Vangelis Cause of Death Mysterious: 'Chariots of Fire' Composer Dies at 79

The Oscar-Award-winning composer Vangelis has reportedly passed away at 79 years old.

The late electronic music pioneer was notably prominent for his huge pioneering effort for electronic music on the silver screen.

Vangelis Cause of Death Unknown?

Vangelis' assistant, Lefteris Zermas, confirmed to Washington Post that the composer passed away last Tuesday, March 17, 2022.

However, Zermas has not provided any reason why the composer has passed away. More details on how the composer died are expected to be revealed to the public in the coming days or weeks.

Per Zermas, Evángelos Odysséas Papathanassíou, more commonly known as Vangelis, died in a Paris hospital a few days ago at the age of 79.

Vangelis Music Career

Vangelis, a self-taught electronic music pioneer, has put out iconic works of art that film institutions consider the "best of all time."

The Greek composer is most famous for his work on "Chariots of Fire," where he laid out a synthesizer only scoring. The film won an Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Costume Design, and Best Original Score.

The "Chariots of Fire" soundtrack peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and was RIAA-certified Platinum for selling more than a million copies worldwide.

Aside from "Chariots of Fire," Vangelis was also behind the scoring of Ridley Scott's 1982 science fiction film, "Blade Runner." The album is considered one of Vangelis' most notable works of art in the history of electronic music.

The American Film Institute has also nominated the two albums on their 25 Greatest Film Scores.

But aside from his massive work in music and cinema, Vangelis also took a career in rock and roll. He became a songwriter and organist for the Forminx, Greece's first popular rock band, which he famously founded in high school.

Afterwards, he moved from Greece to Paris after the infamous Greek 1967 military coup. He then co-founded the progressive rock band Aphrodite's Child. The band then put out three albums and in total has sold 20 million copies all over Europe.

Nothing that much is known about Vangelis as he has been elusive in granting interviews when he was still alive. No records are available on his survivors, but he has reportedly had three romantic partners.