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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 16 Collections and/or Records:

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

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

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 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

Cecil B. DeMille papers

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 1400
Scope and Contents Personal and business papers generated by DeMille (1881-1959), his family, and his motion picture and other activities from 1863 to 1983 including correspondence, audio and videotape recordings, financial ledgers, and memorabilia. Also with the collection are more than 6,500 pieces of production-related art work, more than 37,869 motion picture still photographs, 275 volumes of scrapbooks (1919-1962), sound recordings, and video tapes of 36 motion pictures from DeMille's personal film...
Dates: 1863-1983

L. Tom Perry Special Collections digital audio tape with music from The Ten Commandments and interview with Cecil B. DeMille

 Collection — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197232564424]
Identifier: MSS 8941
Scope and Contents

Digital audio tape recording transferred from an older medium. Recording has 2-disc Ten Commandments soundtrack by Elmer Bernstein and an interview with Cecil B. DeMille on his return from Egypt in 1956.

Dates: 1956

Arnold Friberg paintings for The Ten Commandments

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 8821
Abstract

Collection of eight artistic renderings of Moses created by Arnold Friberg as commissioned by Cecil B. DeMille for the 1956 film The Ten Commandments.

Dates: approximately 1956

Interviews on "The Buccaneer"

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 8898
Abstract

Vinyl record of interviews on "The Buccaneer" and typed transcript of interviews.

Dates: Approximately 1958

Victor Milner papers

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 1965
Scope and Contents

Correspondence, a scrapbook, newsclippings, telegrams, certificates, and other items. The materials deal with the motion picture industry in the United States and Milner's career as cinematagrapher. Some of the correspondence is with Cecil B. DeMille, the American motion picture producer. Also includes newspaper coverage of Milner's detention in the Soviet Zone of Germany in 1949.

Dates: 1914-1990