1. Julia was born in Richmond, Virginia, of French-American parentage. 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. [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. His first three films were Westerns, and he filmed many Westerns throughout his career. The film was produced on a large budget of $600,000, the most expensive production at Paramount. [60] In addition to directing, DeMille was the supervisor and consultant for the first year of films made by the Lasky Feature Play Company. DeMille had adopted him to avoid revealing the affairs to William's wife. that DeMille found his greatest inspiration. 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. Actor, The F.B.I. "[267] Salvador Dal wrote that DeMille, Walt Disney and the Marx Brothers were "the three great American Surrealists". [172], DeMille received two Academy Awards: an Honorary Award for "37 years of brilliant showmanship" in 1950[313] and a Best Picture award in 1953 for The Greatest Show on Earth. [308] In 1952, DeMille was awarded the first Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes. [84] While on a European vacation in 1921, DeMille contracted rheumatic fever in Paris. Robin Williams, 2005. Along the same lines, critics of DeMille often qualify him by his later spectacles and fail to consider several decades of ingenuity and energy that defined him during his generation. In the silent era, he was renowned for Male and Female (1919), Manslaughter (1922), The Volga Boatman (1926), and The Godless Girl (1928). Cecil B. DeMille real name: Cecil Blount DeMille Height: 5'11''(in feet & inches) 1.8034(m) 180.34(cm) , Birthdate(Birthday): August 12, 1881 , Age on January 21, 1959 (Death date): 77 Years 5 Months 9 Days Profession: Movies (Director), Also working as: Producer, Director, Editor, Screenwriter, Actor, Father: Henry Churchill de Mille, Mother: Matilda Beatrice deMille, Married: Yes, Children: Yes Sunset Blvd. [17] As a child, DeMille created an alter-ego, Champion Driver, a Robin Hood-like character, evidence of his creativity and imagination. In his first instance, in 1917, he remade The Squaw Man (1918), only waiting four years from the 1914 original. [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. [66] With no knowledge of filmmaking, DeMille was introduced to observe the process at film studios. imported from Wikimedia project. - Death and the Maiden (1973) . William deMille reluctantly became a story editor. He produced many flops. However, Birchard acknowledged that Sarris's point was more likely that DeMille's style was behind the development of film as an art form. [243] In relation to his own interests and sexual preferences, sadomasochism was a minor theme present in some of his films. He was granted an honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II in 1974. Frequent actors and actresses on the show included Barbara Stanwyck, Claudette Colbert, Loretta Young, Don Ameche, and Fred MacMurray. [296] During the Apollo 11 mission, Buzz Aldrin refers to himself in one instance as "Cecil B. DeAldrin", as a humorous nod to DeMille. [49] In the 1910s, DeMille began directing and producing other writer's plays. Red carpet photos. Hayne, Autobiography of Cecil B. DeMille, 433-34. [143] [note 9] In 1938, DeMille supervised the compilation of film Land of Liberty to represent the contribution of the American film industry to the 1939 New York World's Fair. [165] This film would be his last. In addition to winning the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field, Sidney also received a BAFTA award for The Defiant Ones, a Golden Globe for Lilies of the Field, and the Cecil B. DeMille Award, among other awards and nominations. [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. [248], According to Sam Goldwyn, critics did not like DeMille's films, but the audiences did and "they have the final word". [130] From 1936 to 1945, he produced, hosted, and directed all shows with the occasional exception of a guest director. [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. Martin Scorsese recalled that DeMille had the skill to maintain control of not only the lead actors in a frame but the many extras in the frame as well. 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 bought the rights to the novel in 1925, but abandoned the project in pre-production. He stated that The Ten Commandments was the final culmination of DeMille's style. [137] Following his surgery and the success of Union Pacific, in 1940, DeMille first used three-strip Technicolor in North West Mounted Police. However, one word is especially appropriate. [136] During pre-production of Union Pacific, DeMille was dealing with his first serious health issue. He suffered from a post-surgery infection from which he nearly did not recover, citing streptomycin as his saving grace. [39] In the summer of 1905 DeMille joined the stock cast at the Elitch Theatre in Denver, Colorado. [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. Martin Scorsese cited Unconquered, Samson and Delilah, and The Greatest Show on Earth as DeMille films that have imparted lasting memories on him. DeMille served as executive producer but could not improve Quinn's style of direction. [202] DeMille was unique in using this technique. . Billy Jim Hawkins . Apfel. [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. They continued filming in 1955 in Paris and Hollywood on 30 different sound stages. Male. [227], Cecil B. DeMille's film production career evolved from critically significant silent films to financially significant sound films. However, Sam Goldwyn realized that if they called it "Rembrandt" lighting, the audience would pay double the price. Despite the urging of his associate producer, DeMille wanted to return to the set right away. A dark, exotic beauty, Katherine DeMille was a fascinating screen presence in the 1930s and 1940s. Cecil B. DeMille was an American film director, producer, and actor. [191] Plot and dialogue were not a strong point of DeMille's films. [230] Actor Charlton Heston admitted DeMille was, "terribly unfashionable" and Sidney Lumet called Demille, "the cheap version of D.W. Griffith," adding that DeMille, "[didn't have]an original thought in his head," though Heston added that DeMille was much more than that. They screened four of his films at Christ Church, where DeMille and his family attended church when they lived there. [228] In order to attract a high-class audience, DeMille based many of his early films on stage melodramas, novels, and short stories. [84] His specific use of lighting, influenced by his mentor David Belasco, was for the purpose of creating "striking images" and heightening "dramatic situations". Further illustrated by his home life, DeMille required formality and politeness at home. They were even required to expand to RKO sound studios for filming. [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. [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. [164] Although DeMille completed the film, his health was diminished by several more heart attacks. Cecil B. DeMille, of course, is the legendary filmmaker, director of The Ten Commandments, The King of Kings, Cleopatra, Samson & Delilah, The Greatest Show on Earth, and many more excellent and timeless films. He joined the Producers Distributing Corporation. [10] He worked as a playwright, administrator, and faculty member during the early years of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, established in New York City in 1884. [108] The King of Kings established DeMille as "master of the grandiose and of biblical sagas". 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. [61], The Lasky Play Company sought out William DeMille to join the company, but he rejected the offer because he did not believe there was any promise in a film career. DeMille did not like the first draft of the biography, saying that he thought the person portrayed in the biography was an "SOB"; he said it made him sound too egotistical. However, DeMille's second remake at MGM in 1931 would be a failure. . [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. [69] DeMille rented a barn to function as their film studio. U.S. State: Massachusetts. . He is from USA. [168] Despite a cast led by Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner, the 1958 film The Buccaneer was a disappointment. However, the films of his silent era were often thematically different from the films of his sound era. Produced in eight weeks without exceeding budget, the film was financially successful. His films were distinguished by their epic scale and by his cinematic showmanship. The sets and effects were so realistic that 30 extras needed to be hospitalized due to a scene with fireballs and flaming arrows. Beatrice was intelligent, educated, forthright, and strong-willed. Host Scott . [245], Known as the father of the Hollywood motion picture industry, Cecil B. DeMille made 70 films including several box-office hits. [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. 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. is the 10th plague, in which the Angel of Death is imagined as a thick . [309][310][note 17] For his contribution to the motion picture and radio industry, DeMille has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. DeMille studied famous paintings that captured the life of Christ and brought them to the screen. Carl Laemmle anniversary 1931.JPG 1,473 1,161; 359 KB. 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. December 26, 2014 at 3:45 p.m. As the keeper of her grandfather Cecil B. DeMille's legacy, Cecilia de Mille Presley is used to fielding calls from people who want to ask her questions, recruit . Robin Williams won the Cecil B. DeMille Awards in 2005. I'm ready for my close-up." However, others interpreted DeMille's work as visually impressive, thrilling, and nostalgic. List of the best Cecil B. DeMille movies: The Ten Commandments(1956), The Godless Girl(1929), The Golden Bed(1925), Union Pacific(1939), Unconquered(1947), Male and Female(1919), The Plainsman(1936), The Whispering Chorus(1918), The Ten Commandments(1923), Samson and Delilah(1949), The Story of Dr. Wassell(1944), Reap the Wild Wind(1942 . vigilantes and fulminating fanatics suffering flock shock and who wanted to shut down 1920s Hollywood because of the cause clbre scandals . [255], Publicly Episcopalian, DeMille drew on his Christian and Jewish ancestors to convey a message of tolerance. Discover the real story, facts, and details of Cecil B. DeMille. [321]:2123. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cinema and the most commercially successful producer-director in film history. 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. . The Tikah still made a few trade canoes into the early 20th Century. [225][226] DeMille was credited by actor Edward G. Robinson with saving his career following his eclipse in the Hollywood blacklist. [62] They offered Farnum a choice to have a quarter stock in the company (similar to William deMille) or $250 per week as salary. [263] Joseph Henabery recalled that DeMille looked like "a king on a throne surrounded by his court" while directing films on a camera platform. finding aid. Lasky and DeMille maintained the widow Fleming on the payroll; however, according to leading actor House Peters Sr. DeMille refused to stop production for the funeral of Fleming. AKA Cecil Blount DeMille. [337], Charles Frohman, Constance Adams, and David Belasco, Scandalous dramas, Biblical epics, and departure from Paramount, There are several variants of DeMille's surname. The Warrens of Virginia (1915) $500 /week. [289] The Dunes Center in Guadalupe, California contains an exhibition of artifacts uncovered in the desert near Guadalupe from DeMille's set of his 1923 version of The Ten Commandments, known as the "Lost City of Cecil B. [128] He supported Herbert Hoover and in 1928 made his largest campaign donation to Hoover. 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. 1902-08-16 Filmmaker Cecil B DeMille (21) weds actress . [138] Despite the criticism, it was Paramount's highest-grossing film of the year. [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. He also toured with the Standard Opera Company, but there are few records to indicate DeMille's singing ability. He was eventually introduced to Oscar Apfel, a stage director who had been a director with the Edison Company. 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 . His wife did not like Paradise, so DeMille often brought his mistresses there with him including actress Julia Faye. Alternative names DeMille, Cecil Blount Short description Film director: Date of birth August 12, 1881 Place of birth His films were distinguished by their epic scale and by his cinematic showmanship. He adapted several of Belasco's screenplays into film. [231], According to Scott Eyman, DeMille's films were at the same time masculine and feminine due to his thematic adventurousness and his eye for the extravagant. [127] However, according to DeMille himself, he was not anti-union and belonged to a few unions himself. [126] DeMille was a conservative Republican activist, becoming more conservative as he aged. Between 1913 and 1956, he made a total of 70 features, both silent and sound films.He is acknowledged as a founding father of the cinema of the United States and the most commercially successful producer-director in film history. 22. [188][189] DeMille recalled that one of the most influential plays he saw was Hamlet, directed by Sothern. (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.". Biographer Scott Eyman suggested that this may have been a result of Adams's recent miscarriage. In that respect, he was better than any of us. 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. Credits. "[266] Producer David O. Selznick wrote: "There has appeared only one Cecil B. DeMille. The Union Pacific gave DeMille access to historical data, early period trains, and expert crews, adding to the authenticity of the film. Born in 1881, DeMille made his directorial debut with "The Squaw Man" (1914), a story he remade in 1918 and 1931 . The film was considered a "masterpiece" and surpassed the quality of other sound films of the time. . [231] Cecil B. DeMille has influenced the work of several well-known directors. He was the first recipient of the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award, which was named in his honor. [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. 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. [238] Although he is known for his later "spectacular" films, his early films are held in high regard by critics and film historians. [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. [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. [204] As DeMille's career progressed, he increasingly relied on artist Dan Sayre Groesbeck's concept, costume, and storyboard art. 16 references. Name in native language: Cecil Blount DeMille: Date of birth: 12 August 1881 Ashfield: Date of death: 21 January 1959 Hollywood: Cause of death: heart failure; Place of burial: Hollywood Forever Cemetery; Pseudonym: C.B. Cecil B. DeMille's income source is mostly from being a successful Producer. [170] DeMille's autobiography was mostly completed by the time DeMille died and was published in November 1959. Unlike the other children the DeMille's adopted, John was never told about his birth parents. Hijo del dramaturgo Henry Churchill DeMille, en cuyas obras particip durante su infancia y primera adolescencia, curs . DeMille's designs, most notably his design of the distinctive cadet parade uniform, won praise from Air Force and Academy leadership, were ultimately adopted, and are still worn by cadets. Ashfield, Massachusetts, USA. [82] Additionally, because of DeMille's cordiality after the Peter Grimm incident, DeMille was able to rekindle his partnership with Belasco. [318], Cecil B. DeMille made 70 features. [103] It held the Paramount record for twenty-five years until DeMille broke the record again himself. Age at Death: 77. 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. DeMille lent Roosevelt a car for his campaign for the 1932 United States presidential election and voted for him. Biography - A Short WikiDirector of the epic 1956 film The Ten Commandments, which featured Charlton Heston as Moses. [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). Instead of portraying the danger and anarchy of the West, he portrayed the opportunity and redemption found in Western America. DeMille made a 1905 reprise in Hamlet as Osric. [10], Cecil B. DeMille's mother, Beatrice, a literary agent and scriptwriter, was the daughter of German Jews. [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. We should get down on our knees to Cecil and say "Thank you! Additionally, DeMille's epics such as The Crusades influenced Sergei Eisenstein's Alexander Nevsky. Constance was born the daughter of Judge Frederic Adams, New Jersey Court of Errors and Appeals, and Ella Adams, Frederics first wife. MGM distributed the film in 1941 and donated profits to World War II relief charities. Cause of death: Heart failure: Nationality: American: Occupation: Producer, director, editor, screenwriter, actor: Years active: 1913-1959: Spouse(s) Constance Adams . 72 pictures of Cecil B. DeMille. Although he is one of the most commercially successful film directors of all time, Cecil B. DeMille has for a long time been considered at best a director of . She had a Southern drawl which she never lost. Cecil B. DeMille was born on August 12, 1881 in Ashfield, Massachusetts, U.S., United States, is Film Director, Producer. Cecil Blount DeMille ( August 12, 1881 - January 21, 1959) was an American filmmaker. [61] Sometimes, he directed scenes for other directors at the Feature Play Company in order to release films on time. [168] In the months before his death, DeMille was researching a film biography of Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scout Movement. Cecil B. DeMille passed away January 21, 1959, from a heart condition. [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. Eventually, the Guard was enlarged to a battalion and recruited soldiers from other film studios. DeMille's Ten Commandments premiered in 1956. [157] Adolph Zukor convinced the board to change their minds on the grounds of morality. [46] Life was difficult for DeMille and his wife as traveling actors; however, traveling allowed him to experience part of the United States he had not yet seen. Cause of death. Cecil Blount DeMille. [209][note 13], DeMille was known for autocratic behavior on the set, singling out and berating extras who were not paying attention. In addition to his use of volatile and abrupt film editing, his lighting and composition were innovative for the time period as filmmakers were primarily concerned with a clear, realistic image. [218][219] DeMille cast some of his performers repeatedly, including: Henry Wilcoxon,[220] Julia Faye, Joseph Schildkraut,[221] Ian Keith,[222] Charles Bickford,[223] Theodore Roberts, Akim Tamiroff[224] and William Boyd. Cecil Blount DeMille (August 12, 1881 - January 21, 1959) was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. 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. 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. DeMille's mother sent him to Pennsylvania Military College (now Widener University) in Chester, Pennsylvania, at age 15. [134] William Keighley was his replacement. Still, it was a huge success at the box office. *mother - Ashkenazi Jewish. [300] In 1963, the Cecil B. DeMille Foundation donated the "Paradise" ranch to the Hathaway Foundation, which cares for emotionally disturbed and abused children. The American Academy of Dramatic Arts honored DeMille with an Alumni Achievement Award in 1958. This was, according to DeMille, the lowest point of his career. But he put on pictures that made a fortune. Cause of Death: Heart failure. [75] Additionally, this was the only film in which DeMille shared director's credit with Oscar C. [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. [84] Throughout his career, DeMille would frequently remake his own films. Constance Adams DeMille (April 27, 1873 July 17, 1960) actress and wife of filmmaker Cecil Blount DeMille. Noisy and bright, it was not well-liked by critics, but was a favorite among audiences. He initially sought out William deMille. Constance Adams DeMille (April 27, 1873 - July 17, 1960) was an American actress and wife of filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille. Still, the members unanimously approved it. Death: December 20, 1982 (68) Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, United States. On January 8, 1893, at age 40, Henry de Mille died suddenly from typhoid fever, leaving Beatrice with three children. The members rejected his proposal, even though his last two films, Samson and Delilah and The Greatest Show on Earth, had been record-breaking hits. Adams allowed DeMille to have several long term mistresses during their marriage as an outlet, while maintaining an outward appearance of a faithful marriage. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. [9] DeMille's father was also an English teacher at Columbia College (now Columbia University). 21 January 1959. retrieved. 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. However, this version is actually a 1918 re-release. [68] He continued to Los Angeles. [22] Agnes would die on February 11, 1894, at the age of three from spinal meningitis. 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 . [14], DeMille's parents met as members of a music and literary society in New York. Occupations. [261][262] He was known for his unique, working wardrobe which included riding boots, riding pants, and soft, open necked shirts. [70] Filming began on December 29, 1913, and lasted three weeks.
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