Man who died on Mt. Wilson identified as film and TV composer Mark Smythe, 53

The astir caller decease connected Mt. Wilson claimed the beingness of a antheral identified arsenic New Zealand-born, L.A.-based composer Mark Smythe. Following the tragedy, his colleagues and household poured retired their hearts arsenic they remembered a antheral they called smart, comic and a existent protagonist of his peers.

Smythe died Saturday astatine 53 aft suffering a cardiac exigency connected a hiking trail, according to the coroner’s online database. His origin of decease was atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, successful which plaque builds up successful arterial walls and tin pb to a bosom attack.

The Sierra Madre Police Department said Saturday that a antheral — astatine that constituent unidentified — died aft having a aesculapian exigency connected the way and that nary foul play was suspected. First responders arrived astatine the tract astir 10 a.m. and administered assistance but were incapable to prevention his life.

Smythe had been caput of the section of Composing for Visual Media astatine Los Angeles Music College since past summer, according to his website. Among different honors, helium was nominated for a 2023 Society of Composers and Lyricists Award for his enactment scoring the movie “The Reef: Stalked.”

Kate Ward-Smythe, the composer’s sister, acknowledged his decease precocious Sunday connected Facebook.

“It is simply a comfortableness to cognize that helium was doing 1 of the things helium loved, hiking successful the hills, and we are grateful to his fantastic friends (and exigency work responders) who tried truthful hard to resuscitate him,” she wrote.

“Mark was a beardown larger than beingness connector successful LA, arsenic a professor, composer, musician, and loyal friend. He was besides fiercely talented, and an implicit cheerleader for euphony show and signaling crossed aggregate genres.. helium was lone conscionable getting started and had truthful overmuch much to springiness .. We are heartbroken and trying to process this tragedy, arsenic are each Mark’s friends and family.”

Bear McCreary, known for scoring TV bid including “Outlander,” “The Walking Dead,” “Black Sails” and “Snowpiercer” and movies including “Happy Death Day,” “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” and Blumhouse’s “Fantasy Island,” called quality of Smythe’s decease “awful and surreal,” saying they had conscionable been chatting astatine a communal friend’s enactment a fewer weeks ago.

“Mark’s enthusiasm and wit were disconnected the charts,” McCreary wrote Sunday connected Instagram. “He brought a shark with a bowtie to the reddish carpet of an SCL awards ceremonial erstwhile helium was nominated for his enactment connected a shark movie - hilarious! When helium recovered retired I was penning a metallic album, helium curated his favourite German people metallic bands for maine (turning maine connected to his favourite band, Finsterforst).”

Having said helium ever thought helium would get to cognize Smythe amended 1 day, McCreary called his decease “a stark reminder to walk clip with the radical you attraction astir portion you can.”

John Massari, who has much than 150 euphony credits stretching backmost to “Little House connected the Prairie” and contributed euphony to TV bid including “Dancing With the Stars,” “Pawn Stars” and “It’s Always Sunny successful Philadelphia,” said successful comments that “Mark was a agleam airy and a refreshing tone successful our community. He is greatly missed.”

“I’m truthful profoundly bittersweet to suffer my friend. Mark, I miss you and emotion you. Thank you for your love, passion, humor, and joyousness and for ever making maine consciousness loved and valued,” vocalist Baraka May, whose dependable tin beryllium heard successful “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” “Wicked: For Good” and “Beavis and Butt-Head,” wrote Monday connected Instagram.

“He was comic and snarky and whip-smart, yet erstwhile we collaborated, helium conscionable melted into the euphony and gushed similar a instrumentality with child-like wonder. What a tremendous bosom and mind!” the vocalist wrote. “I had the grant of collaborating with him connected 3 of his beauteous pieces arsenic a conductor, and I loved his boyish, genuine joyousness and excitement adjacent successful our rehearsals. He wrote and voiced his euphony beautifully, which often felt haunting, romantic, deep, and sensitive, and his bass playing was truthful beauteous and thoughtful. He was specified a vivid, enthusiastic euphony lover, and I was precise overmuch looking guardant to making much euphony with him.”

The Los Angeles Film Conducting Intensive besides mourned the loss, saying online that “Mark was a superb endowment and a genuine person to all, a existent pillar successful our scoring community.

“During the pandemic, Mark generously joined our 2020 New Music Project to enactment caller repertoire for our euphony assemblage during a clip of large uncertainty and erstwhile astir accepted pieces could not beryllium performed.”

The Hollywood Music successful Media Awards remembered Smythe winning a career-propelling prize astatine the organization’s 2013 ceremony, soon aft helium arrived successful L.A. from New Zealand.

“He rapidly built a distinguished assemblage of enactment for film, shorts, and television, earned aggregate HMMA nominations, served arsenic COO of the Society of Composers & Lyricists, and returned to contiguous astatine the 2018 HMMA Gala,” the enactment wrote. “Mark’s endowment and generosity enriched our assemblage — helium volition beryllium greatly missed.”

Smythe’s decease was the 2nd this period connected Mt. Wilson. On May 3, a antheral identified arsenic John McIntyre, 66, was declared dormant connected the aforesaid way aft falling down a ravine astatine Mt. Wilson Road and the Little Santa Anita occurrence interruption successful Sierra Madre. His origin of decease was blunt unit injuries.