His first several films were westerns and he produced a chain of westerns during the sound era. This allowed for the rapid production of his films in the early years of the Lasky Company. But he put on pictures that made a fortune. Adams was 29 years old at the time of their marriage, eight years older than DeMille. Mrs. DeMille's office and library opened to the music room. [52] The collaboration of DeMille and Lasky produced a successful musical called California which opened in New York in January 1912. [315] He was further nominated in the Best Picture category for The Ten Commandments at the 1957 Academy Awards. Married Life. Birth place. Biography - A Short WikiDirector of the epic 1956 film The Ten Commandments, which featured Charlton Heston as Moses. [171], Cecil B. DeMille suffered a series of heart attacks from June 1958 to January 1959,[168] and died on January 21, 1959, following an attack. [47] DeMille sometimes worked with the director E.H. Sothern, who influenced DeMille's later perfectionism in his work. As DeMille continued to rely on Groesbeck, the nervous energy of his early films transformed into more steady compositions of his later films. [186] Generally, Belasco's influence of DeMille's career can be seen in DeMille's showmanship and narration. The Squaw Man (1914), co-directed by Oscar Apfel, was a sensation and it established the Lasky Company. He stated that The Ten Commandments was the final culmination of DeMille's style. [160] The Exodus scene was filmed on-site in Egypt with the use of four Technicolor-VistaVision camera filming 12,000 people. Cecil B. DeMille American film director (1881-1959) . Age at Death: 77. [132] DeMille would never again work on radio. He wanted to prevent other companies from shooting on . [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. Henry was a tall, red-headed student. Cause of Death. Recommended For You. However, this version is actually a 1918 re-release. In the 1950s, Paramount sold its entire pre-1948 film library, including those of DeMille, to, The set was discovered by Peter Brosnan after hearing a rumor in 1982 that DeMille had ordered the enormous set to be buried after filming rather than taken away. [130] Broadcast on the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) from 1935 to 1954,[131] the Lux Radio show was one of the most popular weekly shows in the history of radio. Stills. 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. The play was successful, and DeMille was distraught that his childhood idol had plagiarized his work. [268] DeMille appeared as himself in numerous films, including the MGM comedy Free and Easy. Work period (start) 1899; Work period (end) 1959; Country of citizenship: Hijo del dramaturgo Henry Churchill DeMille, en cuyas obras particip durante su infancia y primera adolescencia, curs . [269] He often appeared in his coming-attraction trailers and narrated many of his later films,[270] even stepping on screen to introduce The Ten Commandments. [10], Cecil B. DeMille's mother, Beatrice, a literary agent and scriptwriter, was the daughter of German Jews. Once there, he chose not to shoot in Edendale, where many studios were, but in Hollywood. Consequently, he focused his efforts on his films' visuals. Sitting in an IMAX U.S. State: Massachusetts. [255], Publicly Episcopalian, DeMille drew on his Christian and Jewish ancestors to convey a message of tolerance. In other "Talk Shop" columns, DeMille explained that "no stone was left unturned to make the picture absolutely true to the life portrayed" and that he had brought in "eighteen big Tiger Tribe Indians . DeMille's early silent comedies influenced the comedies of Ernst Lubitsch and Charlie Chaplin's A Woman of Paris. [231][note 14] The Ten Commandments inspired DreamWorks Animation's later film about Moses, The Prince of Egypt. Moreover, DeMille was audited by the Internal Revenue Service due to issues with his production company. Birthday: August 12, 1881. Cecil B. DeMille Net Worth: Cecil B. DeMille was an American film director and producer who had a net worth equal to $50 million at the time of his death after adjusting for . Cecil B. DeMille Born: 1881-08-12, Ashfield, Massachusetts, USA Education: NY Academy of Dramatic Arts Ethnicity: Caucasian Death Date:-0001-11-30 . Hollywood, California: Paramount Pictures.2011, Last edited on 25 February 2023, at 18:28, Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Drama, eighth-highest-grossing film of all time, adjusted for inflation, "Back in the Day - Sept. 18, 1991: De Mille's Pompton Lakes roots recalled", "Anthony Quinn: Colourful Hollywood star who built a career playing ethnic heroes and villains", "Guide to the Richard DeMille Collection", "Cecil DeMille, 77, Pioneer of Movies, Dead in Hollywood", "How a Hollywood Director Almost Launched L.A.'s First Commercial Airline", "Register of the Cecil B. DeMille Archives, 1863-1983", "Financing Hollywood through the Great Depression", "Angelina Jolie Buys Historic Cecil B. DeMille Estate for $24.5 Million", "Sixty years later, The Ten Commandments remains one of the most popular biblical films ever made", "Angelina Jolie Buys Cecil B. DeMille's Estate at Record-Shattering Price", "Christie's East to Auction DeMille Possessions", "New Testament to Genius: Turner's "Cecil B. DeMille", "Cecil B. DeMille's "Samson and Delilah" Brings the World's Greatest Love Story to the Screen", "Hollywood Legend Claudette Colbert Dies", "Charlton Heston: as you won't remember him", "The Deep Focus Typecasting of Joseph Schildkraut as Judas Figure in Four DeMille Films", "A Brief History of Movie Special Effects", "All-Time Box-Office Hits By Decade and Year", "Ridley Scott: from Alien to Exodus, a Cecil B. DeMille for the digital age", "Samson as a Moses-Figure in Cecil B. DeMille's "Samson and Delilah" (1949)", "BFI Sight & Sound Top Ten Poll 2002 How the directors and critics voted", "Hollywood Flashback: Cecil B. DeMille Accepted the Golden Globe Named for Him in 1952", "Reel dictators: why despots love directors", "Disp L.A. Case #45: Cecil B. DeMille's Riding Crop", "DeMille's Re-Released 'Commandments'Better Than Ever", "Cecil B. DeMille the greatest filmmaking showman rediscovered! [41] The Return of Peter Grimm sparked controversy; however, because Belasco had taken DeMille's unnamed screenplay, changed the characters and named it The Return of Peter Grimm, producing and presenting it as his own work. He volunteered for the Intelligence Office during World War II as well. DeMille told the actor that he was "one hundred percent yellow". He produced many flops. A lasting memory for DeMille was a lunch with his father and actor Edwin Booth. [293] Two schools have been named after him: Cecil B. DeMille Middle School, in Long Beach, California, which was closed and demolished in 2010 to make way for a new high school;[294] and Cecil B. DeMille Elementary School in Midway City, California. [258], DeMille was one of the first directors to become a celebrity in his own right. [68] He continued to Los Angeles. 72 pictures of Cecil B. DeMille. [232] In the early age of cinema, DeMille differentiated the Lasky Company from other production companies due to the use of dramatic, low-key lighting they called "Lasky lighting" and marketed as "Rembrandt lighting" to appeal to the public. The sets and effects were so realistic that 30 extras needed to be hospitalized due to a scene with fireballs and flaming arrows. [105] Consequently, DeMille left Paramount in 1924 despite having helped establish it. [128] He supported Herbert Hoover and in 1928 made his largest campaign donation to Hoover. [84] While on a European vacation in 1921, DeMille contracted rheumatic fever in Paris. Cecil B. DeMille was born on August 12, 1881 in Ashfield, Massachusetts, U.S., United States, is Film Director, Producer. Beatrice was intelligent, educated, forthright, and strong-willed. 1956 theater brochure Although less critically revered than D.W. Griffith, DeMille actually played a more important role in . [231] Cecil B. DeMille has influenced the work of several well-known directors. 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.. [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. [236][189][237], Aside from his Biblical and historical epics which are concerned with how man relates to God, some of DeMille's films contained themes of "neo-naturalism" which portray the conflict between the laws of man and the laws of nature. Alternative names DeMille, Cecil Blount Short description Film director: Date of birth August 12, 1881 Place of birth They continued filming in 1955 in Paris and Hollywood on 30 different sound stages. The legendary comedian, 61, has been confirmed to receive one of the night's highest honors, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, given as a way to honor "outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment," per the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. [207], DeMille made stars of unknown actors: Gloria Swanson, Bebe Daniels, Rod La Rocque, William Boyd, Claudette Colbert, and Charlton Heston. Pioneering film director. [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. Date of Death: January 21, 1959. Red carpet photos. Ashfield, Massachusetts, USA. In his address, he compares the exodus of the Israelites under Moses's direction to that of the Mormon . [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. Actor, The F.B.I. [307] In the same ceremony, DeMille received a nomination from Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for The Greatest Show on Earth. He was so eager to produce the film, that he hadn't yet read the novel. Cecil B. DeMille's "Ten Commandments" is getting appropriately colossal treatment in honor of its 55th anniversary. Broadway Actor. This concerned the executives at Paramount; however, the film turned out to be the studio's highest-grossing film. [276] Famed director Steven Spielberg stated that DeMille's The Greatest Show on Earth was one of the films that influenced him to become a filmmaker. [168] Despite a cast led by Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner, the 1958 film The Buccaneer was a disappointment. 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. [103] It held the Paramount record for twenty-five years until DeMille broke the record again himself. [54] DeMille found success in the spring of 1913 producing Reckless Age by Lee Wilson, a play about a high society girl wrongly accused of manslaughter starring Frederick Burton and Sydney Shields. 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. . Adopted son of Cecil B. DeMille and Constance DeMille. ", "10 Great Films that Influenced Alfred Hitchcock", "The Construction of a Christ-figure within the 1956 and 1923 Versions of Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments", "The International Film Magazine, Sight & Sound, All films", "Hollywood Heritage volunteers preserve the Industry's earliest incarnation", "National Register of Historic Places Program", "Cecil B. DeMille Film Festival July 2 & 16", "After 54 years, it's the end for DeMille Middle School", "Vietnamese Language Roundtable showcased effectiveness of dual-language immersion program at DeMille Elementary School", "Apollo 11-Technical Air to Ground Voice Transcription", "Cecilia DeMille Presley Joins National Film Preservation Foundation Board of Directors", "BYU special collections archives houses extensive Cecil B. DeMille memorabilia", "BYU Hears: "Understand the Law of God", DeMille Advises 1957 Graduates", "5th Annual DGA Awards Honoring Outstanding Directorial Achievement for 1952", "5th Annual DGA Awards: Honoring Outstanding Directorial Achievement for 1952", "Jeff Bridges to Receive Cecil B. DeMille Award at 2019 Golden Globes", "Academy Alum Cecil B. DeMille, The Founding Father of Hollywood Filmmaking", "Complete National Film Registry Listing", "Robert Townsend Directing 'Brewster's Millions' Reboot", "The Only Son/Cecil B. Demille [motion picture]", "DVD Extra: The first, and best 'Chicago' (1927)", "Rare 1949 Photographs Show the Making of 'Sunset Boulevard', "Screen: 'The Ten Commandments'; De Mille's Production Opens at Criterion The Cast", Cecil B. DeMille's Early Films' Costs and Grosses by David Pierce, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cecil_B._DeMille&oldid=1141568133, This page was last edited on 25 February 2023, at 18:28. 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. Despite the urging of his associate producer, DeMille wanted to return to the set right away. [84] Goldwyn was later fired from Famous Players-Lasky due to frequent clashes with Lasky, DeMille, and finally Zukor. His poor physical condition upon his return home affected the production of his 1922 film Manslaughter. [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. The Union Pacific gave DeMille access to historical data, early period trains, and expert crews, adding to the authenticity of the film. [22] Agnes would die on February 11, 1894, at the age of three from spinal meningitis. His films were distinguished by their epic . Spanish Wikipedia. [243] In relation to his own interests and sexual preferences, sadomasochism was a minor theme present in some of his films. They struggled to adapt the play from the stage to the set. [118] His first three sound films were produced at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Cecil B. DeMille: Film director from the United States (1881 - 1959), Actor, Writer, Film producer, Film director, Film editor, Screenwriter, Playwright, Stage actor . [32] At the age of twenty-one, Cecil B. DeMille married Constance Adams on August 16, 1902, at Adams's father's home in East Orange, New Jersey. [66] With no knowledge of filmmaking, DeMille was introduced to observe the process at film studios. [28] On Henry DeMille's deathbed, he told his wife that he did not want his sons to become playwrights. Furthermore, DeMille's film won the Academy Award for Best Picture and the Academy Award for Best Story. [18] The family lived in Washington, North Carolina,[19] until Henry built a three-story Victorian-style house for his family in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey; they named this estate "Pamlico". [168] In the months before his death, DeMille was researching a film biography of Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scout Movement. Lasky and DeMille convinced film pioneer Siegmund Lubin of the Lubin Manufacturing Company of Philadelphia to have his experienced technicians reperforate the film [74] This was also the first American feature film; however, only by release date, as D. W. Griffith's Judith of Bethulia was filmed earlier than The Squaw Man, but released later. Furthermore, DeMille argued with Zukor over his extravagant and over-budget production costs. DeMille, Cecil B. [206] Bernstein recalled that DeMille would scream, yell, or flatter, whatever it took to achieve the perfection he required in his films. [102] Many of his films featured scenes in two-color Technicolor. [44], DeMille performed on stage with actors whom he would later direct in films: Charlotte Walker, Mary Pickford, and Pedro de Cordoba. In addition to his Best Picture Awards, he received an Academy Honorary Award for his film contributions, the Palme d'Or (posthumously) for Union Pacific (1939), a DGA Award for Lifetime Achievement, and the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. Adams allowed DeMille to have several long term mistresses during their marriage as an outlet, while maintaining an outward appearance of a faithful marriage. "[265] Said fellow director William Wellman: "Directorially, I think his pictures were the most horrible things I've ever seen in my life. [255] Consequently, the name "DeMille" has become synonymous with filmmaking. [41] DeMille and his brother at times worked with the legendary impresario David Belasco, who had been a friend and collaborator of their father. While he is known as DeMille (his nom d'oeuvre), his family name was Dutch and is usually spelled "de Mil". . 16 references. With his editor, Anne Bauchens, DeMille used editing techniques to allow the visual images to bring the plot to climax rather than dialogue. [228] In order to attract a high-class audience, DeMille based many of his early films on stage melodramas, novels, and short stories. [7] His brother, William C. DeMille, was born on July 25, 1878. 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". "A dreadful showoff. [142] Jeanie MacPherson would work as a scriptwriter for many of DeMille's films. Film Director. DeMille lent Roosevelt a car for his campaign for the 1932 United States presidential election and voted for him. [279][280] DeMille received more than a dozen awards from Christian and Jewish religious and cultural groups, including B'nai B'rith. Cecil B. DeMille's final film, another version of The Ten Commandments , is his most widely seen work, thanks to Easter-time television programming, but it is not one of his most respected. "[257] The critic Camille Paglia has called The Ten Commandments one of the ten greatest films of all time. An annual award, the Golden Globe's Cecil B. DeMille Award recognizes lifetime achievement in the film industry. [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. He would speak to the entire set, sometimes enormous with countless numbers of crew members and extras, via a microphone to maintain control of the set. Read More Having emerged as a potent force during the birth of Hollywood, director Cecil B. DeMille was a crucial figure in the early development of the classic Hollywood narrative filmmaking style. Instead of portraying the danger and anarchy of the West, he portrayed the opportunity and redemption found in Western America. [203], DeMille often edited in a manner that favored psychological space rather than physical space through his cuts. heart failure. Mini Bio (1) Julia Faye's career is inextricably linked to director Cecil B. DeMille. [179][note 12], DeMille believed his first influences to be his parents, Henry and Beatrice DeMille. [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 film was considered a "masterpiece" and surpassed the quality of other sound films of the time. (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.". [64] The Lasky Company bought the rights to the play The Squaw Man by Edwin Milton Royle and cast Dustin Farnum in the lead role. The other three children were surprised by this, as DeMille did not treat the children differently in life. The King of Kings (1927) The first real film about Jesus Christ, this one also set up the template by which all others would be measured until 1988. Perhaps Cecil B. DeMille is more responsible for this than are today's preachers.' 13. retrieved. 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. Notably, DeMille had cinematographer John P. Fulton create the parting of the Red Sea scene in his 1956 film The Ten Commandments, which was one of the most expensive special effects in film history, and has been called by Steven Spielberg "the greatest special effect in film history". Sarris added that despite the influence of styles of contemporary directors throughout his career, DeMille's style remained unchanged. The film was produced on a large budget of $600,000, the most expensive production at Paramount. *mother - Ashkenazi Jewish. Cecil B. DeMille. 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 A deficiency in chromium may cause high blood sugar; however, deficiency is very rare. Director John Huston intensely disliked both DeMille and his films. [172] DeMille's funeral was held on January 23 at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. It opened on December 13, 1985, and features some of DeMille's personal artifacts. However, Sam Goldwyn realized that if they called it "Rembrandt" lighting, the audience would pay double the price. [45] His 1905 performance in The Prince Chap as the Earl of Huntington was well received by audiences. [215][216][217] He also cast established stars such as Gary Cooper, Robert Preston, Paulette Goddard and Fredric March in multiple pictures. DeMille was credited in small print as "based on an idea by Cecil DeMille". His art was even shown at Paramount meetings when pitching new films. He called this place, "Paradise", declaring it a wildlife sanctuary; no shooting of animals was allowed besides snakes. His overriding spirit . "[132] Consequently, he had to resign from the radio show. [14], DeMille's parents met as members of a music and literary society in New York. The picture of her husband was taken in 1916, the year they bought the house, when he was 35 and an increasingly active and . DeMille had adopted him to avoid revealing the affairs to William's wife. Name Constance DeMille Cause of death pneumonia: Born April 27, 1874 . Despite his loss, DeMille continued to lobby for the TaftHartley Act, which passed. [47] In 1907, due to a scandal with one of Beatrice's students, Evelyn Nesbit, the Henry deMille School lost students. Explore Cecil B. DeMille's biography, personal life, family and cause of death. [296] During the Apollo 11 mission, Buzz Aldrin refers to himself in one instance as "Cecil B. DeAldrin", as a humorous nod to DeMille. [79][note 3], Cecil B. DeMille's second film credited exclusively to him was The Virginian. Sons-and daughters-in-law were required to call him "Mr. DeMille", and Richard deMille never recalled hugging his father, claiming he received handshakes instead. [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. [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. [114] He was additionally vice president of the Commercial National Trust and Savings Bank in Los Angeles where he approved loans for other filmmakers. Place of Death: Los Angeles, California, U.S. Ethnnicity: *father - English, small amounts of Scottish and Dutch, distant Belgian Flemish, remote Welsh. DeMille traveled abroad to find employment until he was offered a deal at Paramount. [16] He gained his love of theater while watching his father and Belasco rehearse their plays. It was the longest (3 hours, 39 minutes) and most expensive ($13million) film in Paramount history. [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. An example is the Bible which has been remade into many different movies including The Ten Commandments by Cecil B. DeMille and The Passion of the Christ by Mel Gibson. [235] DeMille was also known for his use of special effects without the use of digital technology. [32] Publicists wrote that he became an actor in order to learn how direct and produce, but DeMille admitted that he became an actor in order to pay the bills. [88] On July 19, 1916, the Jesse Lasky Feature Play Company merged with Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company, becoming Famous Players-Lasky. DeMille directed The King of Kings (1927), a biography of Jesus, which gained approval for its sensitivity and reached more than 800million viewers. 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. Oscars 1950 - Honorary Award. DeMille plays himself in the film. DeMille's return was approved by Zukor under the condition that DeMille not exceed his production budget of $650,000 for The Sign of the Cross. The Roaring Twenties were the boom years and DeMille took full advantage, opening the Mercury Aviation Company, one of America's first commercial airlines.

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