[148] Again, 1952's The Greatest Show on Earth became Paramount's highest-grossing film to that point. [168] In the months before his death, DeMille was researching a film biography of Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scout Movement. Heart Ailment. [205], Composer Elmer Bernstein described DeMille as "sparing no effort" when filmmaking. Consequently, his mother hired him for her agency The DeMille Play Company and taught him how to be an agent and a playwright. His father, Henry Churchill de Mille (1853-1893), was a North Carolina-born dramatist and lay reader in the Episcopal Church, who had earlier . [160] A unique practice at the time, DeMille offered ten percent of his profit to the crew. 10 June 2021. DeMille himself directed twenty films by 1915. The legendary producer-director Cecil B. DeMille was a master of the American biblical epic who shaped the public's perceptions of Judeo-Christianity in his role as Hollywood's Sunday school teacher. She would die one year later. [52] The collaboration of DeMille and Lasky produced a successful musical called California which opened in New York in January 1912. Barbara Stanwyck. The film was considered a "masterpiece" and surpassed the quality of other sound films of the time. Adams allowed DeMille to have several long term mistresses during their marriage as an outlet, while maintaining an outward appearance of a faithful marriage. Though the film was not high-grossing, it was well-received and DeMille was asked to shorten its running time to allow for more showings per day. Cecil B. DeMille Born: 1881-08-12, Ashfield, Massachusetts, USA Education: NY Academy of Dramatic Arts Ethnicity: Caucasian Death Date:-0001-11-30 . Cecil B. DeMille Birthday and Date of Death. Furthermore, DeMille argued with Zukor over his extravagant and over-budget production costs. [51] In 1911, DeMille became acquainted with vaudeville producer Jesse Lasky when Lasky was searching for a writer for his new musical. [22] Agnes would die on February 11, 1894, at the age of three from spinal meningitis. [172] DeMille's funeral was held on January 23 at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church. 1. View the latest Cecil B. DeMille photos. DeMille told the actor that he was "one hundred percent yellow". [10], Cecil B. DeMille's mother, Beatrice, a literary agent and scriptwriter, was the daughter of German Jews. 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. DeMille did not believe a large movie set was the place to discuss minor character or line issues. Alternative names DeMille, Cecil Blount Short description Film director: Date of birth August 12, 1881 Place of birth [279][280] DeMille received more than a dozen awards from Christian and Jewish religious and cultural groups, including B'nai B'rith. Once there, he chose not to shoot in Edendale, where many studios were, but in Hollywood. [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. . A lasting memory for DeMille was a lunch with his father and actor Edwin Booth. DeMille's first film, The Squaw Man (1914), was also the first full-length feature film shot in Hollywood. The first, for radio contributions, is located at 6240 Hollywood Blvd. However, DeMille's second remake at MGM in 1931 would be a failure. [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. [319] The Ten Commandments is broadcast every Saturday at Passover in the United States on the ABC Television Network. Beatrice became a play broker and author's agent, influencing DeMille's early life and career. Cecil B. DeMille was born on August 12, 1881 and died on January 21, 1959. "[267] Salvador Dal wrote that DeMille, Walt Disney and the Marx Brothers were "the three great American Surrealists". . 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. . DeMille is one of the more commercially successful film directors in history[246] with his films before the release of The Ten Commandments estimated to have grossed $650million worldwide. DeMille traveled abroad to find employment until he was offered a deal at Paramount. Actress and director Angelina Jolie is reportedly moving her six children with Brad Pitt into the historic estate once owned by legendary director Cecil B. DeMille who was famous for his over-the-t Still, it was a huge success at the box office. Hot! Self - The Real FBI Story (2017) . 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. . Cecil Blount DeMille[note 1] was born on August 12, 1881, in a boarding house on Main Street in Ashfield, Massachusetts, where his parents had been vacationing for the summer. [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". [57] Having become disinterested in working in theatre, DeMille's passion for film was ignited when he watched the 1912 French film Les Amours de la reine lisabeth. [136] During pre-production of Union Pacific, DeMille was dealing with his first serious health issue. [213] DeMille did receive help in his films, notably from Alvin Wyckoff who shot forty-three of DeMille's films;[80] brother William deMille who would occasionally serve as his screenwriter;[82] and Jeanie Macpherson, who served as DeMille's exclusive screenwriter for fifteen years;[214] and Eddie Salven, DeMille's favorite assistant director. [206] Bernstein recalled that DeMille would scream, yell, or flatter, whatever it took to achieve the perfection he required in his films. [308] In 1952, DeMille was awarded the first Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes. He was an active Freemason and member of Prince of Orange Lodge #16 in New York City.[1]. [231] Cecil B. DeMille has influenced the work of several well-known directors. [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. Cause of Death: Heart failure due to a series of heart attacks. [207] Costume designer Dorothy Jeakins, who worked with DeMille on The Ten Commandments (1956), said that he was skilled in humiliating people. vigilantes and fulminating fanatics suffering flock shock and who wanted to shut down 1920s Hollywood because of the cause clbre scandals . [citation needed] He was known as anti-union and worked to prevent unionizing of film production studios. Sunset Blvd. The Sign of the Cross (1932) is said to be the first sound film to integrate all aspects of cinematic technique. He was disliked by many inside and outside of the film industry for his cold and controlling reputation. Cecil Blount DeMille. Cecil B. Demille papers (English) type of reference. 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. As DeMille continued to rely on Groesbeck, the nervous energy of his early films transformed into more steady compositions of his later films. [261][262] He was known for his unique, working wardrobe which included riding boots, riding pants, and soft, open necked shirts. [109] Eight of his films were "epics" with five of those classified as "Biblical". [202] DeMille was unique in using this technique. DeMille studied famous paintings that captured the life of Christ and brought them to the screen. Any problems on the set were often fixed by writers in the office rather than on the set. DeMille left a physical legacy in 1923 when, on completing The Ten Commandments, he buried the Egyptian sets in the sand dunes of Guadalupe. [132], DeMille sued the union for reinstatement but lost. [49] DeMille had a daughter, Cecilia, on November 5, 1908, who would be his only biological child. I'm ready for my close-up." Pictorials. DeMille served as executive producer but could not improve Quinn's style of direction. [259] He cultivated the image of the omnipotent director,[260] complete with megaphone, riding crop, and jodhpurs. However, one word is especially appropriate. His first several films were westerns and he produced a chain of westerns during the sound era. DeMille had considered making the film himself. In 1923, DeMille released a modern melodrama The Ten Commandments which was a significant change from his previous stint of irreligious 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. Date of Death: January 21, 1959. Friday 12 Aug 1881. They screened four of his films at Christ Church, where DeMille and his family attended church when they lived there. 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. [238] Although he is known for his later "spectacular" films, his early films are held in high regard by critics and film historians. Cause of death: Heart failure: Nationality: American: Occupation: Producer, director, editor, screenwriter, actor: Years active: 1913-1959: Spouse(s) Constance Adams . [37] Despite his reputation for extramarital affairs, DeMille did not like to have affairs with his stars, as he believed it would cause him to lose control as a director. [31] In 1901, DeMille starred in productions of A Repentance, To Have and to Hold, and Are You a Mason? Cecil Blount DeMille (/ssl dml/; August 12, 1881 January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Story - The Left's Kavanaugh Hate-Fest (2018) . [36] One of DeMille's affairs was with his screenwriter Jeanie MacPherson. 1 reference. Cecil Blount Demille, known as Cecil B. DeMille, was a pioneering film director - in both silent and sound movies.Starting in 1913, he became a dominant force in the Hollywood film industry for 40 years. He claimed he abandoned the project in order to complete a different project, but in reality, it was to preserve his reputation and avoid appearing reactionary. DeMille also was planning a film about the space race as well as another biblical epic about the Book of Revelation. Self - Actor, The F.B.I. d. 21 st January 1959, Hollywood, California, USA. [317], Two of DeMille's films have been selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the United States Library of Congress: The Cheat (1915) and The Ten Commandments (1956). Work period (start) . Although this final reel looked so different from the previous eleven reels that it appeared to be from another movie, according to Simon Louvish, the film is one of DeMille's strangest and most "DeMillean" film. Legendary producer-director Cecil B. DeMille, (1) affectionately known as C.B., was a seminal cofounder of Hollywood and a progenitor of Paramount studio who became a mega-star of . Let's take a look back at 20 of his greatest movies, ranked worst to best. His films were distinguished by their epic scale and by his cinematic showmanship. - Death and the Maiden (1973) . DeMille directed The King of Kings (1927), a biography of Jesus, which gained approval for its sensitivity and reached more than 800million viewers. It was commercially very successful. [303] In 1957, DeMille gave the commencement address for the graduation ceremony of Brigham Young University wherein he received an honorary Doctorate of Letter degree. Henry was a tall, red-headed student. [186] Generally, Belasco's influence of DeMille's career can be seen in DeMille's showmanship and narration. [41] His first play was The Pretender-A Play in a Prologue and 4 Acts set in seventeenth century Russia. . [61], The Squaw Man was a success, which led to the eventual founding of Paramount Pictures and Hollywood becoming the "film capital of the world". [121], In 1932, DeMille returned to Paramount at the request of Lasky, bringing with him his own production unit. DeMille would stick to his large-budget spectaculars for the rest of his career. [116], When "talking pictures" were invented in 1928, Cecil B. DeMille made a successful transition, offering his own innovations to the painful process; he devised a microphone boom and a soundproof camera blimp. [90], During World War I, the Famous Players-Lasky organized a military company underneath the National Guard called the Home Guard made up of film studio employees with DeMille as captain. View Bio. After the film was shown, viewers complained that the shadows and lighting prevented the audience from seeing the actors' full faces, complaining that they would only pay half price. [168] Despite a cast led by Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner, the 1958 film The Buccaneer was a disappointment. Death: December 20, 1982 (68) Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, United States. "[132] Consequently, he had to resign from the radio show. He directed and produced four films on his own, working with Producers Distributing Corporation because he found front office supervision too restricting. [58], Desiring a change of scene, Cecil B. DeMille, Jesse Lasky, Sam Goldfish (later Samuel Goldwyn), and a group of East Coast businessmen created the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company in 1913 over which DeMille became director-general. "Give me any two pages of the Bible, and I'll give you a picture." -Cecil B. DeMille. [106] His first film in the new production company, DeMille Pictures Corporation, was The Road to Yesterday in 1925. Mature refused to wrestle Jackie the Lion, even though DeMille had just tussled with the lion, proving that he was tame. The United States Supreme Court declined to review his case. Work period (start) 1899; Work period (end) 1959; Country of citizenship: Cecil Blount DeMille (/ s s l d m l /; August 12, 1881 - January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor.Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films.He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cinema and the most commercially successful producer-director in film history. His most notable works include The Ten Commandments -1923, The Sign of the Cross-1932 and Cleopatra-1934.Cleopatra earned him credits as it was the first film that was listed among the nominees for an Academy Award.. Cecil B. DeMille was born on August 12th, in 1881. DeMille's film The Affairs of Anatol came under fire. Name Constance DeMille Cause of death pneumonia: Born April 27, 1874 . [318], Cecil B. DeMille made 70 features. [182] DeMille noted that his mother had a "high sense of the dramatic" and was determined to continue the artistic legacy of her husband after he died. Unlike the other children the DeMille's adopted, John was never told about his birth parents. [146][note 10] DeMille's subsequent film Unconquered (1947) had the longest running time (146 minutes), longest filming schedule (102 days) and largest budget of $5million. [125], Cecil B. DeMille was outspoken about his strong Episcopalian integrity but his private life included mistresses and adultery. DeMille's primary criticism was of closed shops, but later included criticism of communism and unions in general. Born in 1881, DeMille made his directorial debut with "The Squaw Man" (1914), a story he remade in 1918 and 1931 . In this way, the characters' thoughts and desires are the visual focus rather than the circumstances regarding the physical scene. His poor physical condition upon his return home affected the production of his 1922 film Manslaughter. [284] Although many of DeMille's films are available on DVD and Blu-ray release, only 20 of his silent films are commercially available on DVD [285][note 15], The original Lasky-DeMille Barn in which The Squaw Man was filmed was converted into a museum named the "Hollywood Heritage Museum". [149][150] DeMille signed a contract with Prentice Hall publishers in August 1953 to publish an autobiography. 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. Media in category "Cecil B. DeMille" The following 53 files are in this category, out of 53 total. [290][note 16] Donated by the Cecil B. DeMille Foundation in 2004, the moving image collection of Cecil B. DeMille is held at the Academy Film Archive and includes home movies, outtakes, and never-before-seen test footage. [287][288] The Lasky-DeMille Barn was dedicated as a California historical landmark in a ceremony on December 27, 1956; DeMille was the keynote speaker. After Henry DeMille's death at age 40, Cecil's mother, Beatrice, ran a well-known boarding school for girls in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey. He began his career as a stage actor in 1900. He received his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director for his circus drama The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), which won both the Academy Award for Best Picture and the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Drama. He volunteered for the Intelligence Office during World War II as well. This concerned the executives at Paramount; however, the film turned out to be the studio's highest-grossing film. [114] He was additionally vice president of the Commercial National Trust and Savings Bank in Los Angeles where he approved loans for other filmmakers. DeMille was variously declared 'the master of the religious epic', 14. the 'arch apostle of spectacle', 15. and the 'King of the epic Biblical spectacular', 16. as also [40], His brother William was establishing himself as a playwright and sometimes invited him to collaborate. [110] After the release of DeMille's The Godless Girl, silent films in America became obsolete and DeMille was forced to shoot a shoddy final reel with the new sound production technique. [49] In the 1910s, DeMille began directing and producing other writer's plays. [187] It is difficult to typify DeMille's films into one specific genre. [27] Before Henry deMille's death, Beatrice had "enthusiastically supported" her husband's theatrical aspirations. Radford, Bill. [193], DeMille rarely gave direction to actors; he preferred to "office-direct" where he would work with actors in his office, going over characters and reading through scripts. [103] It held the Paramount record for twenty-five years until DeMille broke the record again himself. [203], DeMille often edited in a manner that favored psychological space rather than physical space through his cuts. September 17, 1914. At least one DeMille film can represent each film genre. In his address, he compares the exodus of the Israelites under Moses's direction to that of the Mormon . Mrs. DeMille's office and library opened to the music room. She later became the second female play broker on Broadway. [63] The Lasky Company wanted to attract high-class audiences to their films so they began producing films from literary works. [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. They continued filming in 1955 in Paris and Hollywood on 30 different sound stages. It was produced with a large budget and contained many special effects including an electronically operated giant squid. [76][77] The film grossed over ten times its budget after its New York premiere in February 1914. [127] However, according to DeMille himself, he was not anti-union and belonged to a few unions himself. (1950) $10,000. After the death of William deMille, DeMille revealed to Richard DeMille that William was his father and he had been born to William and a mistress. *mother - Ashkenazi Jewish. A censorship board called the Hays Code was established. [138] Audiences liked its highly saturated color, so DeMille made no further black-and-white features. However, he did take a few months to set up a movie theater for the French front. [165] This film would be his last. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. 1956 theater brochure Full name. [273], As a filmmaker, DeMille was the aesthetic inspiration of many directors and films due to his early influence during the crucial development of the film industry. [297] The title of the 2000 John Waters film Cecil B. Demented alludes to DeMille. Next, he would work with writers to develop the story that he was envisioning. DeMille frequently made cameos as himself in other Paramount films. [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. Robin Williams, 2005. The first 24 of his silent films were made in the first three years of his career (1913-1916). [26] The aim of the school was to teach young women to properly understand and fulfill the women's duty to herself, her home, and her country. The Roaring Twenties were the boom years and DeMille took full advantage, opening the Mercury Aviation Company, one of America's first commercial airlines. DeMille developed a plan with his doctor to allow him to continue directing while reducing his physical stress. Constance Adams DeMille (April 27, 1873 July 17, 1960) actress and wife of filmmaker Cecil Blount DeMille. 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. He had a band of assistants who catered to his needs. Date of death: 21 January 1959 Hollywood: Cause of death: heart failure; Place of burial: Hollywood Forever Cemetery; Pseudonym: C.B. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies. Long before he made his first sound picture, DeMille had become a cinema . [204] As DeMille's career progressed, he increasingly relied on artist Dan Sayre Groesbeck's concept, costume, and storyboard art. [60] As director-general, DeMille's job was to make the films. In his first instance, in 1917, he remade The Squaw Man (1918), only waiting four years from the 1914 original. He was confined to bed and unable to eat. Instead of portraying the danger and anarchy of the West, he portrayed the opportunity and redemption found in Western America. [32] From 1904 to 1905, DeMille attempted to make a living as a stock theatre actor with his wife Constance. Chromium. [231][note 14] The Ten Commandments inspired DreamWorks Animation's later film about Moses, The Prince of Egypt. [29] He fled the school to join the SpanishAmerican War, but failed to meet the age requirement. [194] DeMille was particularly adept at directing and managing large crowds in his films. Cecil B. DeMille. [278] As one of the establishing members of Paramount Pictures and co-founder of Hollywood, DeMille had a role in the development of the film industry. Biography: Cecil B. deMille is one of the most important and successful filmmakers Hollywood has ever produced. DeMille instructed the guilty man to leave town and would never reveal his name. [180] and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. [138] Critics were impressed with the visuals but found the scripts dull, calling it DeMille's "poorest Western".
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