Chris Ledesma, The Simpsons Music Editor, Dies at 64

Chris Ledesma, the music editor for The Simpsons and one of the only people who worked on every episode for more than thirty years, has died. He was 64 years old. Word of his passing came via the show itself, with a title card on Sunday’s episode, “My Life as a Vlog,” with the caption “In loving memory of Chris Ledesma.” Following its airing, numerous members of The Simpsons team took to social media to pay tribute to Ledesma. Ledesma worked on every episode of The Simpsons from 1989 until May 2022, when he stepped down. Fans on social media are now theorizing that he retired due to health concerns.

“A wonderful, hard working, very talented man who will be missed by all he knew,” Al Jean, showrunner for The Simpsons, tweeted.

You can see the title card below.

“Chris Ledesma’s passion for music and for The Simpsons was an inspiration. I’m grateful for the time I got to spend with him this year. He was a great mentor and a genuine person. My heart goes out to his family. Rest In Peace Chris,” tweeted Jake Schaefer, who succeeded Ledema as music editor.

“Chris Ledesma was one of the kindest, mega-talented people working on a crew full of kind, mega-talented people,” longtime The Simpsons writer and producer Josh Weinstein posted to social media. “I hadn’t worked with him in a while, but his friendliness over twitter these last few years was truly felt.”

Ledesma was born in January 1958, and according to his bio on IMDb, lived his whole life in Southern California. He studied at the California Institute of the Arts and San Francisco Conservatory of Music, majoring in orchestral conducting. In addition to his work on The Simpsons, he worked on films like Pure Country, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, and Blast From the Past. Ledesma was nominated for the Golden Reel Award for the season 10 episode “Wild Barts Can’t Be Broken.”

Ledesma kept a blog, which you can read here. It chronicled his journey with The Simpsons after 30 years.

Our condolences go out to Mr. Ledesma’s family, friends, collaborators, and fans during this difficult time.