Even in the 1970s and 1980s, Paul Williams ranked among the most visible versatile figures in American entertainment. Though many knew him as a composer, singer, and player of instruments, he also took on roles in feature films and television series, became a regular presence on prominent interview programs (appearing more than a dozen times on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson), entered competitions across numerous game-show formats, and turned up with equal ease in a Planet of the Apes sequel or while composing a chart-topping track. Music may have been only one strand of his work at the height of his renown, yet it remained the most lasting, bringing him an Oscar, a Grammy, and a Golden Globe.
Born on September 19, 1940, in Omaha, Nebraska, Williams lost his father in a car crash at age thirteen and soon moved to Long Beach, California, where his aunt raised him. He cultivated interests in both music and performance, taking part in school plays and area talent contests. A medical issue limited his height to five feet two inches, briefly prompting thoughts of a jockey’s career, but his attachment to the stage prevailed; he performed in regional theater in Albuquerque, New Mexico, then returned to California and joined the repertory troupe Studio 58. An early film break came with a key part in Tony Richardson’s 1965 cult favorite The Loved One, yet sustained Hollywood success did not follow immediately.
After a period writing comedy material for Mort Sahl, Williams partnered with Biff Rose to supply lyrics for Rose’s melodies; their song “Fill Your Heart” reached a wide audience when Tiny Tim recorded it as the B-side of the hit single “Tiptoe Through the Tulips.” This foothold in the music industry led Williams to form the band the Holy Mackerel with his brother Mentor Williams. Reprise Records issued their sole self-titled album, which sold modestly, prompting Williams to pursue a solo path while continuing to refine his songwriting. His debut solo release, the 1970 Reprise album Someday Man, likewise met with limited commercial response. A staff-songwriting position at A&M Records finally brought traction: collaborating again with Roger Nichols, he created “Out in the Country,” a major hit for Three Dog Night, and the same act scored further successes with “Just an Old Fashioned Love Song” and “The Family of Man.” Another Williams-Nichols composition, originally written for a bank commercial, achieved lasting impact when the Carpenters turned “We’ve Only Just Begun” into a major chart triumph.
A&M issued Williams’s second solo album, Just an Old Fashioned Love Song, in 1971. That October he appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, whose appreciation for Williams’s quick humor and blend of self-assurance and self-mockery led to fourteen total appearances. The resulting exposure revived his acting prospects; he played a supporting orangutan role in 1973’s Battle for the Planet of the Apes and, the following year, composed songs and portrayed the malevolent music mogul Swan for Brian De Palma’s Phantom of the Paradise. Additional recognition arrived via an Oscar nomination for “Nice to Be Around” from Cinderella Liberty, a Song of the Year nomination after Helen Reddy recorded “You and Me Against the World,” and, in 1976, Academy Award nominations for his scores for Bugsy Malone and A Star Is Born; he won the Oscar, a Golden Globe, and a Grammy for the love theme “Evergreen.” During this period he also completed five further A&M albums: Life Goes On (1972), A Little Bit of Love (1974), Here Comes Inspiration (1974), Ordinary Fool (1975), and A Little on the Windy Side (1979).
Songwriting assignments and acting roles in productions ranging from the television series The Odd Couple and The Love Boat (for which he also co-wrote the theme) to the film Smokey and the Bandit kept Williams in constant public view. In 1979 he received another Grammy and an additional Oscar nomination for “The Rainbow Connection,” written for The Muppet Movie. He later supplied songs for Jim Henson’s 1981 special Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas and the 1992 feature The Muppet Christmas Carol. By the mid-1980s, however, his career had entered a steep decline; Williams later acknowledged a severe struggle with drugs and alcohol that persisted until he achieved sobriety in 1990 and began restoring both his personal life and professional standing. He has since become an advocate for recovery, earning certification as a drug-rehabilitation counselor and co-authoring the book Gratitude and Trust with Tracey Jackson.
During the 1990s Williams resumed voice work in animated series and accepted a recurring part on the daytime drama The Bold and the Beautiful, while also penning country hits for Diamond Rio (“You’re Gone”) and Neal McCoy (“Party On”). In 1999 he released his first new album in two decades, Back to Love Again, and composed the score and lyrics for a stage musical adaptation of the series Happy Days. A 2006 collaboration with Jake Shears and Babydaddy of Scissor Sisters produced the track “Almost Sorry” for the deluxe edition of their album Ta-Dah. The 2011 documentary Paul Williams: Still Alive follows filmmaker Stephen Kessler’s reunion with his former idol and explores the contrast between the all-media star of the 1970s and the older, sober, and more content Williams. In 2013 Williams contributed lyrics and vocals to two tracks, “Touch” and “Beyond,” on Daft Punk’s album Random Access Memories, marking his most prominent commercial success in many years.
Beyond his work as a songwriter and performer, Williams serves as president and director of ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) and continues to champion the interests of songwriters and artists in the digital era.
