Directing · Ashfield, États-Unis · Born August 12, 1881
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.
TVThe U.S. and the Holocaust
2022
as Self (archive footage)
MovieIndiana Jones: The Search for the Lost Golden Age
2021
as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
MovieYul Brynner, the Magnificent
2020
as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
MoviePatterns of Evidence: The Red Sea Miracle II
2020
as Self
MoviePatterns of Evidence: The Red Sea Miracle
2020
as Self (archive footage)
MovieHail Satan?
2019
as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
MovieSword-and-Sandal: The Story of the Period Epic
2019
as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
MovieThe Lost City of Cecil B. DeMille
2016
as Self
MovieFascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe
2012
as Self (archive footage)
MovieWhy Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
2007
as Self (archive footage)
MovieThe Making of The Ten Commandments
2003
as Self
MovieThe Casting Couch
1995
All-Time Movie Greats
1988
as Self (archive footage)
MovieGoing Hollywood: The '30s
1984
as Self (archive footage)
MovieHollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
MovieShowbiz Ballyhoo
1982
as Self (archive footage)
MovieHooray for Hollywood
1976
as Self (archive footage)
MovieBrother, Can You Spare a Dime?
1975
as Self (archive footage)
TVSpécial cinéma
1974
as Self (archive footage)
MovieThe Buccaneer
1958
as Presenter of Prologue
MovieThe Buster Keaton Story
1957
as Cecil B. DeMille
MovieThe Ten Commandments
1956
as Narrator (uncredited)
TVCinépanorama
1956
as Self
TVThis Is Your Life
1952
as Self
MovieSon of Paleface
1952
as Photographer (uncredited)
MovieThe Greatest Show on Earth
1952
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
MovieThe Fallbrook Story
1952
as Self, Introduction
MovieSunset Boulevard
1950
as Cecil B. DeMille
TVWhat's My Line?
1950
as Self
MovieSamson and Delilah
1949
as Narrator (uncredited)
TVThe Ed Sullivan Show
1948
as Self
MovieUnconquered
1947
as Self - Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
MovieVariety Girl
1947
as Cecil B. DeMille
MovieJens Mons in America
1947
as Self (uncredited)
MovieScreen Snapshots (Series 25, No. 1): 25th Anniversary
1945
as Self
MovieThe Story of Dr. Wassell
1944
as Voice of Narrator (uncredited)
MovieReap the Wild Wind
1942
as Prologue Speaker (voice) (uncredited)
MovieStar Spangled Rhythm
1942
as Cecil B. DeMille
MovieScreen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10)
1942
as Self
MovieNorth West Mounted Police
1940
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
MovieThe Movies March On
1939
as Self (archive footage)
MovieHollywood Extra Girl
1935
as Cecil B. DeMille
The Hollywood You Never See
1934
as Self
MovieHollywood on Parade No. B-5
1933
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
MovieMadam Satan
1930
as Radio Newscaster (voice) (uncredited)
MovieEstrellados
1930
as Self (Guest Appearance)
MovieFree and Easy
1930
as Director Cecil B. DeMille (uncredited)
MovieThe Circus: Premiere
1928
as Self
MovieLife in Hollywood No. 1
1927
as Self
MovieLife in Hollywood
1927
as Self
MovieHollywood
1923
as Cecil B. DeMille
MovieA Trip to Paramountown
1922
as Self
The Affairs of Anatol - Promo Reel
1921
as As himself
MovieThe Squaw Man
1914
as Faro Dealer
