Mark Snow, Emmy-Nominated Composer Behind ‘The X-Files’ and Disney Projects, Dies at 78
Mark Snow, the Emmy-nominated composer best known for crafting the haunting theme to The X-Files and scoring hundreds of hours of television and film - including several Disney-owned projects - died July 4th at his home in Connecticut. He was 78.
Born Martin Fulterman on August 26th, 1946, in Brooklyn, New York, Snow studied at Juilliard alongside future Hollywood composers like Michael Kamen. Over a career spanning nearly five decades, Snow became one of the most prolific composers working in television, earning 15 Emmy nominations and composing music for series across every major network.
His most enduring legacy is tied to The X-Files, the sci-fi phenomenon produced by 20th Television (now part of Disney). Snow's whistle-laced theme became a cultural touchstone and international chart hit, while his moody, atmospheric score defined the series' eerie tone across all 11 seasons and two feature films. He also scored creator Chris Carter’s spinoff series Millennium and The Lone Gunmen, solidifying his role as a musical architect of the franchise.
Snow’s work with Disney extended beyond the X-Files universe. In the 1980s, he composed music for two installments of Walt Disney Presents - The Girl Who Spelled Freedom and The Deacon Street Deer - which aired as part of the company’s long-running anthology series. He also scored the holiday favorite Ernest Saves Christmas (1988) under the Touchstone Pictures label.
More recently, Snow returned to Disney through the Marvel pipeline, composing the score for 20th Century Studios’ The New Mutants (2020), blending his signature ambient style with a darker superhero tone.
Beyond his Disney work, Snow scored over 200 episodes of Blue Bloods, the entirety of Ghost Whisperer, and six seasons of Smallville. His early TV credits include Hart to Hart, Starsky & Hutch, and the classic TV movie The Boy in the Plastic Bubble.
Snow is survived by his wife Glynnis, three daughters, and several grandchildren.