Star Wars Composer John Williams Hospitalized Due To Illness

Legendary composer John Williams has pulled out of a scheduled concert this Friday due to a last-minute illness.

A statement issued by the Royal Albert Hall – where Williams was expected to conduct this Friday with the London Symphony Orchestra – reports that the Star Wars composer can no longer attend the event, but it’s his wish that the performance goes ahead in his absence. Williams’ management added the following message:

“John is so sorry that an illness prevents him from conducting Friday’s concert, and he’s grateful to his friend Maestro Dirk Brass for taking the podium in his place. He so wishes he could be with everyone, and the knowledge that 5,000 of his friends will be joining together to celebrate his music is a great comfort to him as he recovers. He wishes everyone a very joyous evening of music.”

With sixty years of experience in the film industry, Williams has provided the instantly recognizable music for a wealth of big screen projects, including the themes for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jaws, the Indiana Jones films and Jurassic Park. Many of these compositions have been met with awards recognition, too, with Williams currently holding the record for most Oscar nominations earned by any living person, and the second most nominated person ever, falling behind only Walt Disney.

Of course, one property that the composer has continually been involved in over the years is the Star Wars movies, with Williams set to return once more for the upcoming Episode IX. After this trilogy-closer has finished, he’s previously suggested that he’ll likely retire from the franchise, telling Kusc.org earlier this year:

“We know J.J. Abrams is preparing (Episode IX) now, that I will hopefully do next year for him. I look forward to it. It will round out a series of nine (films). That will be quite enough for me. Disney Studios probably will take it further. As you know, Disney has acquired the rights for Lucasfilm, and they will probably continue on through… decades, possibly, doing Star Wars-related attractions.”

The composer’s many fans include actor Mark Hamill, who claimed just a couple of weeks ago that after George Lucas, no one is more responsible for the success of the Star Wars films.

Based on the management’s statement, it sounds like John Williams is well on his way to making a recovery, and will hopefully be in good health before too long.