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Daniel Licht

1957 – 2017

American film composer and musician

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About Daniel Licht

Lived 1957 – 2017 (aged 60). Daniel Licht was an American composer, film score composer, musician and film composer.

Daniel Licht (March 13, 1957 – August 2, 2017) was an American soundtrack composer and musician, best known for writing the score of Showtime TV drama series Dexter.

Life and career Licht grew up in suburban Detroit and attended the Roeper School, as well as summer school at Berklee College of Music in Boston. He started playing music at the age of eight with his first instrument being the clarinet. He took up the guitar four years later. He began his musical career while still in high school playing guitar with a small jazz ensemble at clubs in the area. Following high school graduation, he attended Hampshire College in Massachusetts and graduated in composition, jazz and world music. Licht moved to New York City and established himself as a musical artist within the Lower East Side music scene. He would travel to Germany, the Netherlands and Northern Europe to perform and compose music for theatre and dance companies. He created scores for such companies as Mercedes-Benz, Sony and AT&T.

He then moved to Los Angeles and pursued a career in film scoring, at the suggestion of his former classmate, Christopher Young.

In 2012, Licht took over from Akira Yamaoka as the main composer of the Silent Hill video game series; he retained this position until 2015, when Konami decided to shift away from the home console video game industry. He also composed the soundtrack for all three games in the Dishonored series (2012-2017).

Licht died at the age of 60 from sarcoma at his home in Topanga, California, in August 2017. The third Dishonored game, Death of the Outsider, released shortly after his death and was dedicated to his memory.

Licht was assisted by his nephew Jon for his work on Dexter, Dishonored, and Silent Hill.

Works

Film Year Title Notes 1991 Children of the Night 1992 Final Embrace Amityville: It's About Time Severed Ties Inside Out III Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice Inside Out IV 1993 Acting on Impulse Ticks Where Are We? Our Trip Through America Amityville: A New Generation A Girls' Guide to Sex 1994 The Hard Truth 1995 Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest Zooman 1996 Woman Undone Hellraiser: Bloodline The Winner Thinner Bad Moon 1998 The Patron Saint of Liars Brave New World Legion of Fire: Killer Ants! Permanent Midnight Thirst 1999 Splendor Don't Look Under the Bed Execution of Justice 2000 Cabin by the Lake Hendrix 2001 Anatomy of a Hate Crime Cowboy Up Soul Survivors Off Season 2002 Video Voyeur: The Susan Wilson Story 2004 ABC's of Newborn Baby Care King Solomon's Mines 2005 Icon 2008 The Memory Keeper's Daughter Gym Teacher: The Movie 2010 Dumbstruck Wake 2016 Ghostmates

Television series

Video games Year Title Notes 2012 Silent Hill: Downpour Dishonored 2017Dishonored: Death of the Outsider

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Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Education
Hampshire College
Also known as
Daniel James Licht

People in Daniel Licht's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Daniel Licht's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Daniel Licht?

American film composer and musician (1957–2017)

When was Daniel Licht born?

Daniel Licht was born on 13 March 1957 in Detroit.

When did Daniel Licht die?

Daniel Licht died on 2 August 2017 in Topanga.

What was Daniel Licht's occupation?

Daniel Licht was a composer, film score composer, musician and film composer.

What nationality was Daniel Licht?

Daniel Licht was American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Daniel Licht

· Wikidata: Q1161567

· DBpedia: Daniel Licht

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Daniel Licht. https://biography.guide/daniel-licht/

MLA: "Daniel Licht." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/daniel-licht/.

Chicago: "Daniel Licht." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/daniel-licht/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Portrait: Wikimedia Commons · author & licence

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