‘The X-Files’ Main Theme Composer Mark Snow Has Passed Away at 78

Mark Snow, the Emmy-nominated composer behind the iconic theme for “The X-Files,” has passed away at 78. Per Variety, Snow died Friday at his home in Connecticut.

A 15-time Emmy nominee, in addition to The X-Files, Snow was also the composer for several other Chris Carter-helmed television shows, including “Millennium”, “Harsh Realm”, and “The Lone Gunmen”. Snow also composed music for the 2002 revival of “The Twilight Zone”, “The Ghost Whisperer”, and “Smallville”.

Six of his 15 Emmy nominations were for The X-Files, but Snow also earned nominations for acclaimed non-genre TV movies and miniseries.

At the beginning of his career in the 1970s, Snow starting out writing for full orchestra, but eventually made the move to electronic compositions, one of the first composers to do so, in the 1980s. All of the music for The X-Files was created using synthesizers and samplers.

The theme for The X-Files was released as a single in the United Kingdom in early 1996, peaking at number two on the UK singles chart.

Snow recalled coming up with the iconic theme music while scoring the pilot for The X-Files in 1993. Initially conceived as an echoing rhythmic theme, Snow then layered the iconic whistling melody on top. When his theme reached the charts in the UK, Snow’s reaction was quizzical. “Nothing really big happens in the song. It stays in A-minor, there’s no singing, drums or guitars, and it was a smash hit. That’s pretty wild.”

In addition to his Emmy nominations, Snow received ASCAP’s Golden Note Award in 2005 “in recognition of his unprecedented success as one of the most versatile and popular composers in television and film.” He received 30 ASCAP awards (from 1986 to 2016), many for “most performed underscore” or “most performed theme.”

Mark Snow is survived by his wife Glynnis, his three daughters and four grandchildren.

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