Skip to main content

DeMille, Cecil B. (Cecil Blount), 1881-1959

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1881 - 1959

Biographical History

Cecil B. DeMille (1881-1959) was an American motion picture producer and director, considered the archetype of the American film mogul. His 70 films reflect changing American tastes and values, and he was particularly noted for his multimillion-dollar spectacles.

Cecil B. DeMille was born on August 12, 1881 in Ashfield, Massachusetts to Henry Churchill de Mille and Matilda Beatrice Samuel de Mille. DeMille started acting on Broadway in 1900, and by 1913 he joined a film studio partnership which would eventually become Paramount Pictures. DeMille had a long and storied career as a filmmaker and directed several epic films, such as the Ten Commandments (1956). DeMille died on January 21, 1959, in Hollywood, California.

Citation:
His The Royal ...

LC data base, 10/11/85 (hdg.: DeMille, Cecil Blount, 1881-1959; usage: Cecil B. DeMille); LC manual auth. cd. (also shows usage: Cecil B. De Mille)

Wikipedia, Sept. 16, 2010 (Cecil Blount DeMille; b. Aug. 12, 1881 in Ashfield, Mass.; d. Jan. 21, 1959 in Hollywood, Calif.; American film director and producer)

Turner Classic Movies database, Oct. 7, 2010 (Cecil B. DeMille Productions; est. 1921; founded by Cecil B. DeMille)

Empire of dreams, 2010: p. 212 (Cecil B. DeMille Pictures Corporation; founded by Cecil B. DeMille)

Found in 29 Collections and/or Records:

Kevin Brianton Collection of Cecil B. DeMille related papers

 Collection — Carton 1: [Barcode: 31197239235218]
Identifier: MSS 8290
Scope and Contents

Robert Birchard program notes for a three-part film retrospective on Cecil B. DeMille. FBI records on Cecil B. DeMille obtained by Brianton under the Freedom of Informtion-Privacy Acts.

Dates: Other: approximately1918-2009

Peter Brosnan papers

 Collection
Identifier: MSS 5905
Scope and Contents Contains papers and audiovisual materials collected by Peter Brosnan for his research on Cecil B. DeMille's 1923 and 1956 Ten Commandments films and for his documentary, "The Lost City of Cecile B. DeMille." The 1923 film was shot in the Guadalupe Dunes in California and excavated by Brosnan, resulting in the documentary. Includes audiotapes, videocassettes, film reels, digital files, interview transcripts, biographical research either typed or printed from the internet, press articles and...
Dates: approximately 1923-2022

Cecil B. DeMille Productions records

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 6254
Scope and Contents

Collection includes corporate by-laws and minute books of Cecil B. DeMille Productions. Also includes correspondence with many of DeMille's associates, appraisals, tax records, and estate records of Cecil B. DeMille and Constance A. DeMille. Collection contains materials related to the production of various DeMille films, including Samson and Delilah, The Greatest Show on Earth, and The Ten Commandments (1956).

Dates: approximately 1932-1959

Collection of Cecil B. DeMille recordings

 Collection
Identifier: MSS 3203
Scope and Contents

Contains two CD copies of a radio transcription disk made by the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service. The first CD contains two broadcasts: track one is a broadcast of the Salt Lake City Tabernacle Choir from November 9, 1958 (RED 586), and track two is an excerpt from a speech by Cecil B. DeMille on the Ten Commandments given at the University of Southern California and distributed by the Trojan Digest program (IED 626). The second CD contains only the address by DeMille.

Dates: Broadcast: approximately 1958

The Crusades

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230326727]
Identifier: MSS SC 2793
Scope and Contents

Typewritten screenplay of the motion picture, "The Crusades," which was directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The item was co-authored by Dudley Nichols and Waldemar Young.

Dates: 1935

The Crusades script

 Collection — Box 1: [Barcode: 31197227657092]
Identifier: MSS 5793
Scope and Contents

The Crusades, bound, annotated script, with film frames, dated 29 January 1935, in faded green binder with red felt cross and the name "Berenice" on the front cover.

Dates: 1935

Photographs of Cecil B. DeMille childhood home

 Collection — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197233624565]
Identifier: MSS 2161
Scope and Contents

8 color photographs of childhood home of Cecil B. DeMille and its environs, Pompton, NJ. Negatives accompany the photographs.

Dates: 1996

Cecil B. DeMille correspondence

 Collection — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197233635934]
Identifier: MSS 8174
Scope and Contents Correspondence to and from Cecil B. DeMille. Dated 1915-1942. Includes: Walter Braunscheiger letter to Cecil B. DeMille; Cecil B. DeMille letter to Will Rogers; Will Rogers letter to Cecil B. DeMille; Beatrice DeMille telegram to Cecil B. DeMille; Cecil B. DeMille letter to Beatrice DeMille; 3 Cecil B. DeMille letters to Jesse L. Lasky; Cecil B. DeMille letter to Samuel Goldfish; Samuel Goldfish letter to Cecil B. DeMille; John Carter letter to Cecil B. DeMille; Beatrice DeMille letter to...
Dates: 1915-1942

Cecil B. DeMille letter on naturalization of Japanese

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197231190437]
Identifier: MSS SC 3258
Scope and Contents

Typed letter, signed by DeMille.

Dates: 1924

Cecil B. DeMille letters

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230343383]
Identifier: MSS 2613
Scope and Contents

12 letters and 1 telegram from DeMille to Lasky, 1 photograph.

Dates: 1942-1956