Caramel Corn

Name
Cecil B. DeMille

Known For
Directing

Birthday
1881-08-12

Deathday
1959-01-21 (78 years old)

Place of Birth
Ashfield, États-Unis

Biography

Cecil Blount DeMille (August 12, 1881 – January 21, 1959) was an American filmmaker, known as 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

Movies

Tv Shows

1950 Sunset Boulevard as Cecil B. DeMille
1930 Estrellados as Self (Guest Appearance)
2020 Yul Brynner, the Magnificent as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
1923 Hollywood as Cecil B. DeMille
1942 Reap the Wild Wind as Prologue Speaker (voice) (uncredited)
1927 Life in Hollywood No. 1 as Self
1942 Star Spangled Rhythm as Cecil B. DeMille
1947 Variety Girl as Cecil B. DeMille
1983 Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1957 The Buster Keaton Story as Cecil B. DeMille (uncredited)
1945 Screen Snapshots (Series 25, No. 1): 25th Anniversary as Self
1942 Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10) as Self
1952 Son of Paleface as Photographer (uncredited)
1984 Going Hollywood: The '30s as Self (archive footage)
1922 A Trip to Paramountown as Self
1928 The Circus: Premiere as Self
2019 Hail Satan? as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
1933 Hollywood on Parade No. B-5 as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1949 Samson and Delilah as Narrator (uncredited)
1930 Free and Easy as Director Cecil B. DeMille (uncredited)
1940 North West Mounted Police as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
1952 The Greatest Show on Earth as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
1944 The Story of Dr. Wassell as Voice of Narrator (uncredited)
1930 Madam Satan as Radio Newscaster (voice) (uncredited)
1935 Hollywood Extra Girl as Cecil B. DeMille
2016 The Lost City of Cecil B. DeMille as Self
1975 Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? as Self (archive footage)
1947 Jens Mons in America as Self (uncredited)
2019 Sword-and-Sandal: The Story of the Period Epic as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
2007 Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema as Self (archive footage)
1947 Unconquered as Self - Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
1939 The Movies March On as Self (archive footage)
1934 The Hollywood You Never See as Self
1956 The Ten Commandments as Narrator (uncredited)
2020 Patterns of Evidence: The Red Sea Miracle II as Self
2020 Patterns of Evidence: The Red Sea Miracle as Self (archive footage)
1952 The Fallbrook Story as Self, Introduction
2021 Indiana Jones: The Search for the Lost Golden Age as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
1976 Hooray for Hollywood as Self (archive footage)
2003 The Making of The Ten Commandments as Self
1982 Showbiz Ballyhoo as Self (archive footage)
2012 Fascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe as Self (archive footage)
1914 The Squaw Man as Faro Dealer
1995 The Casting Couch
1958 The Buccaneer as Presenter of Prologue
1921 The Affairs of Anatol - Promo Reel as As himself
1988 All-Time Movie Greats as Self (archive footage)
1927 Life in Hollywood as Self

1948 The Ed Sullivan Show ( 1 episode ) as Self
1952 This Is Your Life ( 1 episode ) as Self
1974 Spécial cinéma ( 1 episode ) as Self (archive footage)
1956 Cinépanorama ( 1 episode ) as Self
1950 What's My Line? ( 1 episode ) as Self
2022 The U.S. and the Holocaust ( 1 episode ) as Self (archive footage)

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