By
Published: Friday, 01 November 2024 at 10:00 AM
John Williams’s family: The musical dynasty you knew nothing about…
They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, and in the case of the five-time Oscar-winning composer John Williams the fruit is abundant. Williams is the subject of an intimate documentary portrait directed by Laurent Bouzereau and produced by long-time collaborators Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard.
While we know the music, very few really know the man; except for close friends and family, of course. That family, you might be surprised to learn, includes career musicians, composers and notable singer-songwriters.
But it didn’t start with John Williams, or I should say it did start with John Williams… Senior, that is. Williams’s father was in the music business, too, and is without question a huge part of why and how John Williams, Jr. became a jazz musician and then a film composer.
We can actually climb another branch, because William’s grandfather, Thomas Nagle, was also musician. Nagle was a drummer and apparently managed an orchestra in Maine; he’s one of a line of drummers in the family…
And it’s not just musicians; Williams’s mother Joan Towner was a dancer, and he was married to the late actress Barbara Ruick, herself the daughter of actress Lurene Tuttle.
But who’s who in the Williams musical family tree?
John ‘Johnny’ Williams, Sr. / FATHER
Williams Sr was born a Nagle, but eventually took his stepfather’s surname – so without that event, we could have been saying ‘Oscar-winning composer John Nagle’. Going by the name of Johnny Williams (as his son would early in his own career), he made a name for himself as a Jazz drummer. He was a go-to player for some of New York’s most iconic artists, such as Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey, and worked regularly with Raymond Scott. He was also a regular performer on Your Hit Parade, a popular radio show which moved to Los Angeles in the late 1940s. Williams Sr. moved with it, taking his family with him, and found further work playing as a session musician in Hollywood studio orchestras. Williams, Sr. died in 1985.
John ‘Johnny’ Williams, Sr. (Getty Images)
Donald J. Williams / BROTHER
This Williams followed in his father’s footsteps to become a percussionist, in fact Donald Williams is an in-demand orchestral session player and has appeared in dozens of Hollywood film scores (even a few for his brother). A talented composer and arranger in his own right, Donald Williams studied at the Curtis Institute and has performed across a variety of genres and with a host of stars – including Tom Jones. Away from the film scores, he has performed with the Pennsylvania Ballet Company, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and Philadelphia Lyric Opera. In his younger days, he played with his brothers in jazz ensembles, and regularly made music at home with both them and their sister, Joan.
Jerry D. Williams / BROTHER
Yet another drummer, Jerry Williams is also a regular on the Hollywood scoring stages and has worked as a session player for decades. Like Donald, he performed in jazz groups early on – including the Mike Wofford Septet and the John Towner Quartet (John Towner Williams being his more famous brother’s full name). In his early professional career as a session musician, he played for the likes of The Beach Boys, Henry Mancini, Fred Katz, Molly Bee, the Stanley Johnson Orchestra, Franks Sinatra and George Van Epps. Film scores have dominated his later work, though, with Jerry appearing on scores by the likes of Bill Conti, Bruce Broughton, James Horner, Randy Newman and, of course, John Williams.
Mark Towner Williams / SON
Williams’s eldest son, Mark has been professionally playing (you guessed it) the drums since he was a teen and is a veteran session player. He also plays guitar and cello. Formal studies included time at Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory. He has enjoyed a decades-long career as a performing/recording artist and songwriter, and has worked with a veritable who’s who of pop and rock talent, including Cher, Tina Turner, Air Supply and many many more. Williams records his own music under the name ‘Lionel’s Dad’.
Joseph Williams / SON
With a voice many will recognise, John Williams’s younger son, Joseph, has been the sometime lead singer of the iconic US rock band Toto. He sang lead vocals from 1986-88 and has returned to the role on and off over the last decade or so. He has also been an in-demand session backing and lead vocalist, and is perhaps best known in this regard as the singing voice of the adult Simba in Disney’s blockbuster feature The Lion King (1994). That wasn’t his only job for Disney, for Williams is also the voice behind the theme tune for 1980s classic animated series Gummi Bears. He is also a talented, and Emmy-nominated TV composer, creating music for the likes of Roswell and Miracles. His father has called upon his talents on a few occasions over the years, with Joseph Williams assisting in cues and songs for films including Return of the Jedi, The Phanton Menace and A.I. Articial Intelligence.
Joseph Williams (Getty images)
Jay Gruska / SON-IN-LAW
A New York-born songwriter and composer, Jay Gruska married Williams’s daughter Jennifer (a psychotherapist). He is a BILLBOARD-charting songwriter, and has also written a large amount of music for film and television. Gruska-penned hits include ‘Tell Me I’m Not Dreamin’ (Too Good to Be True)’, recorded by Michael and Jermaine Jackson. It’s his music for the small screen which will be most familiar, though, with scores for hit shows like Beverly Hills 90210, Charmed and Supernatural on his resume. He also wrote the music for Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman in the early/mid ‘90s… characters his father-in-law knows a thing or two about.
Barbara and Ethan Gruska / GRANDCHILDREN
Together the were better known as ‘The Belle Brigade’, a talented vocal/instrumental duo. With a composing father and grandfather, music is truly in this pair’s blood. These days, Ethan is a solo singer-songwriter, composer and producer in his own right, and has worked with an array of artists, including SZA, James Bay, Weezer and Carly Rae Jepsen. His elder sister Barbara continues to work as a vocalist and, continuing the family tradition, a drummer!
