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Mark Snow, X-Files Composer, Dies at 78

Reshaping television music through home-studio synthesizers, his work prompted tributes for his guidance of emerging composers

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© Television Academy Foundation
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Overview

  • Snow died July 4, 2025, at his home in Connecticut at age 78, the composer’s representative confirmed.
  • He scored over 200 episodes of The X-Files and created its iconic theme, which reached the top 10 across Europe in 1996.
  • His television credits included Hart to Hart, T. J. Hooker, Smallville, The Ghost Whisperer and Blue Bloods, spanning five decades of work.
  • A Juilliard-trained musician, he pioneered electronic scoring from his home studio in the late 1980s, influencing how TV music is produced.
  • Peers and protégés such as Sean Callery paid tribute to his generous mentorship and enduring impact on a new generation of composers.