The Simpsons star Chris Ledesma has died at the age of 64.
The music editor had worked on every episode of The Simpsons since it's formation 33 years ago from 1989 up until 2022.
A touching tribute was made to Ledesma on the latest episode of the animated sitcom, with a title card that read: ‘In loving memory of Chris Ledesma.’
The animated version of the music editor was shown sitting on the iconic Simpsons sofa alongside Homer, Marge, Lisa, Maggie and Bart, while holding up his conductor’s baton.
The three children were depicted joining in with the music, with Lisa on her saxophone, Maggie on the tambourine and Bart on the triangle.
Following his sad death at 64, several members of The Simpsons crew have paid tribute to Ledesma, including Al Jean - who was one of the first members of the original writing staff on the series.
Taking to Twitter, he penned: "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.
Former Simpsons showrunner Josh Weinstein honoured Ledesma’s kind nature as he penned: "Chris Ledesma was one of the kindest, mega-talented people working on a crew full of kind, mega-talented people.
"I hadn’t worked with him in a while but his friendliness over twitter these last few years was truly felt. Rest in peace, dear Chris."
Born on January 28 1958, Ledesma had lived in California all his life.
He studied at the California Institute of the Arts and San Francisco Conservatory of Music as an orchestral conducting major.
In addition to The Simpsons, he also worked on movies including Pure Country, Robin Hood: Men in Tights and Blast from the Past.
He was married to his wife Michelle for over 30 years, with whom he had two daughters.
