Fresh off the news that ’90s tough-guy actor Michael Madsen has passed away comes word that another major figure from the decade’s pop culture has also died. Mark Snow, the composer behind The X-Files’ iconic theme music, has passed away at the age of 78.
Of the thousands of TV theme songs out there, few are as instantly recognizable as Snow’s haunting composition for Chris Carter’s groundbreaking supernatural series. The theme became an indelible part of the show’s identity, running throughout its original 1993–2002 run, as well as in both feature film spin-offs—which Snow also scored—and the revival series from 2016–2018. In the ’90s, the eerie whistling melody was everywhere—it even became a chart hit in the UK.
Snow was a frequent collaborator of Chris Carter, also composing the scores for Millennium, Harsh Realm, The Lone Gunmen, and more. Long before The X-Files, he was already a prolific TV composer, having worked on such series as Starsky & Hutch, Cagney & Lacey, The Love Boat, Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, and many others.
The success of The X-Files reignited his career in feature films, with scores for titles like the cult favorite Disturbing Behavior and the Marvel spin-off The New Mutants. Still, his greatest impact was on the small screen. He scored the entire run of Ghost Whisperer, ten seasons of Blue Bloods, and countless other shows. Over the course of his career, he earned fifteen Emmy nominations for his work.
Snow was known for his remarkable versatility, equally adept at crafting synth-driven scores—like that of The X-Files—and lush orchestral compositions that defined much of his early work. His legacy is secure. It’s hard to imagine the upcoming X-Files reboot not using his unforgettable theme.
