cecil b demille cause of death cecil b demille cause of death

DeMille adored the art of Groesbeck, even hanging it above his fireplace, but film staff found it difficult to convert his art into three-dimensional sets. [117] He also popularized the camera crane. finding aid. Broadway Actor. [143] [note 9] In 1938, DeMille supervised the compilation of film Land of Liberty to represent the contribution of the American film industry to the 1939 New York World's Fair. English Wikipedia. [182] DeMille noted that his mother had a "high sense of the dramatic" and was determined to continue the artistic legacy of her husband after he died. After more than thirty years in film production, DeMille reached a pinnacle in his career with Samson and Delilah (1949), a biblical epic which became the highest-grossing film of 1950. [22] Agnes would die on February 11, 1894, at the age of three from spinal meningitis. Cecil B DeMille Bio Details. [172] DeMille's funeral was held on January 23 at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church. Despite its quick turnaround, the film was fairly successful. He is particularly remembered for his 1956 film "The Ten Commandments", but made over 70 films throughout his long career. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cinema and the most commercially successful producer-director in film history. [204] As DeMille's career progressed, he increasingly relied on artist Dan Sayre Groesbeck's concept, costume, and storyboard art. [250] Five of DeMille's film were the highest-grossing films at the year of their release, with only Spielberg topping him with six of his films as the highest-grossing films of the year. Oscars 1950 - Honorary Award. The film was produced on a large budget of $600,000, the most expensive production at Paramount. Media in category "Cecil B. DeMille" The following 53 files are in this category, out of 53 total. The project was later completed by DeMille's former assistant director. DeMille toured with the circus while helping write the script. [172], DeMille received two Academy Awards: an Honorary Award for "37 years of brilliant showmanship" in 1950[313] and a Best Picture award in 1953 for The Greatest Show on Earth. [173] After his death, notable news outlets such as The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and The Guardian honored DeMille as "pioneer of movies", "the greatest creator and showman of our industry", and "the founder of Hollywood". Cause of death: Heart failure: Nationality: American: Occupation: Producer, director, editor, screenwriter, actor: Years active: 1913-1959: Spouse(s) Constance Adams (1902-1959) Partner(s) Jeanie MacPherson Julia Faye: Parent(s) Henry Churchill DeMille Beatrice Samuel: Cecil Blount DeMille (August 12, 1881 - January 21, 1959) was an . [46] Life was difficult for DeMille and his wife as traveling actors; however, traveling allowed him to experience part of the United States he had not yet seen. [41] The Return of Peter Grimm sparked controversy; however, because Belasco had taken DeMille's unnamed screenplay, changed the characters and named it The Return of Peter Grimm, producing and presenting it as his own work. [57] Having become disinterested in working in theatre, DeMille's passion for film was ignited when he watched the 1912 French film Les Amours de la reine lisabeth. In addition to his Best Picture Awards, he received an Academy Honorary Award for his film contributions, the Palme d'Or (posthumously) for Union Pacific (1939), a DGA Award for Lifetime Achievement, and the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. According to Richard Birchard, DeMille's weakened state during production may have led to the film being received as uncharacteristically substandard. Charlie Chaplin lived next door for a time, and after he moved, DeMille purchased the other house and combined the estates. He donated. DeMille". [18] DeMille and William collaborated on The Genius, The Royal Mounted, and After Five. DeMille's return was approved by Zukor under the condition that DeMille not exceed his production budget of $650,000 for The Sign of the Cross. [129], From June 1, 1936, until January 22, 1945, Cecil B. DeMille hosted and directed Lux Radio Theater, a weekly digest of current feature films. The members rejected his proposal, even though his last two films, Samson and Delilah and The Greatest Show on Earth, had been record-breaking hits. 1956 theater brochure Cecil B. DeMille passed away January 21, 1959, from a heart condition. This was the first feature-length film made in Hollywood. Large gallery of Cecil B. DeMille pics. [21] DeMille's sister Agnes was born on April 23, 1891; his mother nearly did not survive the birth. He debuted as an actor on February 21, 1900, in the play Hearts Are Trumps at New York's Garden Theater. [36] One of DeMille's affairs was with his screenwriter Jeanie MacPherson. Cecil B. DeMille, in full Cecil Blount DeMille, (born August 12, 1881, Ashfield, Massachusetts, U.S.died January 21, 1959, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California), American motion-picture producer-director whose use of spectacle attracted vast audiences and made him a dominant figure in Hollywood for almost five decades. [note 4], While filming The Captive in 1915, an extra, Bob Fleming, died on set when another extra failed to heed to DeMille's orders to unload all guns for rehearsal. This allowed for the rapid production of his films in the early years of the Lasky Company. "[266] Producer David O. Selznick wrote: "There has appeared only one Cecil B. DeMille. The mistress could not keep the boy due to her tuberculosis. However, Birchard acknowledged that Sarris's point was more likely that DeMille's style was behind the development of film as an art form. [59] Lasky and DeMille were said to have sketched out the organization of the company on the back of a restaurant menu. In 1923, DeMille released a modern melodrama The Ten Commandments which was a significant change from his previous stint of irreligious films. Moreover, DeMille was audited by the Internal Revenue Service due to issues with his production company. Memoir of DeMille titled 'The Autobiography of Cecil B. DeMille' was published in 1959. His family's, DeMille's niece and William deMille's daughter. [39] DeMille wrote a few of his own plays in-between stage performances, but his playwriting was not as successful. [13] She had emigrated from England with her parents in 1871 when she was 18; the newly arrived family settled in Brooklyn, New York, where they maintained a middle-class, English-speaking household. According to director of photography Janusz Kaminski, Steven Spielberg's earliest home movies still exist, and were consulted for the scene in "The Fabelmans" in which young Sammy Fabelman recreates a train crash scene from Cecil B. DeMille's 1952 film "The Greatest Show on Earth." "We've watched them before, but they are a little too primitive [] [85][86] In addition to his Paradise, DeMille purchased a yacht in 1921 which he called The Seaward. [138] Critics were impressed with the visuals but found the scripts dull, calling it DeMille's "poorest Western". DeMille, Cecil B. [245], Known as the father of the Hollywood motion picture industry, Cecil B. DeMille made 70 films including several box-office hits. [187] DeMille's films Male and Female, Why Change Your Wife?, and The Affairs of Anatol can be retrospectively described as high camp and are categorized as "early DeMille films" due to their particular style of production and costume and set design. [37] Despite his reputation for extramarital affairs, DeMille did not like to have affairs with his stars, as he believed it would cause him to lose control as a director. [106] His first film in the new production company, DeMille Pictures Corporation, was The Road to Yesterday in 1925. [115] In 1916, DeMille purchased a mansion in Hollywood. [315] He was further nominated in the Best Picture category for The Ten Commandments at the 1957 Academy Awards. Cause of death: Heart failure: Nationality: American: Occupation: Producer, director, editor, screenwriter, actor: Years active: 1913-1959: Spouse(s) Constance Adams . She would die one year later. [229] He began the production of epics earlier in his career until they began to solidify his career in the 1920s. Then, he would help writers construct a script. After the film was shown, viewers complained that the shadows and lighting prevented the audience from seeing the actors' full faces, complaining that they would only pay half price. [103] It held the Paramount record for twenty-five years until DeMille broke the record again himself. [53] Another DeMille-Lasky production that opened in January 1912 was The Antique Girl. It was the longest (3 hours, 39 minutes) and most expensive ($13million) film in Paramount history. Although less critically revered than D.W. Griffith, DeMille actually played a more important role in . Here we have a man who made a film praising the Jewish people, that tells of Samson, one of the legends of our Scripture. [70] Filming began on December 29, 1913, and lasted three weeks. As DeMille continued to rely on Groesbeck, the nervous energy of his early films transformed into more steady compositions of his later films. [149][150] DeMille signed a contract with Prentice Hall publishers in August 1953 to publish an autobiography. [273], As a filmmaker, DeMille was the aesthetic inspiration of many directors and films due to his early influence during the crucial development of the film industry. [297] The title of the 2000 John Waters film Cecil B. Demented alludes to DeMille. [168] DeMille was unable to attend the Los Angeles premiere of The Buccaneer. [192] DeMille had large and frequent office conferences to discuss and examine all aspects of the working film including story-boards, props, and special effects. Cecil B. DeMille Birthday and Date of Death. DeMille had considered making the film himself. DeMille made a 1905 reprise in Hamlet as Osric. [251] Director Ridley Scott has been called "the Cecil B. DeMille of the digital era" due to his classical and medieval epics. His other well known films include The Sign of the Cross (1932), Cleopatra (1934), Samson and Delilah [] But he put on pictures that made a fortune. [202] Another important aspect of DeMille's editing technique was to put the film away for a week or two after an initial edit in order to re-edit the picture with a fresh mind. [283] In response to the claims, DeMille donated some of the profits from The King of Kings to charity. [337], Charles Frohman, Constance Adams, and David Belasco, Scandalous dramas, Biblical epics, and departure from Paramount, There are several variants of DeMille's surname. The United States Supreme Court declined to review his case. An example is the Bible which has been remade into many different movies including The Ten Commandments by Cecil B. DeMille and The Passion of the Christ by Mel Gibson. DeMille frequently made cameos as himself in other Paramount films. . [247] Adjusted for inflation, DeMille's remake of The Ten Commandments is the eighth highest-grossing film in the world. Cecil Blount DeMille. On the day of DeMille's death, President McKay sent a telegram to the DeMille family stating that DeMille "merits the welcome, 'well done that good and faithful servant; enter thou into the rest prepared for the just.' . Film Director. This concerned the executives at Paramount; however, the film turned out to be the studio's highest-grossing film. [160] A unique practice at the time, DeMille offered ten percent of his profit to the crew. An annual award, the Golden Globe's Cecil B. DeMille Award recognizes lifetime achievement in the film industry. [63] The Lasky Company wanted to attract high-class audiences to their films so they began producing films from literary works. [168] In the months before his death, DeMille was researching a film biography of Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scout Movement. Work period (start) . Alternative names DeMille, Cecil Blount Short description Film director: Date of birth August 12, 1881 Place of birth Death: December 20, 1982 (68) Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, United States. Friday 12 Aug 1881. In other "Talk Shop" columns, DeMille explained that "no stone was left unturned to make the picture absolutely true to the life portrayed" and that he had brought in "eighteen big Tiger Tribe Indians . DeMille was painstakingly attentive to details on set and was as critical of himself as he was of his crew. DeMille plays himself in the film. The gathering drew 93,000, with short speeches by, While the film was a huge success, DeMille regretted that he could not share the success with his wife who had developed, The estate cycled through several different homeowners for the next 30 years until it was bought by American actress. We should get down on our knees to Cecil and say "Thank you! [79][note 3], Cecil B. DeMille's second film credited exclusively to him was The Virginian. Further illustrated by his home life, DeMille required formality and politeness at home. Cecil B. DeMille didn't make the kind of movies that wind up in French film festivals. The play was successful, and DeMille was distraught that his childhood idol had plagiarized his work. 1902-08-16 Filmmaker Cecil B DeMille (21) weds actress . 1 reference. Stills. Name Constance DeMille Cause of death pneumonia: Born April 27, 1874 . [132] DeMille would never again work on radio. Cecil B. DeMille Net Worth: Cecil B. DeMille was an American film director and producer who had a net worth equal to $50 million at the time of his death after adjusting for . The Union Pacific gave DeMille access to historical data, early period trains, and expert crews, adding to the authenticity of the film. [175][176] His personal will drew a line between Cecilia and his three adopted children, with Cecilia receiving a majority of DeMille's inheritance and estate. Self - The Real FBI Story (2017) . [278] As one of the establishing members of Paramount Pictures and co-founder of Hollywood, DeMille had a role in the development of the film industry. [231] DeMille's distinctive style can be seen through camera and lighting effects as early as The Squaw Man with the use of daydream images; moonlight and sunset on a mountain; and side-lighting through a tent flap. [5] On September 1, 1881, the family returned with the newborn DeMille to their flat in New York. He was the first recipient of the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award, which was named in his honor. [308] In 1952, DeMille was awarded the first Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes. [309][310][note 17] For his contribution to the motion picture and radio industry, DeMille has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. We have estimated Cecil B. DeMille's net worth , money, salary, income, and assets. [160] Production of The Ten Commandments began in October 1954. [205], Composer Elmer Bernstein described DeMille as "sparing no effort" when filmmaking. [15], DeMille was a brave and confident child. Date of Death: January 21, 1959. - Death and the Maiden (1973) . Billy Jim Hawkins . [195] DeMille was adept at directing "thousands of extras",[113] and many of his pictures include spectacular set pieces: the toppling of the pagan temple in Samson and Delilah;[196] train wrecks in The Road to Yesterday,[197] Union Pacific[198] and The Greatest Show on Earth;[199] the destruction of an airship in Madam Satan;[200] and the parting of the Red Sea in both versions of The Ten Commandments. Now he wants to make the life of Moses. The sets and effects were so realistic that 30 extras needed to be hospitalized due to a scene with fireballs and flaming arrows. Cecil B. DeMille. [242] Another common theme in DeMille's films is the reversal of fortune and the portrayal of the rich and the poor, including the war of the classes and man versus society conflicts such as in The Golden Chance and The Cheat. [180] His playwright father introduced him to the theater at a young age. View the most popular Cecil B. DeMille pix. The Squaw Man (1914), co-directed by Oscar Apfel, was a sensation and it established the Lasky Company. Peters claimed that he encouraged the cast to attend the funeral with him anyway since DeMille would not be able to shoot the film without him. [177] Cecilia lived in the house for many years until her death in 1984,[178] but the house was auctioned by his granddaughter Cecilia DeMille Presley who also lived there in the late 1980s. [109] Considered at the time to be the most successful Christian film of the silent era, DeMille calculated that it had been viewed over 800 million times around the world. DeMille liked to sail and dive; he had several boats throughout his lifetime. [84] His specific use of lighting, influenced by his mentor David Belasco, was for the purpose of creating "striking images" and heightening "dramatic situations". [68] He continued to Los Angeles. DeMille's mother sent him to Pennsylvania Military College (now Widener University) in Chester, Pennsylvania, at age 15. [30] DeMille attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (tuition-free due to his father's service to the Academy). However, throughout his career, he filmed comedies, periodic and contemporary romances, dramas, fantasies, propaganda, Biblical spectacles, musical comedies, suspense, and war films. He was entombed at the Hollywood Memorial Cemetery (now known as Hollywood Forever). [303] In 1957, DeMille gave the commencement address for the graduation ceremony of Brigham Young University wherein he received an honorary Doctorate of Letter degree. Host Scott . [171], Cecil B. DeMille suffered a series of heart attacks from June 1958 to January 1959,[168] and died on January 21, 1959, following an attack. DeMille's highest-grossing films include: The Sign of the Cross (1932), Unconquered (1947), Samson and Delilah (1949), The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), and The Ten Commandments (1956). [215][216][217] He also cast established stars such as Gary Cooper, Robert Preston, Paulette Goddard and Fredric March in multiple pictures. [41] DeMille and his brother at times worked with the legendary impresario David Belasco, who had been a friend and collaborator of their father. It was commercially very successful. [190], DeMille's filmmaking process always began with extensive research. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. [165] This film would be his last. 21 January 1959. He claimed he abandoned the project in order to complete a different project, but in reality, it was to preserve his reputation and avoid appearing reactionary. [40], His brother William was establishing himself as a playwright and sometimes invited him to collaborate. Robin Williams won the Cecil B. DeMille Awards in 2005. [269] He often appeared in his coming-attraction trailers and narrated many of his later films,[270] even stepping on screen to introduce The Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments, filmed here at the Guadeloupe sand dunes, 150 miles from Hollywood. DeMille served as executive producer but could not improve Quinn's style of direction. [18] The family lived in Washington, North Carolina,[19] until Henry built a three-story Victorian-style house for his family in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey; they named this estate "Pamlico". It was produced with a large budget and contained many special effects including an electronically operated giant squid. [69] DeMille rented a barn to function as their film studio. Sunset Blvd. [26] The aim of the school was to teach young women to properly understand and fulfill the women's duty to herself, her home, and her country. Unlike the other children the DeMille's adopted, John was never told about his birth parents. . Birthplace: Ashfield, MA Location of death: Hollywood, CA Cause of death: Heart Failure Remains: Bu. [203], DeMille often edited in a manner that favored psychological space rather than physical space through his cuts. Let's take a look back at 20 of his greatest movies, ranked worst to best. [230] Actor Charlton Heston admitted DeMille was, "terribly unfashionable" and Sidney Lumet called Demille, "the cheap version of D.W. Griffith," adding that DeMille, "[didn't have]an original thought in his head," though Heston added that DeMille was much more than that. [136] During pre-production of Union Pacific, DeMille was dealing with his first serious health issue. He produced or directed about 80 movies - including The Ten Commandments (1956), a movie in the 'epic' genre for which he is probably best known today. [132], DeMille sued the union for reinstatement but lost. Cecil B. DeMille was a master of spectacle. [112] He was also a real estate speculator,[113] an underwriter of political campaigns, and vice president of Bank of America. [298][299], DeMille's legacy is maintained by his granddaughter Cecilia DeMille Presley who serves as the president of the Cecil B. DeMille Foundation, which strives to support higher education, child welfare, and film in Southern California. Beatrice DeMille's family was not in attendance, and Simon Louvish suggests that this was to conceal DeMille's partial Jewish heritage. DeMille recalled that this church was the place where he visualized the story of his 1923 version of The Ten Commandments.[25]. With his editor, Anne Bauchens, DeMille used editing techniques to allow the visual images to bring the plot to climax rather than dialogue. However, his final films maintained that DeMille was still respected by his audiences. [202] DeMille was unique in using this technique. [263] Joseph Henabery recalled that DeMille looked like "a king on a throne surrounded by his court" while directing films on a camera platform. [66] With no knowledge of filmmaking, DeMille was introduced to observe the process at film studios. Hijo del dramaturgo Henry Churchill DeMille, en cuyas obras particip durante su infancia y primera adolescencia, curs . He began his career with reserved yet brilliant melodramas; from there, his style developed into marital comedies with outrageously melodramatic plots. [211] He despised actors who were unwilling to take physical risks, especially when he had first demonstrated that the required stunt would not harm them. Cecil B. DeMille, of course, is the legendary filmmaker, director of The Ten Commandments, The King of Kings, Cleopatra, Samson & Delilah, The Greatest Show on Earth, and many more excellent and timeless films. Cecil B. DeMille's final film, another version of The Ten Commandments , is his most widely seen work, thanks to Easter-time television programming, but it is not one of his most respected. [72] DeMille's next project was to aid Oscar Apfel and directing Brewster's Millions, which was wildly successful. DeMille's trademark scenes included bathtubs, lion attacks, and Roman orgies. cause of death. DeMille was variously declared 'the master of the religious epic', 14. the 'arch apostle of spectacle', 15. and the 'King of the epic Biblical spectacular', 16. as also His first several films were westerns and he produced a chain of westerns during the sound era. The film was considered a "masterpiece" and surpassed the quality of other sound films of the time. The second star is located at 1725 Vine Street. Constance Adams DeMille (April 27, 1873 July 17, 1960) actress and wife of filmmaker Cecil Blount DeMille. education: American Academy Of Dramatic Arts, Pennsylvania Military College. [80] The first few years of the Lasky Company were spent in making films nonstop, literally writing the language of film. [28] This was the first of few film collaborations with his brother William. Adams allowed DeMille to have several long term mistresses during their marriage as an outlet, while maintaining an outward appearance of a faithful marriage. They struggled to adapt the play from the stage to the set. [128] He supported Herbert Hoover and in 1928 made his largest campaign donation to Hoover. His overriding spirit . His films were distinguished by their epic scale and by his cinematic showmanship. [264], DeMille was liked by some of his fellow directors and disliked by others, though his actual films were usually dismissed by his peers as vapid spectacle. (He would later cast her in The Ten Commandments.) Long before he made his first sound picture, DeMille had become a cinema . The Captive (1915) $500 /week. [151] DeMille would reminisce into a voice recorder, the recording would be transcribed, and the information would be organized in the biography based on the topic. [156] DeMille did not have an exact budget proposal for the project,[158] and it promised to be the most costly in U.S. film history. [232] In the early age of cinema, DeMille differentiated the Lasky Company from other production companies due to the use of dramatic, low-key lighting they called "Lasky lighting" and marketed as "Rembrandt lighting" to appeal to the public. [27] Before Henry deMille's death, Beatrice had "enthusiastically supported" her husband's theatrical aspirations.