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 14 Collections and/or Records:

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 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 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

Dan Sayre Groesbeck collection

 Collection — Box 1: [Barcode: 31197232484003]
Identifier: MSS 2511
Abstract

Papers and photographs covering Groesbeck's life and art, covering the period 1899-2000.

Dates: 1899-2000

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

Lisa Mitchell papers

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 2149
Scope and Contents Collection consists of correspondence, reviews, film reels, press kits, and newspaper and magazine articles written by Mitchell. Also included are photographs, posters, and other materials regarding Merlene of the Movies and Divine Mercy, No Escape. Two prospecti on proposed books about Cecil B. DeMille and the 1956 motion picture The Ten Commandments are among the materials, along with musical programs from Annie, Fiddler on the Roof, and others. Also included are video tapes of Mitchell's...
Dates: 1955-1999

Photographs and negatives of King of kings

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 2228
Scope and Contents

Includes 905 nitrate negatives and 262 photographic prints of scene stills, publicity, and theater marquees for Cecil B. DeMille's motion picture, King of Kings (1927). Pierce acquired the collection at an unspecified time.

Dates: 1927