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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 571 Collections and/or Records:

General and miscellaneous, 1942

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 1400 Series 2 Sub-Series 3 Sub-Series 23
Scope and Contents From the Series: Identified by DeMille as "Personal," this group of 196 boxes begins with 22 boxes dealing with the research and writing of the posthumously published The Autobiography of Cecil B. DeMille (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1959), edited by Donald Hayne. The files are arranged chronologically by year, and items within each year are arranged alphabetically by subject or name. Over time, the organization of some of the files deteriorated into groups of unrelated records. Therefore, files...
Dates: 1942

General correspondence, 1947-1960

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 1400 Series 2 Sub-Series 1 Sub-Series 1
Scope and Contents From the Series: Identified by DeMille as "Personal," this group of 196 boxes begins with 22 boxes dealing with the research and writing of the posthumously published The Autobiography of Cecil B. DeMille (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1959), edited by Donald Hayne. The files are arranged chronologically by year, and items within each year are arranged alphabetically by subject or name. Over time, the organization of some of the files deteriorated into groups of unrelated records. Therefore, files...
Dates: 1947-1960

General interviews, 1913-1959

 Series
Identifier: MSS 1400 Series 4
Scope and Contents

This small series consists of 2 boxes of correspondence and final copies of interviews granted by DeMille during 1936. 1040, 1955, 1957, and 1958.

Dates: 1913-1959

Gladys Rosson, 1927-1943

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 1400 Series 5 Sub-Series 4
Scope and Contents From the Series:

This series of 6 boxes contains correspondence, notes and desk calendars (1933-1965), and appointment books of key DeMille employees: Florence Cole (secretary), Gladys Rosson (secretary), Joseph W. Harper (businessman and son-in-law), Henry Wilcoxon (associate producer), Russell A. Treacy (business manager), and Stella Stray (DeMille's first employee, a secretary, hired in 1913).

Dates: 1927-1943

Gross receipts

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 1400 Series 8 Sub-Series 2 Sub-Series 1 Sub-Series 8
Scope and Contents From the Series: In late 1924, DeMille purchased the Thomas Ince Studio in Culver City and renamed the facility DeMille Studio. This series of 35 boxes documents the nearly four-year lifespan of the organization and contains two main parts: the first deals with general financial and business correspondence and story properties from 1925 to 1928, and is arranged alphabetically ; the second part is comprised of film production files from the same period including 13 boxes of material on The Road to Yesterday,...
Dates: 1926-1958

Gross receipts--domestic, 1956-1959

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 1400 Series 10 Sub-Series 2 Sub-Series 16 Sub-Series 54
Scope and Contents From the Series: In 1932 DeMille returned to Paramount Pictures after an eight-year absence. There he set up his own production entity know to those on his Paramount lot as the DeMille Unit. This series is the largest single group of material in the DeMille Archives, numbering 450 boxes. It is organized into two main groups: General Correspondence and Motion Picture Production Files.General Correspondence is arranged chronologically, and then alphabetically within each year by individual,...
Dates: 1956-1959

Gross receipts--foreign, 1957-1959

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 1400 Series 10 Sub-Series 2 Sub-Series 16 Sub-Series 55
Scope and Contents From the Series: In 1932 DeMille returned to Paramount Pictures after an eight-year absence. There he set up his own production entity know to those on his Paramount lot as the DeMille Unit. This series is the largest single group of material in the DeMille Archives, numbering 450 boxes. It is organized into two main groups: General Correspondence and Motion Picture Production Files.General Correspondence is arranged chronologically, and then alphabetically within each year by individual,...
Dates: 1957-1959

Gross receipts--miscellaneous

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 1400 Series 10 Sub-Series 2 Sub-Series 16 Sub-Series 56
Scope and Contents From the Series: In 1932 DeMille returned to Paramount Pictures after an eight-year absence. There he set up his own production entity know to those on his Paramount lot as the DeMille Unit. This series is the largest single group of material in the DeMille Archives, numbering 450 boxes. It is organized into two main groups: General Correspondence and Motion Picture Production Files.General Correspondence is arranged chronologically, and then alphabetically within each year by individual,...
Dates: 1952-1959

Henry Churchill DeMille, 1853-1892

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 1400 Series 1 Sub-Series 3
Scope and Contents From the Series:

Contains genealogical charts, correspondence, and research relating to DeMille's ancestry as compiled by Louis DeBoer, a genealogist retained by DeMille for many years. Also included in this series is correspondence relating specifically to Frederic A. Adams (father-in-law), Constance Adams DeMille (wife), Henry C. DeMille (father), Beatrice Samuel DeMille (mother), William C. deMille (brother), and Cecilia deMille Harper (daughter).

Dates: 1853-1892

Henry Wilcoxon, 1958

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 1400 Series 5 Sub-Series 5
Scope and Contents From the Series:

This series of 6 boxes contains correspondence, notes and desk calendars (1933-1965), and appointment books of key DeMille employees: Florence Cole (secretary), Gladys Rosson (secretary), Joseph W. Harper (businessman and son-in-law), Henry Wilcoxon (associate producer), Russell A. Treacy (business manager), and Stella Stray (DeMille's first employee, a secretary, hired in 1913).

Dates: 1958