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Smallville and Blue Bloods composer Mark Snow dies at 78: 15-time Emmy nominee wrote iconic X-Files theme

BBG News

Mark Snow, the composer known for his work on numerous hit television shows, has died at age 78.

Snow died on Friday at his home in Connecticut, according to Variety.

His cause of death has not yet been reported. 

The melody for the theme song of The X-Files is most famously associated with Snow, and this tune gained significant popularity across Europe when it started topping music charts in 1996 following the show’s success.

Additionally, he contributed his skills to composing music for hit television series such as the Superman precursor Smallville and the police-focused show, Blue Bloods.

In addition, he played pivotal roles on television series such as Starsky & Hutch, Hart to Hart, T.J. Hooker, and The Ghost Whisperer.

As a seasoned composer in the world of television, I’ve been honored with a remarkable 15 Emmy nominations, tracing my journey back to the heart of the 1970s.

The musician, hailing from Brooklyn, kick-started his formal musical training at an early age by enrolling in New York City’s High School of Music & Art, which is now known as the Fiorella H. LaGuardia High School of Art and Performing Arts.

Later on, he went to study at the Juilliard School, forming a friendship with the late composer Michael Kamen, who passed away in 2003.

The two were roommates and went on to start rocks bands together. 

Martin Fulterman later known as Mark Snow, started off in the music industry as a record producer. However, when he relocated to Los Angeles and started composing TV themes, he chose the alias Mark Snow to shield himself from potential legal issues with his previous professional contacts.

In the mid-’70s, I embraced this name wholeheartedly and made it my consistent professional identity, which eventually became synonymous with me.

In the initial surge of movie and TV music creators, snow opted to predominantly compose for synthesizers and other digital instruments rather than using costly orchestras.

According to Variety, by the end of the 1980s, he was focusing solely on creating the devices necessary for the strange music heard in The X-Files series.

As a die-hard fan, I can’t help but immerse myself in the gripping, decades-long saga of the science fiction thriller series where I follow Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny, brilliant FBI agents who unravel paranormal mysteries that other bureau members had desperately tried to conceal.

The show put greater pressure on its musical creators compared to other dramas due to the heavy reliance on music, often necessitating a composer to craft approximately 40 minutes of original music for about 42 to 45 minutes of screen time (excluding commercial breaks). (In case of X-Files episodes, they were usually around 42 to 45 minutes long prior to the addition of advertisements.)

Sean Callery, famed for composing the score for 24, praised Snow’s “unlimited talent and endless creativity” to Variety. He added that these qualities were equal only to the generous advice and support Snow offered to fellow composers seeking his guidance.

Callery went on to say, ‘He provided the most motivational and insightful critiques when listening to the creations of fellow young artists, including myself. He seamlessly blended his extensive knowledge with the support that composers need: believing in themselves, nurturing their individual voice, and relying on their own intuition. This he delivered with a dash of humor and self-effacement, making his wisdom even more lasting.’

He mentioned that Snow’s compositions introduced a completely fresh narrative language of musical storytelling into television.

The theme song that Snow is most recognized for in the series was a composition he initially created specifically for the first episode.

In 1996, it underwent a remix and was published as a standalone track. To everyone’s surprise, it achieved significant success in various charts across countries like the UK, Ireland, Scotland, France, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, Hungary, and even Australia.

In an interview with Playback for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers back in 1997, Snow humorously remarked about the song: “There’s not much dramatic action in it. It remains in D minor, there’s no vocals, drums, or guitars, yet it was a massive hit. That’s quite extraordinary.

In the course of their interactions, Snow cultivated a robust bond with the creator of The X-Files, Chris Carter. Subsequently, he was tasked with composing music for several of Carter’s other productions, such as Millennium, The Lone Gunmen spinoff, and Harsh Realm.

He began composing music for shows such as Starsky & Hutch, Vega$, The Love Boat in the ’70s, and then became even more productive in the ’80s with his contributions to Dynasty, Cagney & Lacey, T.J. Hooker, and Pee-wee’s Playhouse.

In the ’90s, his productivity decreased significantly due to his intense focus on composing music for shows like The X-Files and Millennium that were part of Carter’s projects.

In the subsequent period, he composed the soundtracks for TV shows such as Smallville, One Tree Hill, Ghost Whisperer, and Blue Bloods, a task he carried out until recently.

Snow composed the soundtracks for various movies, such as “Ernest Saves Christmas”, both installments of “The X-Files”, and “The New Mutants”.

Instead of focusing on the usual populist projects, Snow also composed the music for Alain Resnais’s last four films prior to his death in 2014, a notable French film director.

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2025-07-04 23:19

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