Hollywood Bowl names stage for John Williams, honoring a decades

The Los Angeles Philharmonic is naming the Hollywood Bowl’s stage for John Williams — the first artist so honored in the venue’s 103-year history.

The 93-year-old composer, whose music for “Star Wars,” “E.T.” and “Indiana Jones” helped define modern moviegoing, was celebrated Sunday at a private ceremony.

Williams’ decades of summer concerts made him a Hollywood Bowl institution, transforming film music into a family symphonic tradition.

For generations of Angelenos, summer at the Hollywood Bowl meant John Williams on the podium, lightsabers glowing in the crowd as he led the Los Angeles Philharmonic through “Star Wars,” “E.T.” and “Indiana Jones.” Now 93, with his baton mostly set aside, Williams still looms over the Bowl each summer, his music echoing through the amphitheater, played