'The Simpsons': Longtime Staffer Chris Ledesma Dies at 64

By Stephen Andrew

Music editor Chris Ledesma, who was a longtime staffer at The Simpsons, has died. He was 64. Deadline reports that the show revealed Ledesma's death on Sunday night's episode of the animated series. "In loving memory of Chris Ledesma," read a title card at the end of the episode. No cause of death has been revealed.

Over on Twitter, Simpsons writer-producer Al Jean shared a screenshot of the memorial, which featured a cartoon version of Ledesma sitting on the Simpsons couch with the family, while holding a conductor batan in his hand. "A wonderful, hard-working, very talented man who will be missed by all he knew," Jean wrote alongside the photo. Many have since replied to the post with their own memorials. "He was a great follow on here and always answered questions I posed about the show's music. That dedication last night took me by surprise. My sympathy to you and the show's staff," wrote one fan.

Many of Ledesma's peers have pair tribute to him, with Simpsons writer-producer Carolyn Omine tweeting, "Chris Ledesma was a sweet man who loved his job and was really, really good at it. We miss him." Animator Matthew Schofield shared a picture from his time working with Ledesma, and wrote, "I was shocked and saddened to learn of Chris Ledesma's recent passing. He very kindly arranged for me to sit in on the scoring session for my episode 'Black Eyed, Please' (he's in the red shirt, that's me on the right). A wonderful guy who genuinely loved his job. RIP Chris."

Simpsons showrunner Matt Selman added, "Chris Ledesma was a sweet, goofy guy with a giant heart – his amazing musical life is played out over 33 years of [The Simpsons]." Notably, Selman previously shared a photo of Ledesma in May 2022, noting that it was in honor of Ledesma's last day working on The Simpsons. "Tonight was the last audio mix with our beloved and irreplaceable [The Simpsons] music editing maestro Chris Ledesma," he wrote. "Chris we love you and I will forever miss you Tuesday morning phone calls where you patiently tell me my music notes are idiotic."

Ledesma had a Twitter account, though seemed to rarely use it the past couple of years. One of his final tweets, however, is notable. "Today is a significant milestone for me," he wrote in September 2021. "I am 23,242 days old I have worked on The Simpsons for 11,621 days. Born 1/28/1958. First day on [The Simpsons] 11/22/1989. Not many can say they have worked at ANY job any more for LITERALLY half their lives."

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