Standing at five feet tall, with blonde hair, a constant, if endearing, smirk on his face, and a sardonic wit, composer, singer and actor Paul Williams won fame as both an actor and songwriter. His landmark year was 1977 when he shared both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award with Barbra Streisand for the song "Evergreen" from the film "A Star Is Born" (1976), was paired with comedian Pat McCormick as filthy rich racers Big and Little Enos in the first of three "Smokey and the Bandit" movies and wrote the theme song for TV's "The Love Boat" (ABC). Williams has been far less visible in the 90s but his contributions over the last three decades have guaranteed his spot in entertainment history. Born in Nebraska, the diminutive Williams became a jockey Deciding show business was more to his liking, he worked as a skydiver in a touring show and appeared on stage in summer stock before migrating to Hollywood. Parts at first were rare and he was a set painter and stunt parachutist to make ends meet. At age 24, Williams made his feature film debut in 1965 playing a 10-year old in "The Loved One". Small roles in "Watermelon Man" (1970) and "Battle for the Planet of the Apes" (1973) followed. By then, he had branched out as a songwriter and found success with such hits as "We've Only Just Begun" and "Rainy Days and Mondays", both recorded by The Carpenters. After becoming a hit composer/lyricist, Williams finally had a chance at a feature lead playing the Faustian villain in Brian De Palma's "Phantom of the Paradise" (1974), a rock send-up of "The Phantom of the Opera", for which he earned an Oscar nod for its song score. Despite reprising his role in the two "Smokey and the Bandit" sequels and an appearance in "The Cheap Detective" (1978), Williams made little dent as a screen actor. More recently, he did a small role as Andy Warhol's press agent in "The Doors" (1991).
It was more on TV that Williams earned his name and face recognition, as a frequent guest on talk shows, game shows, and the variety shows of the 70s, including hosting four episodes of NBC's "The Midnight Special". He also appeared on several episodes of "The Love Boat" (ABC), and made his TV-movie debut in a small role in "Flight to Holocaust" (NBC, 1977). Williams joined Pat McCormick doing skits on several shows, and they also co-created the failed 1982 pilot "Rooster", produced by Glen A Larson, in which they hoped to star. Williams' TV legacy also includes theme songs for "The McLean Stevenson Show" (NBC, 1976-77), and "It Takes Two" (ABC, 1982-83). In the 70s and 80s, there was a flow of music, and Williams even took to the Las Vegas stage to perform his own songs, although at the time he had never even recorded them. With Roger Nicholls he wrote "Out in the Country" (1969), and other hits include "An Old Fashioned Love Song" (1972) and "Let Me Be the One" (1972).
Williams has frequently scored motion pictures as well, beginning with "The Getaway" (1972), and joined with John Williams (no relation) on "The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing" (1972) and "Cinderella Liberty" (1973), earning his first Academy Award nomination for the song "Nice to Be Around". He was also nominated for two Oscars for his score of "The Muppet Movie" (1979) and its song "The Rainbow Connection". On his own, Williams composed "The End" (1978) and "Ishtar" (1987). In 1992, Williams began doing the voice of The Penguin for "Batman: The Animated Series" on Fox Kids Network.