Cecil B. DeMille
Personal Info
Known for
Directing
Gender
Male
Birthday
1881-08-12
Day of Death
1959-01-21 (77 years old)
Place of Birth
Ashfield, Massachusetts, USA
Cecil B. DeMille
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.
Known For
Acting
(2021)
Indiana Jones: The Search for the Lost Golden Age
as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
(2020)
Yul Brynner, the Magnificent
as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
(2020)
(2020)
Patterns of Evidence: The Red Sea Miracle
as Self (archive footage)
(2019)
Hail Satan?
as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
(2019)
Sword-and-Sandal: The Story of the Period Epic
as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
(2016)
(2014)
And the Oscar Goes To...
as Self (archive footage)
(2007)
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
as Self (archive footage)
(2003)
(1984)
Going Hollywood: The '30s
as Self (archive footage)
(1983)
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
(1976)
Hooray for Hollywood
as Self (archive footage)
(1975)
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
as Self (archive footage)
(1957)
The Buster Keaton Story
as Cecil B. DeMille
(1956)
The Ten Commandments
as Narrator (uncredited)
(1952)
Son of Paleface
as Photographer (uncredited)
(1952)
The Greatest Show on Earth
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
(1952)
The Fallbrook Story
as Self, Introduction
(1950)
Sunset Boulevard
as Cecil B. DeMille
(1949)
Samson and Delilah
as Narrator (uncredited)
(1947)
Variety Girl
as Cecil B. DeMille
(1947)
Jens Mons in America
as Self (uncredited)
(1947)
Unconquered
as Self - Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
(1945)
(1944)
The Story of Dr. Wassell
as Voice of Narrator (uncredited)
(1942)
Reap the Wild Wind
as Prologue Speaker (voice) (uncredited)
(1942)
Star Spangled Rhythm
as Cecil B. DeMille
(1942)
(1940)
North West Mounted Police
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
(1939)
The Movies March On
as Self (archive footage)
(1935)
Hollywood Extra Girl
as Cecil B. DeMille
(1934)
The Hollywood You Never See
as Self
(1933)
Hollywood on Parade No. B-5
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
(1930)
Estrellados
as Self (Guest Appearance)
(1930)
Free and Easy
as Director Cecil B. DeMille (uncredited)
(1930)
Madam Satan
as Radio Newscaster (voice) (uncredited)
(1928)
The Circus: Premiere
as Self
(1927)
Life in Hollywood No. 1
as Self
(1923)
Hollywood
as Cecil B. DeMille
(1922)
A Trip to Paramountown
as Self
Crew
(1958)
The Buccaneer
Executive Producer, Producer
(1956)
The Ten Commandments
Producer, Director
(1953)
The War of the Worlds
Executive Producer
(1952)
The Greatest Show on Earth
Director, Producer
(1949)
Samson and Delilah
Director, Producer
(1947)
Unconquered
Director, Producer
(1944)
The Story of Dr. Wassell
Director, Producer
(1942)
Reap the Wild Wind
Director, Producer
(1940)
North West Mounted Police
Director, Producer
(1939)
Union Pacific
Director, Producer
(1939)
Land of Liberty
Editor
(1938)
The Buccaneer
Director, Producer
(1936)
The Plainsman
Director, Producer
(1935)
The Crusades
Director
(1934)
Four Frightened People
Director, Producer
(1934)
Cleopatra
Director, Producer
(1933)
This Day and Age
Director, Producer
(1932)
The Sign of the Cross
Director, Producer
(1931)
The Squaw Man
Director
(1930)
Madam Satan
Director, Producer
(1929)
Dynamite
Director
(1928)
The Godless Girl
Director, Producer
(1928)
Let 'Er Go Gallegher
Executive Producer
(1927)
The King of Kings
Director, Producer
(1927)
White Gold
Producer
(1927)
Vanity
Producer
(1927)
The Fighting Eagle
Producer
(1927)
The Angel of Broadway
Producer
(1926)
The Volga Boatman
Director, Producer
(1926)
The Cruise of the Jasper B
Producer
(1926)
Whispering Smith
Producer
(1926)
Silence
Producer
(1926)
Red Dice
Presenter
(1925)
The Wedding Song
Producer
(1925)
The Golden Bed
Director
(1925)
The Road to Yesterday
Director
(1925)
The Dressmaker from Paris
Supervising Producer
(1924)
Triumph
Producer, Director
(1924)
Feet of Clay
Director
(1923)
The Ten Commandments
Director, Producer
(1923)
Adam's Rib
Director, Producer
(1922)
Manslaughter
Director
(1922)
Saturday Night
Director, Producer
(1921)
Forbidden Fruit
Director, Producer, Story
(1921)
The Affairs of Anatol
Director
(1921)
Fool's Paradise
Director
(1920)
Why Change Your Wife?
Director, Producer
(1920)
Something to Think About
Director, Producer
(1919)
Don't Change Your Husband
Director
(1919)
Male and Female
Director, Producer
(1919)
For Better, for Worse
Director
(1918)
The Squaw Man
Director
(1918)
The Whispering Chorus
Director
(1918)
Old Wives for New
Director, Editor, Producer
(1918)
We Can't Have Everything
Editor, Director
(1918)
Till I Come Back to You
Director
(1917)
Nan of Music Mountain
Director
(1917)
A Romance of the Redwoods
Director, Writer, Producer, Editor
(1917)
The Woman God Forgot
Director, Producer, Editor
(1917)
The Little American
Director, Producer, Editor, Writer
(1917)
Lost and Won
Producer
(1917)
The Devil Stone
Director
(1917)
Betty to the Rescue
General Manager
(1916)
The Love Mask
Writer
(1916)
Joan the Woman
Director, Editor, Producer
(1916)
The Heart of Nora Flynn
Director
(1916)
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine
Story, Director, Producer
(1916)
Maria Rosa
Director
(1916)
The Dream Girl
Director
(1915)
The Wild Goose Chase
Director
(1915)
The Cheat
Editor, Director, Producer
(1915)
Carmen
Director, Producer, Editor
(1915)
The Golden Chance
Director, Story, Producer, Editor
(1915)
The Warrens of Virginia
Director, Producer
(1915)
The Unafraid
Story, Director
(1915)
Temptation
Editor, Director
(1915)
Kindling
Writer, Producer, Director
(1915)
The Captive
Director, Writer, Producer, Editor
(1915)
The Girl of the Golden West
Producer, Director, Writer
(1915)
Chimmie Fadden Out West
Director, Producer, Editor, Writer
(1915)
Chimmie Fadden
Writer, Producer, Director, Editor
(1915)
The Arab
Producer, Director, Writer
(1915)
After Five
Director
(1914)
Lord Chumley
Theatre Play
(1914)
The Virginian
Director, Editor
(1914)
The Squaw Man
Producer, Director, Writer
(1914)
The Ghost Breaker
Producer, Writer, Director
(1914)
Brewster's Millions
Director
(1914)
The Rose of the Rancho
Editor, Director, Writer
(1914)
The Man From Home
Editor, Director, Writer, Producer
(1914)
The Call of the North
Director
(1914)
What's His Name
Writer, Director, Editor, Producer
(1914)
Ready Money
Writer
(1914)
The Only Son
Director
(1914)
The Circus Man
Writer
(1914)
The Man on the Box
Director