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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 603 Collections and/or Records:

Scripts, 1914-1956

 Series
Identifier: MSS 1400 Series 17
Scope and Contents This series contains 8 boxes of photocopied shooting scripts from the originals used by DeMille. (The originals are archived at the University of Southern California.) They are arranged chronologically, as DeMille maintained them. One of the final installments of the collection consisted of drawers full of originals scripts kept apart from the main collection. Because of their belated arrival, they were not interfiled in the production files. These 30 boxes of scripts contain story...
Dates: 1914-1956

Seaward logs, 1923-1942

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 1400 Series 12 Sub-Series 41
Scope and Contents From the Series: Found in ths series of 261 boxes are files relating to the activities of DeMille Productions, beginning in 1916. They include financial records and ledgers from 1916 to 1952. The extensive correspondence fields (1922-1959) are arranged chronologically, and then alphabetically within each year. The original order maintained in these files often includes years other than those indicated by the file heading. Files from preceding years were occasionally brought froward for reference or for...
Dates: 1923-1942

Sound recording, 1954-1958

 Series
Identifier: MSS 1400 Series 20
Scope and Contents

This small series encompasses 10 sound recording from 1954 to 1958 and includes speeches, a radio broadcast, and DeMille's copy of the commercially released soundtrack album of The Ten Commandments. See also: Speeches, Broadcasts, and Narrations; General Interviews; Paramount Pictures; Civic Involvement; and Personl.

Dates: 1954-1958

Souvenirs and pamphlets

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 1400 Series 10 Sub-Series 2 Sub-Series 16 Sub-Series 48 Sub-Series 4
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

Speeches, broadcasts, and narrations, 1927-1965

 Series
Identifier: MSS 1400 Series 3
Scope and Contents

This series of 15 boxes contains speeches, requests for speeches, and related correspondence. Final drafts and notes on individual speeches are available dating from 1927 to 1958. Some were designated "political" or "non-political" in nature and are filed alphabetically by location or organization where the speech was delivered. Some speeches are chronologically.

Dates: 1927-1965

Stella Stray, 1956

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 1400 Series 5 Sub-Series 6
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: 1956

Studio correspondence, 1954-1957

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 1400 Series 10 Sub-Series 2 Sub-Series 16 Sub-Series 26 Sub-Series Sub-Sub-Sub-Sub- 1
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: 1954-1957

Telephone index, 1951

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 1400 Series 2 Sub-Series 6 Sub-Series 14
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: 1951

The Buccaneer, 1937-1959

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 1400 Series 10 Sub-Series 2 Sub-Series 17
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: 1937-1959

The Buccaneer, 1934-1938

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 1400 Series 10 Sub-Series 2 Sub-Series 7
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: 1934-1938