---
name: "William Walton"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/william-walton"
roles: ["Composer"]
born: "29 March 1902"
died: "8 March 1983"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 83
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-20T01:44:15.262981+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# William Walton

Composer. Born 29 March 1902 in Oldham, Lancashire, England, UK. Died 8 March 1983.

## Details

- **Work:** Composer
- **Born:** 29 March 1902, Oldham, Lancashire, England, UK
- **Died:** 8 March 1983
- **Active:** 1944–1948
- **Also known as:** Sir William Walton O.M., Sir William Walton, William Turner Walton, Sir William Turner Walton
- **Frequently works with:** [Laurence Olivier](https://film.one/person/laurence-olivier.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 2 Oscar nominations
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Walton, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q310939, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006338/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/119339

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*Hamlet*](https://film.one/film/hamlet-1948.md) (84), [*Henry V*](https://film.one/film/henry-v-1944.md) (82)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Sir William Turner Walton was an English composer. Born on 29 March 1902 in Oldham, Lancashire, he studied at Christ Church, Oxford, and became known for orchestral and choral works before composing extensively for film during the Second World War.

Walton wrote the scores for Laurence Olivier’s Shakespeare adaptations *Henry V* (1944), *Hamlet* (1948) and *Richard III* (1955). He also composed music for *Went the Day Well?* (1942) and *The First of the Few* (1942). He was knighted in 1951 and appointed to the Order of Merit in 1968. Walton died on 8 March 1983 in Ischia, Italy.

*Sources: britannica.com, en.wikipedia.org.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Hamlet* (1948), Fi1m 84, Music, Original Music Composer — [page](https://film.one/film/hamlet-1948.md)
- *Henry V* (1944), Fi1m 82, Original Music Composer, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/henry-v-1944.md)

## Complete filmography (24)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Klaus Mäkelä conducts Shostakovitch and Walton With Sol Gabetta and Willard White* (2023), Original Music Composer
- *Mariner Man* (1983), Music
- *Roger of the Raj* (1979), as Theme Song Performance
- *Golden Gordon* (1979), as Theme Song Performance
- *Whinfrey's Last Case* (1979), as Theme Song Performance
- *The Curse of the Claw* (1977), as Theme Song Performance
- *Murder at Moorstones Manor* (1977), as Theme Song Performance
- *Escape from Stalag Luft 112B* (1977), as Theme Song Performance
- *The Testing of Eric Olthwaite* (1977), as Theme Song Performance
- *Tomkinson's Schooldays* (1976), as Theme Song Performance
- *Three Sisters* (1970), Original Music Composer
- *Battle of Britain* (1969), Additional Music
- *Richard III* (1955), Original Music Composer
- *Hamlet* (1948), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/hamlet-1948.md)
- *Henry V* (1944), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/henry-v-1944.md)
- *Went the Day Well?* (1942), Original Music Composer
- *The First of the Few* (1942), Original Music Composer
- *The Foreman Went to France* (1942), Original Music Composer
- *The Next of Kin* (1942), Original Music Composer
- *Major Barbara* (1941), Original Music Composer
- *Stolen Life* (1939), Original Music Composer
- *Dreaming Lips* (1937), Original Music Composer
- *As You Like It* (1936), Original Music Composer
- *Escape Me Never* (1935), Original Music Composer

## Gallery

- ![William Walton](https://film.one/media/person/1235335/gallery-14966ea174cb.jpg) William Walton — AP Wirephoto, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/William_Walton_%281976%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![William Walton](https://film.one/media/person/1235335/gallery-113d23bc6638.jpg) William Walton — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 2 nominated

- 1949: Best Original Dramatic or Comedy Score (nominated), for *Hamlet*
- 1947: Best Original Dramatic or Comedy Score (nominated), for *Henry V*

### Other awards — 3 won

- Benjamin Franklin Medal 1972: Benjamin Franklin Medal (won)
- Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal 1947: Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal (won)
- Walter Willson Cobbett Medal 1947: Walter Willson Cobbett Medal (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/william-walton