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Chris Ledesma dead at 64: 'The Simpsons' veteran worked on every episode of show for last 33 years

The veteran music editor died at age 64, just months after stepping down from his role in May 2022

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'The Simpsons' legend Chris Ledesma has died at the age of 64, with the hugely popular cartoon sitcom paying tribute to the 'mega-talented' and 'wonderful' man.

The veteran music editor died just months after stepping down from his role in May 2022. Ledesma had worked on every episode of the long-running animated sitcom for 33 years since it first premiered in 1989. 'The Simpsons' paid a moving tribute to the long-standing music editor with its latest episode with a title card, reading: 'In loving memory of Chris Ledesma.'

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The episode was aired on New Year’s Day and was the 745th program of the sitcom, according to The Sun. The touching message depicted an animated version of Ledesma, sitting on the iconic Simpsons sofa alongside Homer, Marge, Lisa, Maggie, and Bart. Ledesma was seen waving a baton with Lisa playing her saxophone and Maggie rattling a tambourine. The cause of his death has not been yet been revealed.

Following Ledesma’s saddening death, several members of The Simpsons crew paid their last respect to their "sweet" colleague, whom they described as a "hard working" man. Al Jean, who was one of the first members of the original writing staff on the series, took to his Twitter and wrote "A wonderful, hard-working, very talented man who will be missed by all he knew."

'The Simpsons' animator Matthew Schofield said he felt "shocked and saddened" to learn of Ledesma’s death. "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," he said. New music editor Jake Schaefer said: "Chris Ledesma's passion for music and @TheSimpsons 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."

Executive producer and showrunner Matt Selman wrote: "Chris Ledesma was a sweet, goofy guy with a giant heart — his amazing musical life is played out over 33 years of @TheSimpsons." 'The Simpsons' official Twitter page also retweeted an array of loving tributes to Chris from its account.

In September 2021, Ledesma tweeted about a "significant" milestone as he revealed he had worked on 'The Simpsons' for "half" his life. "Today is a significant milestone for me. I am 23,242 days old I have worked on The Simpsons for 11,621 days. Born 1/28/1958. The first day on #TheSimpsons is 11/22/1989," he wrote at that time. "Not many can say they have worked at ANY job anymore for LITERALLY half their lives."

Born on January 28, 1958, Ledesma lived in Southern California throughout his life and at the California Institute of the Arts and San Francisco Conservatory of Music as an orchestral conducting major. He was passionate about music since the age of three when he first started playing piano. His work has even been featured in several feature films including ‘Pure Country’, ‘Robin Hood: Men in Tights’ and ‘Blast from the Past’. Ledesma was married to his wife Michelle for 39 years and shared two loving daughters with her, according to Daily Mail.