[86] A large collection of DeMille's materials including scripts, storyboards, and films resides at Brigham Young University in L. Tom Perry Special Collections. View the latest Cecil B. DeMille photos. [106] His first film in the new production company, DeMille Pictures Corporation, was The Road to Yesterday in 1925. This is the earliest of DeMille's films available in a quality, color-tinted video format. However much I may dislike some of his pictures, it would be very silly of me, as a producer of commercial motion pictures, to demean for an instant his unparalleled skill as a maker of mass entertainment. Self - Actor, The F.B.I. His films were distinguished by their epic scale and by his cinematic showmanship. Work period (start) 1899; Work period (end) 1959; Country of citizenship: [189] In the 2012 Sight & Sound poll, both DeMille's Samson and Delilah and 1923 version of The Ten Commandments received votes, but did not make the top 100 films. [177] Cecilia lived in the house for many years until her death in 1984,[178] but the house was auctioned by his granddaughter Cecilia DeMille Presley who also lived there in the late 1980s. [163], On November 7, 1954, while in Egypt filming the Exodus sequence for The Ten Commandments, DeMille (who was seventy-three) climbed a 107-foot (33m) ladder to the top of the massive Per Rameses set and suffered a serious heart attack. LOS ANGELES -- Cecilia de Mille Harper, daughter of pioneer film-director Cecil B. de Mille and one of the first child movie actresses, has died after a long battle with . [231][note 14] The Ten Commandments inspired DreamWorks Animation's later film about Moses, The Prince of Egypt. [84] Throughout his career, DeMille would frequently remake his own films. If you have diabetes and take insulin or other oral medications aimed to reduce blood sugar, taking chromium may increase the risk of . [138] Audiences liked its highly saturated color, so DeMille made no further black-and-white features. DeMille's film The Affairs of Anatol came under fire. [28] This was the first of few film collaborations with his brother William. Cecil B. DeMille's income source is mostly from being a successful Producer. She had a Southern drawl which she never lost. [255] Consequently, the name "DeMille" has become synonymous with filmmaking. The American Academy of Dramatic Arts honored DeMille with an Alumni Achievement Award in 1958. Broadway Actor. Recent images. He then appealed to the California Supreme Court and lost again. Cecil Blount DeMille was born in Ashfield, Massachusetts, while his parents were vacationing there, and grew up in Washington, North Carolina. [318], Cecil B. DeMille made 70 features. DeMille also was planning a film about the space race as well as another biblical epic about the Book of Revelation. Constance Adams DeMille (April 27, 1873 July 17, 1960) actress and wife of filmmaker Cecil Blount DeMille. He was disliked by many inside and outside of the film industry for his cold and controlling reputation. [238] Although he is known for his later "spectacular" films, his early films are held in high regard by critics and film historians. However, he did take a few months to set up a movie theater for the French front. [165] This film would be his last. [23][note 2] DeMille's parents operated a private school in town and attended Christ Episcopal Church. [145] After working on Reap the Wild Wind, in 1944, he was the master of ceremonies at the massive rally organized by David O. Selznick in the Los Angeles Coliseum in support of the DeweyBricker ticket as well as Governor Earl Warren of California. [180] and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. The actor had 10 Globes nominations and five wins, including a special award for his vocal work on . [21] DeMille's sister Agnes was born on April 23, 1891; his mother nearly did not survive the birth. [125], Cecil B. DeMille was outspoken about his strong Episcopalian integrity but his private life included mistresses and adultery. [157] Adolph Zukor convinced the board to change their minds on the grounds of morality. [11] Henry deMille frequently collaborated with David Belasco in playwriting;[12] their best-known collaborations included "The Wife", "Lord Chumley", "The Charity Ball", and "Men and Women". Derided then . [130] He resigned from the Lux Radio Show because he refused to pay a dollar to the American Federation of Radio Artists (AFRA) because he did not believe that any organization had the right to "levy a compulsory assessment upon any member. [264], DeMille was liked by some of his fellow directors and disliked by others, though his actual films were usually dismissed by his peers as vapid spectacle. [42] DeMille would later adapt Belasco's The Girl of the Golden West, Rose of the Rancho, and The Warrens of Virginia into films. The Enigmatic Pop Culture Professional. DeMille himself directed twenty films by 1915. 1956 theater brochure [175][176] His personal will drew a line between Cecilia and his three adopted children, with Cecilia receiving a majority of DeMille's inheritance and estate. Biography. [137] Following his surgery and the success of Union Pacific, in 1940, DeMille first used three-strip Technicolor in North West Mounted Police. DeMille's mother sent him to Pennsylvania Military College (now Widener University) in Chester, Pennsylvania, at age 15. While visually appealing, this made the films appear more old-fashioned. Heart Ailment. DeMille instructed the guilty man to leave town and would never reveal his name. Date of birth. [105] Consequently, DeMille left Paramount in 1924 despite having helped establish it. [154] In 1954, Secretary of the Air Force Harold E. Talbott asked DeMille for help in designing the cadet uniforms at the newly established United States Air Force Academy. However, Beatrice introduced Lasky to DeMille instead. [66] With no knowledge of filmmaking, DeMille was introduced to observe the process at film studios. "He was a thoroughly bad director," Huston said. By 1930, DeMille had perfected his film style of mass-interest spectacle films with Western, Roman, or Biblical themes. Among his best-known films are The Ten Commandments (1956), Cleopatra (1934), and The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. After reading the screenplay, Daniel A. Lord warned DeMille that Catholics would find the film too irreverent, while non-Catholics would have considered the film Catholic propaganda. [91] Although DeMille considered enlisting in World War I, he stayed in the United States and made films. . Belasco was known for adding realistic elements in his plays such as real flowers, food, and aromas that could transport his audiences into the scenes. He had completely adapted to the production of sound film despite the film's poor dialogue. Cause of Death: Heart Attack. His wife did not like Paradise, so DeMille often brought his mistresses there with him including actress Julia Faye. However, throughout his career, he filmed comedies, periodic and contemporary romances, dramas, fantasies, propaganda, Biblical spectacles, musical comedies, suspense, and war films. [71] Apfel filmed most of The Squaw Man due to DeMille's inexperience; however, DeMille learned quickly and was particularly adept at impromptu screenwriting as necessary. Jeakins admitted that she received quality training from him, but that it was necessary to become a perfectionist on a DeMille set to avoid being fired. 1. [122] His first film back at Paramount, The Sign of the Cross, was also his first success since leaving Paramount besides The King of Kings. Cecil B. DeMille, in full Cecil Blount DeMille, (born August 12, 1881, Ashfield, Massachusetts, U.S.died January 21, 1959, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California), American motion-picture producer-director whose use of spectacle attracted vast audiences and made him a dominant figure in Hollywood for almost five decades. DeMille had adopted him to avoid revealing the affairs to William's wife. DeMille adored the art of Groesbeck, even hanging it above his fireplace, but film staff found it difficult to convert his art into three-dimensional sets. [263] Joseph Henabery recalled that DeMille looked like "a king on a throne surrounded by his court" while directing films on a camera platform. [82] Additionally, because of DeMille's cordiality after the Peter Grimm incident, DeMille was able to rekindle his partnership with Belasco. [141], In 1942, DeMille worked with Jeanie MacPherson and brother William deMille in order to produce a film called Queen of Queens which was intended to be about Mary, mother of Jesus. Next, he would work with writers to develop the story that he was envisioning. DeMille would stick to his large-budget spectaculars for the rest of his career. [159] The Ten Commandments, released in 1956, was DeMille's final film. Sitting in an IMAX In the audience was Charles Frohman who would cast DeMille in his play Hearts are Trumps, DeMille's Broadway debut. DeMille had considered making the film himself. [304] Additionally, in 1958, he received an honorary Doctorate of Law degree from Temple University. Instead of portraying the danger and anarchy of the West, he portrayed the opportunity and redemption found in Western America. In his first instance, in 1917, he remade The Squaw Man (1918), only waiting four years from the 1914 original. [51] In 1911, DeMille became acquainted with vaudeville producer Jesse Lasky when Lasky was searching for a writer for his new musical. [68] He continued to Los Angeles. DeMille was painstakingly attentive to details on set and was as critical of himself as he was of his crew. [100] Consequently, Beatrice deMille introduced the Famous Players-Lasky to Wilfred Buckland, who DeMille had known from his time at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and he became DeMille's art director. Date of death: 21 Jan 1959. After more than thirty years in film production, DeMille reached a pinnacle in his career with Samson and Delilah (1949), a biblical epic which became the highest-grossing film of 1950. [109] Considered at the time to be the most successful Christian film of the silent era, DeMille calculated that it had been viewed over 800 million times around the world. [305] From the film industry, DeMille received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award at the Academy Awards in 1953,[306] and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Directors Guild of America Award the same year. His first biblical epic, The Ten Commandments (1923), was both a critical and commercial success; it held the Paramount revenue record for twenty-five years. Biography: Cecil B. deMille is one of the most important and successful filmmakers Hollywood has ever produced. The selection is made by the HFPA's board of . [60] In addition to directing, DeMille was the supervisor and consultant for the first year of films made by the Lasky Feature Play Company. This Day and Age and Four Frightened People were box office disappointments, though Four Frightened People received good reviews. Cecil B DeMille announced that his next production would be his biggest and most ambitious to date. Cecil B. DeMille began his career as an actor on the stage in the theatrical company of Charles Frohman in 1900. [268] DeMille appeared as himself in numerous films, including the MGM comedy Free and Easy. [39] Another unperformed play he wrote was Son of the Winds, a mythological Native American story. A lasting memory for DeMille was a lunch with his father and actor Edwin Booth. DeMille wanted to film in Canada; however, due to budget constraints, the film was instead shot in Oregon and Hollywood. Cecil B. DeMille was born on August 12, 1881 and died in 2000 De Mille Drive, Hollywood, California due to Heart failure due to a series of heart attacks on January 21, 1959. . An annual award, the Golden Globe's Cecil B. DeMille Award recognizes lifetime achievement in the film industry. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies. [194] DeMille was particularly adept at directing and managing large crowds in his films. Gender. [142] Jeanie MacPherson would work as a scriptwriter for many of DeMille's films. [195] DeMille was adept at directing "thousands of extras",[113] and many of his pictures include spectacular set pieces: the toppling of the pagan temple in Samson and Delilah;[196] train wrecks in The Road to Yesterday,[197] Union Pacific[198] and The Greatest Show on Earth;[199] the destruction of an airship in Madam Satan;[200] and the parting of the Red Sea in both versions of The Ten Commandments. In March 1938, he underwent a major emergency prostatectomy. He was granted an honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II in 1974. [139] DeMille was anti-communist and abandoned a project in 1940 to film Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls due to its communist themes despite the fact he had already paid $100,000 for the rights to the novel. retrieved. Work period (start) . DeMille's highest-grossing films include: The Sign of the Cross (1932), Unconquered (1947), Samson and Delilah (1949), The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), and The Ten Commandments (1956). [170] DeMille's autobiography was mostly completed by the time DeMille died and was published in November 1959. [44], DeMille performed on stage with actors whom he would later direct in films: Charlotte Walker, Mary Pickford, and Pedro de Cordoba. For More Information . They were even required to expand to RKO sound studios for filming. [156] DeMille did not have an exact budget proposal for the project,[158] and it promised to be the most costly in U.S. film history. [292], In summer 2019, The Friends of the Pompton Lakes Library hosted a Cecil B DeMille film festival to celebrate DeMille's achievements and connection to Pompton Lakes. [296] During the Apollo 11 mission, Buzz Aldrin refers to himself in one instance as "Cecil B. DeAldrin", as a humorous nod to DeMille. Date of death: 21 Jan 1959. A deficiency in chromium may cause high blood sugar; however, deficiency is very rare. Golden Globes 1953 - Best Director and Best . His first several films were westerns and he produced a chain of westerns during the sound era. (He would later cast her in The Ten Commandments.) However, his final films maintained that DeMille was still respected by his audiences. Mature refused to wrestle Jackie the Lion, even though DeMille had just tussled with the lion, proving that he was tame. DeMille used clips from his own films in Land of Liberty. [49] In the 1910s, DeMille began directing and producing other writer's plays. [124] DeMille followed this epic uncharacteristically with two dramas released in 1933 and 1934. [255], Publicly Episcopalian, DeMille drew on his Christian and Jewish ancestors to convey a message of tolerance. [153] Besides filmmaking and finishing his autobiography, DeMille was involved in other projects. Alternative names DeMille, Cecil Blount Short description Film director: Date of birth August 12, 1881 Place of birth [151] DeMille would reminisce into a voice recorder, the recording would be transcribed, and the information would be organized in the biography based on the topic. [75] Additionally, this was the only film in which DeMille shared director's credit with Oscar C. Let's take a look back at 20 of his greatest movies, ranked worst to best. Beatrice became a play broker and author's agent, influencing DeMille's early life and career. [228] In order to attract a high-class audience, DeMille based many of his early films on stage melodramas, novels, and short stories. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. [243] In relation to his own interests and sexual preferences, sadomasochism was a minor theme present in some of his films. (Born, August 13, 1881 - died January 21, 1959) Cecil Blount DeMille's career plowed relentlessly forward living and dying again and again in waves - on the crests and in the troughs of the "American Dream.". DeMille made a 1905 reprise in Hamlet as Osric. [187] DeMille produced the majority of his films before the 1930s, and by the time sound films were invented, film critics saw DeMille as antiquated, with his best filmmaking years behind him. Film Director. Additionally, during the war, DeMille volunteered for the Justice Department's Intelligence Office, investigating friends, neighbors, and others he came in contact with in connection with the Famous Players-Lasky. Studio: A Cecil B. DeMille Production Paramount Pictures Premiered: February 4, 1938 Featured Cast: Fredric March, Franciska Gaal, Akim Tamiroff Producer-director: Cecil B. DeMille Screenwriter: Harold Lamb, Edwin Justus Mayer, C. Gardner Sullivan Source: Lyle Saxon's book Lafitte the Pirate Additional writers: Emily Barrye, Grover Jones, Jesse Lasky Jr., Jeanie Macpherson, Preston . [36] One of DeMille's affairs was with his screenwriter Jeanie MacPherson. Age at Death: 77. 27 October 2022. [41] However, none of these were very successful; William deMille was most successful when he worked alone. DeMille claimed that MacPherson was not a good writer, but she received credit in his films because she gave him many ideas for the screenplays. [247] Adjusted for inflation, DeMille's remake of The Ten Commandments is the eighth highest-grossing film in the world. On January 8, 1893, at age 40, Henry de Mille died suddenly from typhoid fever, leaving Beatrice with three children. Magazine pics. He produced or directed about 80 movies - including The Ten Commandments (1956), a movie in the 'epic' genre for which he is probably best known today. Immediate Family: Biological son of Gus Gonzales and Ada Piper.