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Personal Info
Known For
Directing
Birthday
August 12, 1881
Died
January 21, 1959
Place of Birth
Ashfield, Massachusetts, USA
Cecil B. DeMille
0.6 Popularity
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
7.8
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
Indiana Jones: The Search for the Lost Golden Age
2021
7.5
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
Yul Brynner, the Magnificent
2020
8.0
Self
Patterns of Evidence: The Red Sea Miracle II
2020
10.0
Self (archive footage)
Patterns of Evidence: The Red Sea Miracle
2020
7.0
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
Hail Satan?
2019
7.0
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
Sword-and-Sandal: The Story of the Period Epic
2019
6.2
Self
The Lost City of Cecil B. DeMille
2016
7.0
Self (archive footage)
And the Oscar Goes To...
2014
4.9
Self (archive footage)
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
2007
8.0
Self
The Making of The Ten Commandments
2003
Credits
Indiana Jones: The Search for the Lost Golden Age
as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
2021
7.8
Yul Brynner, the Magnificent
as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
2020
7.5
Patterns of Evidence: The Red Sea Miracle II
as Self
2020
8.0
Patterns of Evidence: The Red Sea Miracle
as Self (archive footage)
2020
10.0
Hail Satan?
as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
2019
7.0
Sword-and-Sandal: The Story of the Period Epic
as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
2019
7.0
The Lost City of Cecil B. DeMille
as Self
2016
6.2
And the Oscar Goes To...
as Self (archive footage)
2014
7.0
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
as Self (archive footage)
2007
4.9
The Making of The Ten Commandments
as Self
2003
8.0
Going Hollywood: The '30s
as Self (archive footage)
1984
10.0
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1983
6.5
Hooray for Hollywood
as Self (archive footage)
1976
0.0
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
as Self (archive footage)
1975
5.7
Spécial cinéma
as Self (archive footage)
1974
0.0
The Buster Keaton Story
as Cecil B. DeMille
1957
4.9
The Ten Commandments
as Narrator (uncredited)
1956
7.8
Cinépanorama
as Self
1956
8.0
This Is Your Life
as Self
1952
6.5
Son of Paleface
as Photographer (uncredited)
1952
6.3
The Greatest Show on Earth
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
1952
6.3
The Fallbrook Story
as Self, Introduction
1952
0.0
Sunset Boulevard
as Cecil B. DeMille
1950
8.3
What's My Line?
as Self
1950
6.9
Samson and Delilah
as Narrator (uncredited)
1949
6.5
The Ed Sullivan Show
as Self
1948
6.8
Unconquered
as Self - Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
1947
6.2
Variety Girl
as Cecil B. DeMille
1947
6.1
Jens Mons in America
as Self (uncredited)
1947
3.0
Screen Snapshots (Series 25, No. 1): 25th Anniversary
as Self
1945
0.0
The Story of Dr. Wassell
as Voice of Narrator (uncredited)
1944
6.3
Reap the Wild Wind
as Prologue Speaker (voice) (uncredited)
1942
6.4
Star Spangled Rhythm
as Cecil B. DeMille
1942
5.9
Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10)
as Self
1942
0.0
North West Mounted Police
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
1940
6.3
The Movies March On
as Self (archive footage)
1939
3.5
Hollywood Extra Girl
as Cecil B. DeMille
1935
6.0
🎬
The Hollywood You Never See
as Self
1934
0.0
Hollywood on Parade No. B-5
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1933
0.0
Madam Satan
as Radio Newscaster (voice) (uncredited)
1930
5.8
Estrellados
as Self (Guest Appearance)
1930
0.0
Free and Easy
as Director Cecil B. DeMille (uncredited)
1930
6.1
The Circus: Premiere
as Self
1928
5.4
Life in Hollywood No. 1
as Self
1927
0.0
Hollywood
as Cecil B. DeMille
1923
7.0
A Trip to Paramountown
as Self
1922
7.3