Paul Hamilton Williams, Jr. (born September 19, 1940) is an American composer, singer, songwriter and actor. He is perhaps best known for popular songs performed by a number of acts in the 1970s including
Three Dog Night's version of "
An Old Fashioned Love Song",
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", as well as his contributions to films, such as writing the lyrics to the #1 chart-topping "
Evergreen", the love theme from
A Star Is Born, starring Barbra Streisand, for which he won a
Grammy for
Song of the Year and an
Academy Award for Best Original Song; and "
Rainbow Connection" from
The Muppet Movie. He also wrote the lyrics to the opening theme for
The Love Boat, with music previously composed by Charles Fox, which was originally sung by
Jack Jones, and later, by
Dionne Warwick.