An acclaimed film and concert music composer died while hiking a California mountain on Saturday after suffering a cardiac emergency. Mark Smythe, 53, a New Zealand-born award-nominated musician, suddenly collapsed while hiking Mount Wilson near Sierra Madre, which is just north of Los Angeles.
He died from atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. The condition is caused by plaque buildup in the heart's arteries, which restricts blood flow and can lead to heart attacks.
On Saturday, Sierra Madre Search and Rescue announced that it had responded to a report of an unresponsive hiker on the Mount Wilson Trail just north of Rescue Ridge around 9.43 am. When members of the volunteer organization arrived, friends and passers-by were already attempting to revive Smythe by providing CPR.
Members of the Sierra Madre Fire Department also responded to the scene to provide medical assistance, but it was too late for Smythe, and he was pronounced dead on the mountain.
'Sierra Madre Search and Rescue extends our condolences to the family and friends of the deceased man,' the organization said in its announcement. 'We also extend our thanks to the man’s friends and other hikers who assisted today.'
Following Smythe's death, friends, colleagues and family members identified him as the man who died on the hiking trail and shared an outpouring of touching tributes.
Smythe taught students and was chair of the Composing for Visual Media Department at the Los Angeles College of Music since the summer of 2025. His resume included at least ten film credits, and his score for the Hulu horror film The Reef: Stalked was nominated for a Society of Composers & Lyricists Award.
He regularly worked with the Night Temple string quintet, and he also composed choral music. Bear McCreary, a fellow composer who has scored blockbuster films such as Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Child's Play, shared his grief over Smythe's death in a post on X.
'I'm shaken to hear of the shocking and untimely passing of Mark Smythe, a prominent figure in the Los Angeles film scoring community, and a talented composer in his own right,' McCreary wrote. 'Thanks for being there for so many composers, Mark. We miss you.'
McCreary said Smythe's 'enthusiasm and humor were off the charts. He brought a shark with a bowtie to the red carpet of an SCL awards ceremony when he was nominated for his work on a shark movie - hilarious!' He added that he had last spoken to Smythe just a few weeks earlier and that 'his passing is a stark reminder to spend time with the people you care about while you can.'
'His passion for music, his dedication to his students, and his kindness left a profound mark on all of us who had the privilege of knowing him,' a colleague at the Los Angeles College of Music wrote on social media.
Smythe's sister, Kate Ward-Smythe, also posted a tribute that said: 'It is a comfort to know that he was doing one of the things he loved, hiking in the hills, and we are grateful to his wonderful friends (and emergency service responders) who tried so hard to resuscitate him.'
'Mark was a strong larger than life connector in LA, as a professor, composer, musician, and loyal friend. He was also fiercely talented, and an absolute cheerleader for music performance and recording across multiple genres,' she continued. 'He was only just getting started and had so much more to give.'
