Paul Williams

**Paul Hamilton Williams Jr.**[2] (born September 19, 1940)[3][4] is an American composer, singer, songwriter and actor. He is known for writing and co-writing popular songs performed by a number of acts in the 1970s, including Three Dog Night's "An Old Fashioned Love Song" and "Out in the Country," Helen Reddy's "You and Me Against the World," David Bowie's "Fill Your Heart" and the Carpenters' "We've Only Just Begun" and "Rainy Days and Mondays." Williams is also known for his musical contributions to films, including the Academy Award-nominated song "Rainbow Connection" from *The Muppet Movie*, and penning the lyrics to the #1 chart-topping song "Evergreen," the love theme from the Barbra Streisand film *A Star Is Born*, for which he won a Grammy for Song of the Year and an Academy Award for Best Original Song. He wrote the lyrics to the opening theme for the television show *The Love Boat*, with music previously composed by Charles Fox, which was originally sung by Jack Jones and, later, by Dionne Warwick.[5]

Williams had a variety of high-profile acting roles, such as "Little Enos Burdette" in the action-comedy *Smokey and the Bandit* (1977) and the villainous Swan in Brian De Palma's *Phantom of the Paradise* (1974),[6] which Williams also co-scored, receiving an Oscar nomination in the process.[7]

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.[24] He also played Migelito Loveless, Jr. in *The Wild Wild West Revisited* (1979), a reunion movie featuring the original cast of the television series *The Wild Wild West*, and played himself, singing a song to Felix Unger's daughter Edna, on the television series *The Odd Couple* 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 also composed and performed the theme to the McLean Stevenson sitcom *The McLean Stevenson Show* in 1976.[25]

Williams also composed, and sang "Flying Dreams" for the animated film *The Secret of NIMH*.

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*, *Fantasy Island*, *The Hardy Boys*, *The Fall Guy*, *The Flip Wilson Special*, 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*[26] as an illegal textbook dealer who declines to purchase a batch of misprinted chemistry textbooks.[27] Williams appeared in the 2017 film *Baby Driver* as the Butcher, an arms dealer.

He portrayed the character of Little Enos Burdette in *Smokey and the Bandit* (1977), *Smokey and the Bandit II* (1980), and *Smokey and the Bandit Part 3* (1983). He has a recurring role as a former lawyer and information source in 2018's season 2 of *Goliath*.