Composer Patrick Williams Passes On

Composer Patrick Williams, who worked on such TV shows The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Bob Newhart and worked on such movies as Don't Drink the Water (1969) and Shampoo (1975), died on July 25 2018 at the age of 79. The cause was complications from cancer.

Patrick Williams was born on April 23 1939 in Bonne Terre, Missouri, but grew up in Connecticut. He attended Duke University, where he received a degree in history. He later went to Columbia University, where he music composition. In New York City he soon had a thriving career as an arranger. It was in 1968 that he moved to California.

Mr. Williams' first work in television was as music director for the documentary A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the White House in 1967. He served as music director on the show Music Scene and composer on San Francisco International Airport. In the Seventies he served as composer on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. The Bob Newhart Show, The Magician, The Streets of San Francisco, and Lou Grant. In the Sixties he was the composer on the movies How Sweet It Is! (1968) and Don't Drink the Water (1969). In the Seventies he served as composer on such movies as The Deadly Trackers (1973), Harrad Summer (1974), Shampoo (1975), The Cheap Detective (1978), and Used Cars (1980).

In the Eighties Patrick Williams worked on such shows as Mr. Smith, After MASH, Fathers and Sons, Heart of the City, and The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd. He worked on such movies as The Toy (1982), Swing Shift (1984), The Slugger's Wife (1985), and Cry-Baby (1990). From the Nineties onward Mr. Williams's work in television was primarily on TV movies. He worked on such films as The Cutting Edge (1992), Big Girls Don't Cry... They Get Even (1992), The Grass Harp (1995), and Julian Po (1997).

Mr. Williams won several Emmys and was nominated many more times. He won Emmys for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series for Lou Grant, Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Limited Series or a Special (Dramatic Underscore) for The Princess and the Cabbie, Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Composition for a Miniseries or a Special (Dramatic Underscore) for Jewels, Outstanding Music and Lyrics for the song "A Dream That Only I Can Know" from Yesterday's Children.

Patrick Williams also composed outside of television and film, composing such works as An American Concerto, Gulliver, Earth Day, and August. He also recorded several record albums and produced albums for artists from Steve Lawrence to Patti Austin.