*mother - Ashkenazi Jewish. [188][189] DeMille recalled that one of the most influential plays he saw was Hamlet, directed by Sothern. [28] This was the first of few film collaborations with his brother William. [203], DeMille often edited in a manner that favored psychological space rather than physical space through his cuts. Date of birth. Cemetery Name: Hollywood Forever Cemetery. DeMille toured with the circus while helping write the script. DeMille served as executive producer, overseeing producer Henry Wilcoxon. DeMille frequently made cameos as himself in other Paramount films. 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. Now he wants to make the life of Moses. DeMille developed a plan with his doctor to allow him to continue directing while reducing his physical stress. Date of Death: January 21, 1959. "[35] DeMille had more violent sexual preferences and fetishes than his wife. Age. imported from Wikimedia project. [91] Although DeMille considered enlisting in World War I, he stayed in the United States and made films. Cause of Death: Heart Attack. 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 The actor had 10 Globes nominations and five wins, including a special award for his vocal work on . 'Ten Commandments' went from film to stone - Chron He stands as one among the famous individuals for he was a creative filmmaker. - Death and the Maiden (1973) . DeMille discovered the possibilities of the "bathroom" or "boudoir" in film without being "vulgar" or "cheap". [41] DeMille and his brother at times worked with the legendary impresario David Belasco, who had been a friend and collaborator of their father. Famous Players-Lasky donated the films. [17] As a child, DeMille created an alter-ego, Champion Driver, a Robin Hood-like character, evidence of his creativity and imagination. Beatrice DeMille's family was not in attendance, and Simon Louvish suggests that this was to conceal DeMille's partial Jewish heritage. Despite its quick turnaround, the film was fairly successful. [117] He also popularized the camera crane. [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. [62] They offered Farnum a choice to have a quarter stock in the company (similar to William deMille) or $250 per week as salary. Cause of Death. Here, he parts the Red Sea. Cecil Blount DeMille | Encyclopedia.com In March 1938, he underwent a major emergency prostatectomy. Cecil B. DeMille Biography, Life, Interesting Facts On January 8, 1893, at age 40, Henry de Mille died suddenly from typhoid fever, leaving Beatrice with three children. John Blount DeMille (1914 - 1982) - Genealogy - geni family tree The original story Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is about two teenagers, Romeo and Juliet, who fall in love and their families' feud ends with death of Romeo and Juliet. 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. [16] He gained his love of theater while watching his father and Belasco rehearse their plays. 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. Step Inside Cecil B. De Mille's House in Los Angeles They also learned that other filmmakers were successfully shooting in Los Angeles, even in winter. Charlie Chaplin lived next door for a time, and after he moved, DeMille purchased the other house and combined the estates. The cuts were sometimes rough, but the movies were always interesting. heart failure. [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. 72 pictures of Cecil B. DeMille. The Roaring Twenties were the boom years and DeMille took full advantage, opening the Mercury Aviation Company, one of America's first commercial airlines. [227], Cecil B. DeMille's film production career evolved from critically significant silent films to financially significant sound films. DeMille's reputation had a renaissance in the 2010s and his work has influenced numerous other films and directors. Cause of death: Heart failure: Nationality: American: Occupation: Producer, director, editor, screenwriter, actor: Years active: 1913-1959: Spouse(s) Constance Adams (1902-1959) Partner(s) Jeanie MacPherson Julia Faye: Parent(s) Henry Churchill DeMille Beatrice Samuel: Cecil Blount DeMille (August 12, 1881 - January 21, 1959) was an . [231][note 14] The Ten Commandments inspired DreamWorks Animation's later film about Moses, The Prince of Egypt. [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. 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. [130] From 1936 to 1945, he produced, hosted, and directed all shows with the occasional exception of a guest director. 16 references. [168] DeMille was unable to attend the Los Angeles premiere of The Buccaneer. [225][226] DeMille was credited by actor Edward G. Robinson with saving his career following his eclipse in the Hollywood blacklist. Right here at FameChain. 'Some Like It Hot' Producer Walter Mirisch Dead at 101 [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. people have heard of the Ten Commandments. finding aid. Constance Adams DeMille - Wikipedia [43] DeMille was credited with creating the premise of Belasco's The Return of Peter Grimm. [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. [28] On Henry DeMille's deathbed, he told his wife that he did not want his sons to become playwrights. [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. He volunteered for the Intelligence Office during World War II as well. Cecil B. DeMille. Profile of the Hollywood directing legend who became known for his "spectaculars." Learn how DeMille helped establish Hollywood as the movie-making capital o. He graduated in 1900, and for graduation, his performance was the play The Arcady Trail. Cause of Death: Heart failure. The picture of her husband was taken in 1916, the year they bought the house, when he was 35 and an increasingly active and . [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. Adams was 29 years old at the time of their marriage, eight years older than DeMille. (TV Special) Self - Cecil B. DeMille Award Recipient 1963-1964 Password (TV Series) Self - Celebrity Contestant / Self - James Stewart vs . [166] [note 11], Due to his frequent heart attacks, DeMille asked his son-in-law, actor Anthony Quinn, to direct a remake of his 1938 film The Buccaneer. The American Academy of Dramatic Arts honored DeMille with an Alumni Achievement Award in 1958. AKA Cecil Blount DeMille. Story - The Left's Kavanaugh Hate-Fest (2018) . [41] His first play was The Pretender-A Play in a Prologue and 4 Acts set in seventeenth century Russia. [242] Another common theme in DeMille's films is the reversal of fortune and the portrayal of the rich and the poor, including the war of the classes and man versus society conflicts such as in The Golden Chance and The Cheat. But they have inspired cutting edge directors including Stephen Spielberg and Martin Scorcese. Consequently, his mother hired him for her agency The DeMille Play Company and taught him how to be an agent and a playwright. [259] He cultivated the image of the omnipotent director,[260] complete with megaphone, riding crop, and jodhpurs. Adopted son of Cecil B. DeMille and Constance DeMille. They screened four of his films at Christ Church, where DeMille and his family attended church when they lived there. . [238] Although he is known for his later "spectacular" films, his early films are held in high regard by critics and film historians. 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. [272] DeMille's reputation had a renaissance in the 2010s. This was, according to DeMille, the lowest point of his career. 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. Still, it was a huge success at the box office. She was born in Canada to a Scottish schoolteacher, Edward Gabriel Lester, and his Italian-Swiss wife, Cecile Bianca Bertha (Colani) Lester. 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). This occurred with Victor Mature in Samson and Delilah. Oscars 1950 - Honorary Award. Cecil B. DeMille: Hollywood Directing Legend | Full Documentary Despite a cast led by Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner, the 1958 film, The Buccaneer was a disappointment. [187] E.H. Sothern's early influence on DeMille's work can be seen in DeMille's perfectionism. 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. DeMille, Cecil B. With this year's Oscar nominations soon to be announced, we take a look back at his cinematic extraganzas. [10] At the military college, even though his grades were average, he reportedly excelled in personal conduct. The Sign of the Cross (1932) is said to be the first sound film to integrate all aspects of cinematic technique. Terrible. [84] Throughout his career, DeMille would frequently remake his own films. However, he would never again vote for a Democratic candidate in a presidential election. Eventually, he became manager of the agency and later, a junior partner with his mother. [33] They had met in a theater in Washington D.C. while they were both acting in Hearts Are Trumps. Julia Faye - Biography - IMDb Heart Ailment. 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. Birth place. [138] Audiences liked its highly saturated color, so DeMille made no further black-and-white features. Pioneering film director. [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. Cecil B. Demille papers (English) type of reference. The Ten Commandments: DeMille was here | Manchester Ink Link [316] DeMille's Union Pacific received a Palme d'Or in retrospect at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. [39] In the summer of 1905 DeMille joined the stock cast at the Elitch Theatre in Denver, Colorado. [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. Produced in eight weeks without exceeding budget, the film was financially successful. imported from Wikimedia project. He consistently was criticized for producing shallow films without talent or artistic care. However, others interpreted DeMille's work as visually impressive, thrilling, and nostalgic. Constance Adams DeMille (April 27, 1873 - July 17, 1960) was an American actress and wife of filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille. He bought the rights to the novel in 1925, but abandoned the project in pre-production. [249] Similarly, scholar David Blanke, argued that DeMille had lost the respect of his colleagues and film critics by his late film career. The continued success of his productions led to the founding of Paramount Pictures with Lasky and Adolph Zukor. [202] Another important aspect of DeMille's editing technique was to put the film away for a week or two after an initial edit in order to re-edit the picture with a fresh mind. [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. DeMille purchased the home in 1916 for $27,893 (Yes, five digits) and lived there with his family until his death in 1959. Heart Ailment. [319] The Ten Commandments is broadcast every Saturday at Passover in the United States on the ABC Television Network. Consequently, DeMille's television and radio appearance ban lasted for the remainder of his life, though he was permitted to appear on radio or television to publicize a movie. He directed and produced four films on his own, working with Producers Distributing Corporation because he found front office supervision too restricting. [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. Sarris added that despite the influence of styles of contemporary directors throughout his career, DeMille's style remained unchanged. Cecil Blount DeMille (/ssl dml/; August 12, 1881 January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Beatrice became a play broker and author's agent, influencing DeMille's early life and career. His daughter Cecilia took over as director as DeMille sat behind the camera with Loyal Griggs as the cinematographer. His art was even shown at Paramount meetings when pitching new films. [181] Henry was heavily influenced by the work of Charles Kingsley whose ideas trickled down to DeMille. [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. He is particularly remembered for his 1956 film "The Ten Commandments", but made over 70 films throughout his long career. [243] In relation to his own interests and sexual preferences, sadomasochism was a minor theme present in some of his films. View Bio. Biographer Scott Eyman suggested that this may have been a result of Adams's recent miscarriage. Cecil B. DeMille | Biography, Movies, & Facts | Britannica Biografia de Cecil B. DeMille - Biografias y Vidas .com DeMille instructed the guilty man to leave town and would never reveal his name. He related a story that he maintained his self-control when Gloria Swanson sat on his lap, refusing to touch her. [14], DeMille's parents met as members of a music and literary society in New York. "[257] The critic Camille Paglia has called The Ten Commandments one of the ten greatest films of all time. Alternative names DeMille, Cecil Blount Short description Film director: Date of birth August 12, 1881 Place of birth Born in 1881, DeMille made his directorial debut with "The Squaw Man" (1914), a story he remade in 1918 and 1931 . Cecil Blount DeMille. Immediate Family: Biological son of Gus Gonzales and Ada Piper. [15] The two were married on July 1, 1876, despite Beatrice's parents' objections because of the young couple's differing religions; Beatrice converted to Episcopalianism. 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 . Groesbeck's art was circulated on set to give actors and crew members a better understanding of DeMille's vision. [134] William Keighley was his replacement. [187] It is difficult to typify DeMille's films into one specific genre. Cecil B. DeMille didn't make the kind of movies that wind up in French film festivals. [245], Known as the father of the Hollywood motion picture industry, Cecil B. DeMille made 70 films including several box-office hits. He directed 70 feature films, beginning in the silent era . 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. Host Scott . [271] DeMille was immortalized in Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard when Gloria Swanson spoke the line: "All right, Mr. DeMille. Cecil B. DeMille | The Tombstone Tourist De Mille daughter dies. He worked with visual technicians, editors, art directors, costume designers, cinematographers, and set carpenters in order to perfect the visual aspects of his films. Character actor H. B. Warner was fifty, but looked Thirty was cast as Christ, and gives a gently . However, his earlier films The Captive, Kindling, Carmen, and The Whispering Chorus are more serious films.