Cecil Blount DeMille (/dəˈmɪl/; August 12, 1881 – January 21, 1959) was an American filmmaker. Between 1913 and 1956, he made seventy features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the Hollywood film industry, the most commercially successful producer-director in cinema history.

DeMille began his career as a stage actor in 1900. One of his first acting jobs was in 1905 at the Historic Elitch Theatre in Denver, CO. He later moved to writing and directing stage productions, some with Jesse Lasky, who was then a vaudeville producer. DeMille's first film, The Squaw Man (1914), was also the first feature film shot in Hollywood. Its interracial love story made it a phenomenal hit and it "put Hollywood on the map." The continued success of his productions led to the founding of Paramount Pictures with Lasky and Adolph Zukor. His first biblical epic, The Ten Commandments (1923), was both a critical and financial success; it held the Paramount revenue record for twenty-five years.

The immense popularity of DeMille's silent films enabled him to branch out. The Roaring Twenties were the boom years and DeMille took full advantage, opening the Mercury Aviation Company, one of America's first commercial airlines. He was also a real estate speculator, an underwriter of political campaigns, and a Bank of America executive, approving loans for other filmmakers.

DeMille's films were distinguished by their epic scale, and by his cinematic showmanship. He made silent films of every genre: social dramas, comedies, Westerns, farces, morality plays, and historical pageants. The King of Kings (1927), his biography of Jesus Christ, was acclaimed for its sensitivity. Although it was a silent film, it circulated in 16mm prints for more than a half century after its release, reaching more than 800 million viewers. The Sign of the Cross (1932) was the first sound film to integrate all aspects of cinematic technique. Cleopatra (1934) was his first film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

After more than thirty years in Hollywood, DeMille reached the pinnacle of his career with Samson and Delilah (1949), a biblical epic which did "an all-time record business." He went on to receive his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director for his circus drama The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. His last and most famous film, The Ten Commandments (1956), is currently the seventh highest-grossing film of all-time adjusted for inflation.

In addition to his Best Picture Award, he received an Academy Honorary Award for his film contributions, the Palme d'Or (posthumously) for Union Pacific (film), a DGA Award for Lifetime Achievement, and the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. He was also the first recipient of the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award, which was later named in his honor.

DeMille married Constance Adams DeMille in 1902, with whom he had one biological child, Cecilia; and three adopted children, Katherine, John, and Richard.

DeMille had an older brother William. Their sister Agnes died in childhood. William later named a daughter after her. Agnes de Mille, the famed dancer-choreographer, was DeMille's niece.

DeMille died of a heart ailment at age 77 in January 1959.

Biography

DeMille married Constance Adams on August 16, 1902 and had one child, Cecilia. The couple also adopted an orphan child, Katherine Lester in the early 1920s; her father had been killed in World War I and her mother had died of tuberculosis. Without DeMille's permission, Katherine became an actress at Paramount Pictures, ultimately gaining his approval. On October 3, 1937, Katherine married actor Anthony Quinn. In the 1920s the DeMilles adopted two sons, John and Richard, the latter of whom became a notable filmmaker, writer, and psychologist.

Best films