Mark Snow obit

Mark Snow Dies: ‘X-Files’, ‘Blue Bloods’, ‘Smallville’ Composer Was 78

 

He was not on the list.

Veteran television composer Mark Snow — best known for his work on the iconic X-Files theme that hit the top of the charts in the UK, as well as penning the music for series such as Smallville, Ghost Whisperer, Blue Bloods and dozens of others — died Friday at his home in Connecticut, Deadline has confirmed. He was 78.

Emmy-winning musician, composer and friend Sean Callery (24) posted the news and a tribute on Facebook.

Mark Snow, and one of the most wonderful and talented people I’ve ever known, has passed away. 33 years ago he began mentoring me as an artist. Who knew that I was also at the beginning of a deep friendship that would only grow and evolve over 3 decades along with our graying hair and tighter deadlines. His humor, his spirit, his talent – good God his immense talent – the world has lost a genuine and beautiful soul. Whenever I was working on a theme I would send it to him for feedback – and he would diagnose it instantly— with a knowing swipe of his hand indicating that I discard all the superfluous drivel I was putting out there —because he knew how to get to the heart and truth of things. That wisdom continues to inform me both inside and outside the music studio. I am so grateful to him for his sage counsel and his laugh-out-loud biting wit. My career got started by an act of generosity on his part 33 years ago – period, full stop. I love you my friend. There will never ever be another like you. I send love to Glynnis and all his children and grandchildren during this time.

In addition to X-Files, Snow wrote the music for Millennium, another Chris Carter-created project. He did worked on both shows over 12 seasons total. You can listen to his X-Files theme below.

Over the course of his long career, Snow also composed music and/or scores for dozens of hit shows, including Hart to Hart, The Love Boat, Vega$, Starsky & Hutch, Cagney & Lacey, T.J Hooker, Matt Houston and Pee-wee’s Playhouse.

His very first credit came in 1976 for the buzzy TV movie The Boy in the Plastic Bubble, starring John Travolta and directed by Randall Kleiser.

On the big screen, he worked on the X-Files movie in 1998, Ernest Saves Christmas, Crazy in Alabama and The New Mutants.

Works

Television series

Year     Title     Notes

1975–1976      The Rookies   6 episodes

1976    Gemini Man    1 episode

1976    Visions 2 episodes

1977    The San Pedro Beach Bums   Theme music

1977–1979      Starsky & Hutch         16 episodes

1979    Flatbush           1 episode

1978–1979      The Next Step Beyond           6 episodes

1979    Brothers and Sisters    12 episodes

1980    When the Whistle Blows        7 episodes

1978–1980      Family 16 episodes

1978–1981      Vega$  4 episodes

1978–1982      The Love Boat            3 episodes

1979–1981      240-Robert      6 episodes

1979–1984      Hart to Hart     93 episodes

1981    Dynasty           4 episodes

Strike Force     1 episode

1981–1984      Cagney & Lacey         5 episodes

1982    T. J. Hooker    5 episodes

1983    The Family Tree          3 episodes

Matt Houston  1 episode

1983–1984      Lottery!           7 episodes

1984    Paper Dolls      11 episodes

1984–1985      Crazy Like a Fox        16 episodes

1986    Bridges to Cross          1 episode

Kay O'Brien    3 episodes

1986–1988      Aaron's Way    10 episodes

1986–1988      Falcon Crest    40 episodes

1987    CBS Summer Playhouse         1 episode

1989–1990      Pee-wee's Playhouse   4 episodes

1991    All Together Now       1 episode

1992–1993      Dark Justice     52 episodes

1993–2002, 2016–2018          The X-Files     217 episodes

1995–1996      Nowhere Man 25 episodes

1997    20,000 Leagues Under the Sea           2 episodes

Perversions of Science            1 episode

1996–1999      Millennium      67 episodes

1999–2000      Harsh Realm   9 episodes

2000–2001      Bull     20 episodes

2001    The Lone Gunmen      13 episodes

2001–2002      Pasadena         13 episodes

2001–2007      Smallville        132 episodes

2002    Haunted           11 episodes

2002–2003      Birds of Prey   13 episodes

The Twilight Zone      43 episodes

2003–2005      One Tree Hill  29 episodes

2005    Kojak  9 episodes

2005–2010      Ghost Whisperer         107 episodes

2010–2024      Blue Bloods    287 episodes

2011–2012      Ringer 12 episodes

Television films

Year     Title     Director           Notes

1976    The Boy in the Plastic Bubble            Randal Kleiser —

1978    Big Bob Johnson and His Fantastic Speed Circus      Jack Starrett     —

Overboard       John Newland —

1979    The Return of Mod Squad     George McCowan       —

1980    Casino Don Chaffey   —

Angel City       Philip Leacock

Steve Carver   —

1981    Off Sides (Pigs vs. Freaks)     Dick Lowry     —

1982    Paper Dolls      Edward Zwick —

Games Mother Never Taught You      Lee Philips      —

I'd Rather Be Calm     Linda Day       —

1983    Malibu E. W. Swackhamer      —

Packin' It In     E. W. Swackhamer      —

Two Kinds of Love     Jack Bender     —

The Winter of Our Discontent            Waris Hussein —

1984    Something About Amelia        Randa Haines  —

A Good Sport  Lou Antonio    —

Secrets of a Married Man       William A. Graham     —

I Married a Centerfold            Peter Werner   —

1985    Not My Kid     Michael Tuchner         —

Challenge of a Lifetime           Russ Mayberry            —

California Girls           Rick Wallace   —

The Lady from Yesterday        Robert Day     —

International Airport   Don Chaffey

Charles S. Dubin         —

Rockhopper     Bill Bixby       —

Royal Match    E.W. Swackhamer       —

Beverly Hills Cowgirl Blues   Corey Allen     —

I Dream of Jeannie... Fifteen Years Later       William Asher —

1986    One Terrific Guy         Lou Antonio    —

Blood & Orchids         Jerry Thorpe    Composed with Charles Fox

Acceptable Risks        Rick Wallace   —

News at Eleven           Mike Robe      —

Louis L'Amour's Down the Long Hills           Burt Kennedy  —

One Police Plaza         Jerry Jameson  —

1987    Warm Hearts, Cold Feet         James Frawley —

Pals      Lou Antonio    —

Murder by the Book   Mel Damski    —

Still Crazy Like a Fox Paul Krasny     —

Murder Ordained        Mike Robe      —

Cracked Up     Karen Arthur   —

Kids Like These          Georg Stanford Brown           —

A Hobo's Christmas     Will Mackenzie           —

The Father Clements Story     Edwin Sherin  —

Roman Holiday           Noel Nosseck  —

1988    Alone in the Neon Jungle       Georg Stanford Brown           —

 The Return of Ben Casey       Joseph L. Scanlan       —

Bluegrass         Simon Wincer —

Scandal in a Small Town        Anthony Page —

The Secret Life of Kathy McCormick            Robert Lewis  —

Ladykillers      Robert Michael Lewis —

Disaster at Silo 7         Larry Elikann  —

Goodbye, Miss 4th of July      George Miller  —

Aaron's Way: The Harvest      Noel Nosseck  —

1989    Those She Left Behind           Noel Nosseck  —

Everybody's Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure   Mel Damski    —

Stuck with Each Other            Georg Stanford Brown           —

Settle the Score           Edwin Sherin  —

When He's Not a Stranger       John Gray        —

1990    Miracle Landing         Dick Lowry     —

The Girl Who Came Between Them  Mel Damski    —

Follow Your Heart      Noel Nosseck  —

Child in the Night       Mike Robe      —

Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again            Dick Lowry     —

Dead Reckoning         Robert Michael Lewis —

The Little Kidnappers Donald Shebib —

The Lost Capone         John Gray        —

Opposites Attract         Noel Nosseck  —

Crash: The Mystery of Flight 1501    Philip Saville   —

In the Line of Duty: A Cop for the Killing     Dick Lowry     —

1991    The Marla Hanson Story         John Gray        —

White Hot: The Mysterious Murder of Thelma Todd Paul Wendkos —

In the Line of Duty: Manhunt in the Dakotas Dick Lowry     —

Living a Lie    Larry Shaw     —

The Rape of Doctor Willis      Lou Antonio    —

The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw            Dick Lowry     —

Wife, Mother, Murderer          Mel Damski    —

Dead and Alive: The Race for Gus Farace     Peter Markle    —

1992    Battling for Baby        Art Wolff         —

The Last P.O.W.? The Bobby Garwood Story            Georg Stanford Brown           —

A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story          Dick Lowry     —

Highway Heartbreaker            Paul Schneider            —

Deliver Them from Evil: The Taking of Alta View    Peter Levin      —

In the Line of Duty: Street War          Dick Lowry     —

A Taste for Killing      Lou Antonio    —

The Danger of Love: The Carolyn Warmus Story      Joyce Chopra  —

An American Story     John Gray        —

Her Final Fury: Betty Broderick, the Last Chapter    Dick Lowry     —

1993    Telling Secrets Marvin J. Chomsky     —

The Disappearance of Nora    Joyce Chopra  —

The Man with Three Wives    Peter Levin      —

Father & Son: Dangerous Relations   Georg Stanford Brown           —

Born Too Soon            Noel Nosseck  —

In the Line of Duty: Ambush in Waco            Dick Lowry     —

Precious Victims         Peter Levin      —

Scattered Dreams        Neema Barnette           —

1994    Murder Between Friends        Waris Hussein —

In the Line of Duty: The Price of Vengeance Dick Lowry     —

Witness to the Execution        Tommy Lee Wallace   —

A Place for Annie        John Gray        —

Moment of Truth: Cradle of Conspiracy        Gabrielle Beaumont    —

Heart of a Child          Sandor Stern    —

The Substitute Wife    Peter Werner   —

Moment of Truth: Caught in the Crossfire      Chuck Bowman          —

Shadows of Desire      Sam Pillsbury  —

1995    Texas Justice   Dick Lowry     —

A Stranger in Town     Peter Levin      —

The Other Mother: A Moment of Truth Movie           Bethany Rooney         —

Seduced and Betrayed Félix Enríquez Alcalá —

Down, Out & Dangerous        Noel Nosseck  —

The Unspoken Truth   Peter Werner   —

Trial by Fire    Alan Metzger  —

In the Line of Duty: Hunt for Justice  Dick Lowry     —

Mixed Blessings          Bethany Rooney         —

1996    Smoke Jumpers           Dick Lowry     —

Project ALF    —

Conundrum     Douglas Barr   —

Sweet Temptation        Ron Lagomarsino        —

Forgotten Sins Dick Lowry     —

Special Report: Journey to Mars         Robert Mandel            —

Summer of Fear          Mike Robe      —

A Loss of Innocence   Graeme Clifford          —

Phone Calls from the Dead     —        —

1997    Payback           Ken Cameron  —

The Perfect Mother     Peter Levin      —

Night Sins       Robert Allan Ackerman          —

The Price of Heaven   Peter Bogdanovich      —

Cloned Douglas Barr   —

The Day Lincoln Was Shot     John Gray        —

1999    A Memory in My Heart          Harry Winer    —

A Touch of Hope        Craig R. Baxley          —

2000    In the Name of the People      Peter Levin      —

Code Name Phoenix   Jeff Freilich     —

Another Woman's Husband    Noel Nosseck  —

Murder, She Wrote: A Story to Die For          Anthony Pullen Shaw —

Dirty Pictures  Frank Pierson  —

Sole Survivor  Mikael Salomon          —

2001    For Love of Olivia      Douglas Barr   —

2003    Critical Assembly        Eric Laneuville            —

D.C. Sniper: 23 Days of Fear Tom McLoughlin        —

2004    She's Too Young         Tom McLoughlin        —

Helter Skelter  John Gray        —

Bereft  Tim Daly         —

Paradise           Frank Pierson  —

2005    Odd Girl Out   Tom McLoughlin        —

Theatrical films

Year     Title     Director           Notes

1977    Flush   Andrew J. Kuehn        —

1978    Skateboard      George Gage   —

1979    Something Short of Paradise   David Helpern —

1981    High Risk        Stewart Raffill —

1983    Over Here, Mr. President        Noam Pitlik     —

1986    Jake Speed      Andrew Lane  —

1988    The In Crowd  Mark Rosenthal           —

Ernest Saves Christmas           John R. Cherry III       —

1991    Dolly Dearest  Maria Lease    —

1994    Caroline at Midnight   Scott McGinnis           —

1994    Playmaker       Yuri Zeltser     —

1995    Dead Badge    Douglas Barr   —

Born to Be Wild          John Gray        —

1998    The X-Files     Rob Bowman  —

Disturbing Behavior    David Nutter   —

1999    Stranger in My House Joe Cacaci       —

Crazy in Alabama       Antonio Banderas       —

2006    Private Fears in Public Places Alain Resnais  —

2008    The Hamlet Adventure           

Ivaylo Dikanski

Greg Roach

—

The X Files: I Want to Believe           Chris Carter     —

Adventures in Appletown       Robert Moresco          —

2009    Wild Grass      Alain Resnais  —

2010    White Irish Drinkers   John Gray        —

2011    The Hunters    Chris Briant     —

2012    You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet     Alain Resnais  —

2014    Life of Riley    —

2020    The New Mutants        Josh Boone      —

Video games

Year     Title     Notes

1998    Urban Assault  Composed with Sylvius Lack

The X-Files Game      Composed with Paul Wayne Hiaumet

2004    Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain       Composed with Mike Reagan