A Simpsons Legend Has Passed Away
The Simpsons' longtime music editor, Chris Ledesma, has died.
The Simpsons’ longtime music editor Chris Ledesma has passed away. According to ConsequenceTV, he had been working on the series since its first episode way back in 1989 and left the record-breaking show in 2022 to tend to his health. He was 64 years old.
He worked on 735 episodes of the long-running sitcom and has secured his place as a Simpsons legend. Chris Ledesma worked on other shows and television specials as well, but he felt a special connection to his work on The Simpsons, even going so far as to document his work on his personal blog, Simpsons Music 500, which was active until 2020.
In one entry on the blog celebrating the show’s 30 years on the air, Ledesma provided fans with a timeline of The Simpsons’ history, beginning with its start as a comic strip in the newspaper that the original creator Matt Groening adapted into an animated short on The Tracey Ullman Show before that show was canceled and it was expanded into its own 30-minute series. Chris Ledesma then detailed his own connection to these events and the love he had in his heart for all the characters on the show.
Working on The Simpsons was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and Chris Ledesma was often asked what it was like. In 2013, he was interviewed by the SAE Institute USA and gave viewers a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the music editing process. “We sit down and plot out where all the music is going to go in every scene, and what the music’s motivation is,” he said. “The composer dreams up the music, and I’m the technical guy who makes sure it fits in the picture the way we discuss.”
The music editor’s death came to fans’ attention when they saw the tribute card at the end of this Sunday’s Simpsons episode, which read “In loving memory of Chris Ledesma.” There was also a shot of an animated Ledesma sitting on the couch with Homer, Marge, Lisa, Maggie, and Bart as he directs the kids while they play instruments.
Since then, there has been an outpouring of love for him on social media, with both fans and his colleagues honoring him with kind words. Jake Schaefer, who took over as music editor on The Simpsons when Chris Ledesma stepped down, called him an “inspiration,” and former Simpsons writer and producer Josh Weinstein said that he was both kind and “mega-talented.”
The Simpsons was a huge part of Chris Ledesma’s life. In September 2021, he wrote on Twitter that he had been working on the series for exactly half of his lifetime – an incredible feat in any job.
After beginning to play the piano at just three years old, the music enthusiast got into show business when he began working as a tour guide at Universal Studios Hollywood in 1984. Eventually, he made his way into the film and television industry, gaining credits in films such as Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Blast from the Past, and Pure Country. Just five years after his Hollywood career began, he became the music editor for The Simpsons, whose cast and crew will always remember Chris Ledesma as a great friend and colleague.
Chris Ledesma from The Simpsons is survived by his wife, Michelle, to whom he was married for 39 years, as well as their two daughters. He is also reported to have at least one grandchild.
