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Who: Roger Williams, pop-jazz-classical pianist.
Age: 83 years young on Monday.
Honors: Best-selling pianist in recording history, according to Billboard; first pianist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; 18 gold and platinum albums; recipient of inaugural Steinway Lifetime Achievement Award.
Political claim to fame: Has performed for eight U.S. presidents.
Hometowns: Born in Omaha, Neb.; grew up in Des Moines, Iowa; lives now in Encino.
Family: Widower; three children and five grandchildren.
Discography: Has recorded 116 albums. His latest is "The Best of Roger Williams" (2004).
Signature song: "Autumn Leaves."
Piano inventory: Four Steinways at home (plus a few coffee tables throughout the house shaped like pianos). In 2006, Steinway & Sons created a series of limited-edition art-deco gold pianos named after Williams. Purchase price: $178,000 to $258,000.
Church musician: Plays regularly at Sunday services and on Christmas Eve at the famed Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove. "I don't go out and parade my beliefs," Williams said. "I'll play my religion through my fingers."
Name change: Record producer David Kapp suggested the pianist change his birth name, Louis Weertz, to Roger Williams. "He wanted people to say, Oh yeah, I've heard of him,'" Williams recalled, "but didn't want to choose something obvious like George Washington. So he picked the founder of Rhode Island."
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