Biography
Cecil Blount DeMille was a founder of the Hollywood motion-picture industry, one of the most commercially successful producer-directors of his time, and one of the most influential filmmakers in history. Between 1914 and 1956, he made seventy feature films; all but seven were profitable. Cecil B. DeMille is synonymous with religious epics: The King of Kings, Samson and Delilah, and The Ten Commandments (1956). He blended spectacle, sex, and spellbinding narrative to convey a message of faith.
It was DeMille who created the image of the omnipotent director, megaphone in hand, wearing boots and a visored cap. DeMille gave Hollywood numerous stars: Wallace Reid, Gloria Swanson, William (“Hopalong Cassidy”) Boyd, Claudette Colbert, Robert Preston, Jean Arthur, and Charlton Heston.
DeMille created the posts of studio story editor, art director, and concept artist. He was one of the first to use theatrical lighting on a movie set. In the late 1920s, when Hollywood converted to sound films, DeMille defied the sound experts, liberating the camera from a confining booth, and implementing the microphone boom.
DeMille’s authority extended beyond the confines of his studio. He was a power in aviation, banking, politics, and real estate. In the 1930s, his fame as a filmmaker was surpassed by his fame as a radio star.
He was a founder of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, an institution from which he eventually won two awards. In 1953 his film The Greatest Show on Earth won the Award for Best Picture of 1952; and he was presented with the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award.
DeMille’s influence on world culture is incalculable, but there are estimates and milestones. His biography of Jesus Christ, The King of Kings, was a silent film, but because of a unique distribution arrangement, it was eventually seen by 800 million viewers. Samson and Delilah (1949) and The Ten Commandments (1956) are still listed with the top ten all-time box-office champions. They continue to generate revenue and provoke thought.
Filmography
all 140
Movies 135
Director 77
self 38
Producer 16
TV Shows 5
Writer 5
Narrator 1
Indiana Jones: The Search for the Lost Golden Age (2021)
Yul Brynner, the Magnificent (2020)
Patterns of Evidence: The Red Sea Miracle II (2020)
Patterns of Evidence: The Red Sea Miracle (2020)
Hail Satan? (2019)
Sword-and-Sandal (2019)
The Lost City of Cecil B. DeMille (2016)
And the Oscar Goes To... (2014)
Forbidden Film: The Production Code Era (2009)
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema (2007)
The Casting Couch (1995)
The Bible According to Hollywood (1994)
Going Hollywood: The '30s (1984)
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage (1983)
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? (1975)
Spécial cinéma (1974)
The Buccaneer (1958)
The Buster Keaton Story (1957)
The Ten Commandments (1956)
Cinépanorama (1956)
The War of the Worlds (1953)
This Is Your Life (1952)
Son of Paleface (1952)
The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
The Fallbrook Story (1952)
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
History Brought to Life (1950)
What's My Line? (1950)
Samson and Delilah (1949)
The Ed Sullivan Show (1948)
California's Golden Beginning (1948)
Unconquered (1947)
Variety Girl (1947)
Jens Mons in America (1947)
Screen Snapshots (Series 25, No. 1): 25th Anniversary (1945)
The Story of Dr. Wassell (1944)
Reap the Wild Wind (1942)
Star Spangled Rhythm (1942)
Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10) (1942)
North West Mounted Police (1940)
The Movies March On (1939)
Land of Liberty (1939)
Union Pacific (1939)
The Buccaneer (1938)
The Plainsman (1936)
Hollywood Extra Girl (1935)
The Crusades (1935)
Cleopatra (1934)
Four Frightened People (1934)
The Hollywood You Never See (1934)
Hollywood on Parade No. B-5 (1933)
This Day and Age (1933)
The Sign of the Cross (1932)
The Squaw Man (1931)
Madam Satan (1930)
Estrellados (1930)
Free and Easy (1930)
Dynamite (1929)
The Godless Girl (1928)
Walking Back (1928)
Hold 'Em Yale (1928)
Let'er Go Gallegher (1928)
The Circus: Premiere (1928)
The Angel of Broadway (1927)
The Fighting Eagle (1927)
Life in Hollywood No. 1 (1927)
Vanity (1927)
The Yankee Clipper (1927)
The King of Kings (1927)
White Gold (1927)
The Cruise of the Jasper B (1926)
Her Man o' War (1926)
The Volga Boatman (1926)
Silence (1926)
Whispering Smith (1926)
Red Dice (1926)
The Wedding Song (1925)
The Road to Yesterday (1925)
The Coming of Amos (1925)
The Night Club (1925)
The Dressmaker from Paris (1925)
The Golden Bed (1925)
Feet of Clay (1924)
Triumph (1924)
The Ten Commandments (1923)
Adam's Rib (1923)
Hollywood (1923)
Manslaughter (1922)
A Trip to Paramountown (1922)
Saturday Night (1922)
Fool's Paradise (1921)
The Affairs of Anatol (1921)
Forbidden Fruit (1921)
Something to Think About (1920)
Why Change Your Wife? (1920)
Male and Female (1919)
For Better, for Worse (1919)
Don't Change Your Husband (1919)
The Squaw Man (1918)
Till I Come Back to You (1918)
We Can't Have Everything (1918)
Old Wives for New (1918)
The Whispering Chorus (1918)
The Devil Stone (1917)
Nan of Music Mountain (1917)
The Woman God Forgot (1917)
The Little American (1917)
A Romance of the Redwoods (1917)
Lost and Won (1917)
Joan the Woman (1916)
The Dream Girl (1916)
Maria Rosa (1916)
The Heart of Nora Flynn (1916)
The Love Mask (1916)
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1916)
The Golden Chance (1915)
Temptation (1915)
The Cheat (1915)
Chimmie Fadden Out West (1915)
Carmen (1915)
Kindling (1915)
Chimmie Fadden (1915)
The Arab (1915)
The Wild Goose Chase (1915)
The Captive (1915)
The Unafraid (1915)
The Warrens of Virginia (1915)
The Girl of the Golden West (1915)
The Ghost Breaker (1914)
The Circus Man (1914)
The Rose of the Rancho (1914)
The Man From Home (1914)
Ready Money (1914)
What's His Name (1914)
The Virginian (1914)
The Call of the North (1914)
Lord Chumley (1914)
Brewster's Millions (1914)
The Squaw Man (1914)
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Information
Known ForDirecting
GenderMale
Birthday1881-08-12
Deathday1959-01-21 (77 years old)
Birth PlaceAshfield, United States of America
Height
RelationshipsConstance Adams DeMille (1902-01-01 - 1959-01-01)
ChildrenRichard de Mille, Katherine DeMille
FatherHenry C. De Mille
MotherBeatrice DeMille
SiblingsWilliam Churchill deMille, William C. deMille
CitizenshipsUnited States of America
Awardsstar on Hollywood Walk of Fame, Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award, Academy Award for Best Picture
This article uses material from Wikipedia.
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