around" (Cinderella Liberty Soundtrack) "Evergreen" (Love Theme from A Star Is Born), (#1 hit for Barbra Streisand) "Rainy Days and Mondays", (#2 hit for The Carpenters) "We've Only Just Begun" (#2 hit for The Carpenters) "You and Me Against the World" (Top-10 hit for Helen Reddy) "An Old Fashioned Love Song" (Top-10 hit for Three Dog Night) "Family of Man" (#12 hit for Three Dog Night) "Out in the Country" (#15 hit for Three Dog Night) "I Won't Last a Day Without You", (Top-20 hit for The Carpenters) "Rainbow Connection" (Golden Globe and Oscar-nominated song) "When the River Meets the Sea" (from Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas) "One More Angel" "You're Gone" "Waking Up Alone" (Biggest single as performer) "Flying Dreams" (from The Secret of NIMH soundtrack) "Gone Forever" "Where Do I Go From Here (Thunderbolt and Lightfoot)" "Talk it Over in the Morning" (Anne Murray)" "Someday Man" (The Monkees - 1969 - "A" Side of "Listen to the Band" single) "Still Alive" "Touch" (Daft Punk - 2013 - Random Access Memories) "Driftwood", Here Comes Inspiration- 1974 TV themes (lyricist) Griffin and Phoenix (1976 TV movie, theme song "A Perfect Love") The McLean Stevenson Show Another Day (1978 TV series theme song) The Love Boat It Takes Two Sugar Time! Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas Notable recordings "An Old Fashioned Love Song" (from Just an Old Fashioned Love Song ) "Bitter Honey" (from The Holy Mackerel ) "Don't Call It Love" (from Ordinary Fool ) "Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born) "The Family of Man" (from A Little Bit of Love ) "Faust" (from Phantom of the Paradise ) "Flash" (from Ordinary Fool ) "For Goodness Sake" (from A Little on the Windy Side ) "Flying Dreams" (from The Secret of N.I.M.H. ) "The Hell of It" (from Phantom of the Paradise ) "Here's Another Fine Mess" (from A Little on the Windy Side ) "If We Could Still Be Friends" (from Here Comes Inspiration ) "I Won't Last a Day Without You" (from Life Goes On ) "Let Me Be the One" (from An Old Fashioned Love Song ) "A Little Bit of Love" (from A Little Bit of Love ) "Loneliness" (from A Little Bit of Love ) "Ordinary Fool" (from Ordinary Fool ) "Out in the Country" (from Life Goes On ) "Rainy Days and Mondays" (from Here Comes Inspiration ) "Sad Song (That Used to Be Our Song)" (from A Little Bit of Love ) "Save Me a Dream" (from A Little on the Windy Side )* "Someday Man" (from Someday Man ) "To Put Up with You" (from Someday Man ) "Trust" (from Someday Man ) "Waking Up Alone" (from Classics ) "We've Only Just Begun" (from An Old Fashioned Love Song ) "When I Was All Alone" (from An Old Fashioned Love Song ) "You and Me Against the World" (from Here Comes Inspiration )

Scores

Films Phantom of the Paradise Bugsy Malone Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas The End The Muppet Movie The Muppet Christmas Carol The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement Theatre Bugsy Malone Happy Days Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas

Cinema songs

• "Where Do I Go From Here" (composed and performed by Williams for Thunderbolt and Lightfoot) (1974)
• "Evergreen (Love Song from A Star Is Born)" (lyrics written by Williams, Academy and Golden Globe winner for Best Original Song) (1976)
• "Rainbow Connection" (co-composed by Williams for The Muppet Movie) (1979)
• "Flying Dreams" (co-composed with Jerry Goldsmith and performed by Williams for The Secret of N.I.M.H) (1982)
• "Still Alive" (composed and performed by Williams for Paul Williams Still Alive (2011)
• "I Love You Too Much" (for The Book of Life) (2014)
• "What Would They Say?" (for The Boy in the Plastic Bubble starring John Travolta & Diana Hyland) (1976)
• "If We Could Remember" (co-composed with Jerry Goldsmith for The Sum of All Fears) (2002)

Discography

Albums

Year	Title	Label	Chart	Notes
196?	Words and Music by Paul Williams	Big Seven Music Corp.
1970	Someday Man	Reprise
1971	Just an Old Fashioned Love Song	A&M
1972	Life Goes On	A&M
1974	Here Comes Inspiration	A&M
1974	A Little Bit of Love	A&M
1975	Ordinary Fool	A&M
1979	A Little on the Windy Side	Portrait
1981	...And Crazy for Loving You	PalD
1997	Back to Love Again
2005	I'm Going Back There Someday	AIX

Soundtracks

Year	Title	Label	Chart	Notes
1974	Phantom of the Paradise	A&M
1976	Bugsy Malone	Polydor
1976	A Star Is Born	Colombia		Motion Picture Soundtrack; with Kenny Ascher
1977	One on One: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	Warner Bros.		Lyrics by Paul Williams, music by Charles Fox; performed by Seals and Crofts
1979	The Muppet Movie: Original Soundtrack Recording	Atlantic		by Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher
1982	The Secret of NIMH: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	MCA		features songs written by Jerry Goldsmith; Paul Williams performs the song "Flying Dreams"

Compilations

Year	Title	Label	Chart	Notes
1974	The Best Of Paul Williams	A&M
1977	Classics	A&M
1988	Paul Williams	Pickwick

• The Holy Mackerel (with The Holy Mackerel )
• We've Only Just Begun (by Roger Nichols and Paul Williams)
• Random Access Memories (Daft Punk)

Acting

Films The Loved One, 1965 The Chase, 1966 Watermelon Man, 1970 Battle for the Planet of the Apes, 1973 Phantom of the Paradise, 1974 Smokey and the Bandit, 1977, as Little Enos, a recurring part The Cheap Detective, 1978 The Muppet Movie, 1979, as the El Sleezo pianist Stone Cold Dead, 1979 Wild Wild West Revisited, 1979 Smokey and the Bandit II, 1980 Rooster, 1982 Smokey and the Bandit Part 3, 1983 The Night They Saved Christmas, 1984, as Ed Frog, 1987 The Doors, 1991 A Million to Juan, 1994 Headless Body in Topless Bar, 1995 The Rules of Attraction, 2002 The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, 2004, as Lord Harmony Georgia Rule, 2007 Valentine's Day, 2010, as Romeo Midnight (Narrator) Paul Williams Still Alive, 2011 The Ghastly Love of Johnny X, 2012 Theatre Under the Sycamore Tree Tru on Broadway, 1989 Video games DC Universe Online, 2011 as The Penguin

Television Hawaii Five-O Police Woman B. J. and the Bear The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries The Love Boat When Things Were Rotten The McLean Stevenson Show Match Game The Gong Show It Takes Two Sugar Time! Baretta Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, produced by Jim Henson The Muppet Show Gimme a Break! The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson The Brady Bunch Hour The Donny & Marie Show The Captain and Tennille Show The Mary Tyler Moore Hour Captain Planet and the Planeteers The Odd Couple Fantasy Island 227 - "Play It Again, Stan" Batman: The Animated Series - The Penguin Babylon 5 Walker, Texas Ranger Star Trek: Voyager Dexter's Laboratory, 1998, as Professor Williams The Bold and the Beautiful Yo Gabba Gabba!, performance of "Rainbow Connection" with cast Hart to Hart A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa, 2008, as the Head Elf Silver Spoons Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, 2011, as himself The View, 2012, as himself The Midnight Special, 1973-1976 host Fast N' Loud "Gas Monkey Bandit Car" 2013, as himself Community, "VCR Maintenance and Educational Publishing" Adventure Time, 2015, as The Hierophant in the Stakes miniseries

[ Source: Wikipedia ]