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[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. [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. [8] Henry de Mille, whose ancestors were of English and Dutch-Belgian descent, was a North Carolina-born dramatist, actor, and lay reader in the Episcopal Church. [38], In 1902, he played a small part in Hamlet. Cleopatra (1934) was his first film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Birth place. [90], During World War I, the Famous Players-Lasky organized a military company underneath the National Guard called the Home Guard made up of film studio employees with DeMille as captain. Cecil B. DeMille American film director (1881-1959) . Cecil B. DeMille Birthday and Date of Death. They were even required to expand to RKO sound studios for filming. In the 1950s, Paramount sold its entire pre-1948 film library, including those of DeMille, to, The set was discovered by Peter Brosnan after hearing a rumor in 1982 that DeMille had ordered the enormous set to be buried after filming rather than taken away. 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. View the most popular Cecil B. DeMille pix. However, the films of his silent era were often thematically different from the films of his sound era. [138] Critics were impressed with the visuals but found the scripts dull, calling it DeMille's "poorest Western". [44], DeMille performed on stage with actors whom he would later direct in films: Charlotte Walker, Mary Pickford, and Pedro de Cordoba. "[267] Salvador Dal wrote that DeMille, Walt Disney and the Marx Brothers were "the three great American Surrealists". DeMille had adopted him to avoid revealing the affairs to William's wife. These films represent those which DeMille produced or assisted in directing, credited or uncredited. [138] Despite the criticism, it was Paramount's highest-grossing film of the year. Still, it was a huge success at the box office. Radford, Bill. [165] This film would be his last. Despite the urging of his associate producer, DeMille wanted to return to the set right away. [258], DeMille was one of the first directors to become a celebrity in his own right. Friday 12 Aug 1881. Between 1913 and 1956, he made a total of 70 features, both silent and sound films.He is acknowledged as a founding father of the cinema of the United States and the most commercially successful producer-director in film history. By 1930, DeMille had perfected his film style of mass-interest spectacle films with Western, Roman, or Biblical themes. He wanted to prevent other companies from shooting on . Eventually, he became manager of the agency and later, a junior partner with his mother. [40], His brother William was establishing himself as a playwright and sometimes invited him to collaborate. Cecil Blount DeMille was a legendary. [76][77] The film grossed over ten times its budget after its New York premiere in February 1914. Story - The Left's Kavanaugh Hate-Fest (2018) . The star was being honored with the Cecil B. DeMille award, which was presented to her by Reese Witherspoon, her co-star in the upcoming Disney film A Wrinkle in Time. [160] Production of The Ten Commandments began in October 1954. [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. [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. DeMille was credited in small print as "based on an idea by Cecil DeMille". [10], Cecil B. DeMille's mother, Beatrice, a literary agent and scriptwriter, was the daughter of German Jews. Director John Huston intensely disliked both DeMille and his films. He was an active Freemason and member of Prince of Orange Lodge #16 in New York City.[1]. Cecil B. DeMille. His father, Henry Churchill de Mille (1853-1893), was a North Carolina-born dramatist and lay reader in the Episcopal Church, who had earlier . 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. DeMille's trademark scenes included bathtubs, lion attacks, and Roman orgies. "Give me any two pages of the Bible, and I'll give you a picture." -Cecil B. DeMille. Zukor became president with Lasky as the vice president. Movie posters. Alfred Hitchcock cited DeMille's 1921 film Forbidden Fruit as an influence of his work and one of his top ten favorite films. [67], On December 12, 1913, DeMille, his cast, and crew boarded a Southern Pacific train bound for Flagstaff via New Orleans. Frequent actors and actresses on the show included Barbara Stanwyck, Claudette Colbert, Loretta Young, Don Ameche, and Fred MacMurray. Host Scott . Cecil B DeMille Bio Details. [253] However, Simon Louvish wrote "he was the complete master and auteur of his films"[254] and Anton Kozlovic called him the "unsung American auteur". 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. [41] DeMille and his brother at times worked with the legendary impresario David Belasco, who had been a friend and collaborator of their father. The Enigmatic Pop Culture Professional. His daughter Cecilia took over as director as DeMille sat behind the camera with Loyal Griggs as the cinematographer. [30] DeMille attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (tuition-free due to his father's service to the Academy). Eddie Murphy is going to the Golden Globes. It opened on December 13, 1985, and features some of DeMille's personal artifacts. [80] The first few years of the Lasky Company were spent in making films nonstop, literally writing the language of film. [154] In 1954, Secretary of the Air Force Harold E. Talbott asked DeMille for help in designing the cadet uniforms at the newly established United States Air Force Academy. [231] Cecil B. DeMille has influenced the work of several well-known directors. Self - The Real FBI Story (2017) . [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. On January 8, 1893, at age 40, Henry de Mille died suddenly from typhoid fever, leaving Beatrice with three children. He was her mentor, while she was for many years his mistress (a liaison which was tolerated by De Mille's long-suffering wife Constance Adams ). Heart Ailment. DeMille: The Master of the American Biblical Epic . DeMille liked to sail and dive; he had several boats throughout his lifetime. [251] Director Ridley Scott has been called "the Cecil B. DeMille of the digital era" due to his classical and medieval epics. [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. She would die one year later. DeMille discovered the possibilities of the "bathroom" or "boudoir" in film without being "vulgar" or "cheap". While visually appealing, this made the films appear more old-fashioned. [136] During pre-production of Union Pacific, DeMille was dealing with his first serious health issue. The legendary producer-director Cecil B. DeMille was a master of the American biblical epic who shaped the public's perceptions of Judeo-Christianity in his role as Hollywood's Sunday school teacher. To diseased proportions. Sunset Blvd. Date of birth. [119] These three films, Dynamite, Madame Satan, and his 1931 remake of The Squaw Man were both critically and financially unsuccessful. Cause of Death: Heart Attack. [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. [180] His playwright father introduced him to the theater at a young age. 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. He stated that The Ten Commandments was the final culmination of DeMille's style. [114] He was additionally vice president of the Commercial National Trust and Savings Bank in Los Angeles where he approved loans for other filmmakers. This allowed for the rapid production of his films in the early years of the Lasky Company. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies. His wife did not like Paradise, so DeMille often brought his mistresses there with him including actress Julia Faye. Despite its quick turnaround, the film was fairly successful. [180] and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. Beatrice DeMille's family was not in attendance, and Simon Louvish suggests that this was to conceal DeMille's partial Jewish heritage. Moreover, DeMille's epics inspired directors such as Howard Hawks, Nicholas Ray, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and George Stevens to try producing epics. DeMille was painstakingly attentive to details on set and was as critical of himself as he was of his crew. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. [20] John Philip Sousa was a friend of the family, and DeMille recalled throwing mud balls in the air so neighbor Annie Oakley could practice her shooting. Terrible. DeMille was accused of antisemitism after the release of The King of Kings,[282] and director John Ford despised DeMille for what he saw as "hollow" biblical epics meant to promote DeMille's reputation during the politically turbulent 1950s. This concerned the executives at Paramount; however, the film turned out to be the studio's highest-grossing film. Adopted son of Cecil B. DeMille and Constance DeMille. [307] In the same ceremony, DeMille received a nomination from Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for The Greatest Show on Earth. Carl Laemmle anniversary 1931.JPG 1,473 1,161; 359 KB. He was the first recipient of the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award, which was named in his honor. Julia was born in Richmond, Virginia, of French-American parentage. It was commercially very successful. His art was even shown at Paramount meetings when pitching new films. His other well known films include The Sign of the Cross (1932), Cleopatra (1934), Samson and Delilah [] [304] Additionally, in 1958, he received an honorary Doctorate of Law degree from Temple University. DeMille traveled abroad to find employment until he was offered a deal at Paramount. [100] Consequently, Beatrice deMille introduced the Famous Players-Lasky to Wilfred Buckland, who DeMille had known from his time at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and he became DeMille's art director. Hot! [84] While on a European vacation in 1921, DeMille contracted rheumatic fever in Paris. [70] Filming began on December 29, 1913, and lasted three weeks. [318], Cecil B. DeMille made 70 features. [228] Throughout his career, he did not alter his films to better adhere to contemporary or popular styles. [39] Another unperformed play he wrote was Son of the Winds, a mythological Native American story. Cause of death. Cecil B. DeMille was an American film director, producer, and actor. [281] However, not everyone received DeMille's religious films favorably. At least one DeMille film can represent each film genre. [161] Post-production lasted a year and the film premiered in Salt Lake City. Cecil Blount DeMille[note 1] was born on August 12, 1881, in a boarding house on Main Street in Ashfield, Massachusetts, where his parents had been vacationing for the summer. The play was successful, and DeMille was distraught that his childhood idol had plagiarized his work. Constance Adams DeMille (April 27, 1873 July 17, 1960) actress and wife of filmmaker Cecil Blount DeMille. [62] They offered Farnum a choice to have a quarter stock in the company (similar to William deMille) or $250 per week as salary. Noisy and bright, it was not well-liked by critics, but was a favorite among audiences. Adams allowed DeMille to have several long term mistresses during their marriage as an outlet, while maintaining an outward appearance of a faithful marriage. [88] On July 19, 1916, the Jesse Lasky Feature Play Company merged with Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company, becoming Famous Players-Lasky. Gender. Between 1914 and 1956, he made seventy feature films; all but seven were profitable. They took time off weekly from film production to practice military drills. Consequently, DeMille's television and radio appearance ban lasted for the remainder of his life, though he was permitted to appear on radio or television to publicize a movie. He is particularly remembered for his 1956 film "The Ten Commandments", but made over 70 films throughout his long career. Date of death: 21 Jan 1959. Cecil B. DeMille was born on August 12, 1881 and died on January 21, 1959. [272] DeMille's reputation had a renaissance in the 2010s. With his editor, Anne Bauchens, DeMille used editing techniques to allow the visual images to bring the plot to climax rather than dialogue. Heart Ailment. [108] The King of Kings established DeMille as "master of the grandiose and of biblical sagas". September 17, 1914. [60] As director-general, DeMille's job was to make the films. 10 June 2021. DeMille served as executive producer, overseeing producer Henry Wilcoxon. He consistently was criticized for producing shallow films without talent or artistic care. The actual parting of the sea was created by releasing 360,000 gallons of water into a huge water tank split by a U-shaped trough, overlaying it with film of a giant waterfall that was built on the Paramount backlot, and playing the clip backwards. Cecil B. DeMille's trademark films were Biblical and historical dramas, usually told in sweeping, big-budget scale, emblematic of overwrought Hollywood hugeness. [227], Cecil B. DeMille's film production career evolved from critically significant silent films to financially significant sound films. The other three children were surprised by this, as DeMille did not treat the children differently in life. [60] In addition to directing, DeMille was the supervisor and consultant for the first year of films made by the Lasky Feature Play Company. His most notable works include The Ten Commandments -1923, The Sign of the Cross-1932 and Cleopatra-1934.Cleopatra earned him credits as it was the first film that was listed among the nominees for an Academy Award.. [32] At the age of twenty-one, Cecil B. DeMille married Constance Adams on August 16, 1902, at Adams's father's home in East Orange, New Jersey. Work period (start) . Considered one of the founders of Hollywood, film producer and director Cecil B. DeMille (1881-1959) earned a place in moviemaking history with such religious epic films as The Ten Commandmentsand King of Kings.. (He would later cast her in The Ten Commandments.) His last and best known film, The Ten Commandments (1956), also a Best Picture Academy Award nominee, is currently the eighth-highest-grossing film of all time, adjusted for inflation. Charlie Chaplin lived next door for a time, and after he moved, DeMille purchased the other house and combined the estates. [187] DeMille produced the majority of his films before the 1930s, and by the time sound films were invented, film critics saw DeMille as antiquated, with his best filmmaking years behind him. [5] DeMille was named after his grandmothers Cecelia Wolff and Margarete Blount. However, Birchard acknowledged that Sarris's point was more likely that DeMille's style was behind the development of film as an art form. However, he would never again vote for a Democratic candidate in a presidential election. A lasting memory for DeMille was a lunch with his father and actor Edwin Booth. Henry, a . He also toured with the Standard Opera Company, but there are few records to indicate DeMille's singing ability. [22] Agnes would die on February 11, 1894, at the age of three from spinal meningitis. In the silent era, he was renowned for Male and Female (1919), Manslaughter (1922), The Volga Boatman (1926), and The Godless Girl (1928). [71] Apfel filmed most of The Squaw Man due to DeMille's inexperience; however, DeMille learned quickly and was particularly adept at impromptu screenwriting as necessary. Cecil B. DeMille's "Ten Commandments" is getting appropriately colossal treatment in honor of its 55th anniversary. A deficiency in chromium may cause high blood sugar; however, deficiency is very rare. 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. An annual award, the Golden Globe's Cecil B. DeMille Award recognizes lifetime achievement in the film industry. DeMille did not believe a large movie set was the place to discuss minor character or line issues. Cecil B. DeMille passed away January 21, 1959, from a heart condition. The American Academy of Dramatic Arts honored DeMille with an Alumni Achievement Award in 1958. DeMille is one of the more commercially successful film directors in history[246] with his films before the release of The Ten Commandments estimated to have grossed $650million worldwide. [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. Still, the members unanimously approved it. DeMille's Ten Commandments premiered in 1956. Married Life. [149][150] DeMille signed a contract with Prentice Hall publishers in August 1953 to publish an autobiography. [7] His brother, William C. DeMille, was born on July 25, 1878. 1 reference. [233] DeMille's 1956 version of The Ten Commandments, according to director Martin Scorsese, is renowned for its level of production and the care and detail that went into creating the film. [156] Fifty-two of his features are silent films. Instead of portraying the danger and anarchy of the West, he portrayed the opportunity and redemption found in Western America. Explore Cecil B. DeMille's biography, personal life, family and cause of death. [45] His 1905 performance in The Prince Chap as the Earl of Huntington was well received by audiences. His first three films were Westerns, and he filmed many Westerns throughout his career. The Captive (1915) $500 /week. DeMille was born in Ashfield, Massachusetts, and grew up in New York City. [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. DeMille did not like the first draft of the biography, saying that he thought the person portrayed in the biography was an "SOB"; he said it made him sound too egotistical. Actress and director Angelina Jolie is reportedly moving her six children with Brad Pitt into the historic estate once owned by legendary director Cecil B. DeMille who was famous for his over-the-t DeMille used clips from his own films in Land of Liberty. While he is known as DeMille (his nom d'oeuvre), his family name was Dutch and is usually spelled "de Mil". [61], The Lasky Play Company sought out William DeMille to join the company, but he rejected the offer because he did not believe there was any promise in a film career. Here we have a man who made a film praising the Jewish people, that tells of Samson, one of the legends of our Scripture. He appeared in eleven of the fifteen plays presented that season, although all were minor roles. [279][280] DeMille received more than a dozen awards from Christian and Jewish religious and cultural groups, including B'nai B'rith. Additionally, he often starred in prologues and special trailers that he created for his films, having an opportunity to personally address the audience. The Ten Commandments gave the director a chance to play God, to film miracles. DeMille would stick to his large-budget spectaculars for the rest of his career. [117] He also popularized the camera crane. We have estimated Cecil B. DeMille's net worth , money, salary, income, and assets. [157] Adolph Zukor convinced the board to change their minds on the grounds of morality. In his first instance, in 1917, he remade The Squaw Man (1918), only waiting four years from the 1914 original. 1902-08-16 Filmmaker Cecil B DeMille (21) weds actress . [58], Desiring a change of scene, Cecil B. DeMille, Jesse Lasky, Sam Goldfish (later Samuel Goldwyn), and a group of East Coast businessmen created the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company in 1913 over which DeMille became director-general. "[257] The critic Camille Paglia has called The Ten Commandments one of the ten greatest films of all time. A Biblical epic with sex, it was a characteristically DeMille film. [84] In 1916, exhausted from three years of nonstop filmmaking, DeMille purchased land in the Angeles National Forest for a ranch which would become his getaway. [159] The Ten Commandments, released in 1956, was DeMille's final film. For More Information . [153] Besides filmmaking and finishing his autobiography, DeMille was involved in other projects. Birthday: August 12, 1881. [172] DeMille's funeral was held on January 23 at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church. He received his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director for his circus drama The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), which won both the Academy Award for Best Picture and the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Drama. [42] DeMille would later adapt Belasco's The Girl of the Golden West, Rose of the Rancho, and The Warrens of Virginia into films. Groesbeck's art was circulated on set to give actors and crew members a better understanding of DeMille's vision. [140][note 8] While concurrently filmmaking, he served in World War II at the age of sixty as his neighborhood air-raid warden. Male. [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. This was, according to DeMille, the lowest point of his career. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cinema and the most commercially successful producer-director in film history. Cecil Blount DeMille ( August 12, 1881 - January 21, 1959) was an American filmmaker. [148] Again, 1952's The Greatest Show on Earth became Paramount's highest-grossing film to that point. The original story Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is about two teenagers, Romeo and Juliet, who fall in love and their families' feud ends with death of Romeo and Juliet. . He was entombed at the Hollywood Memorial Cemetery (now known as Hollywood Forever). [207], DeMille made stars of unknown actors: Gloria Swanson, Bebe Daniels, Rod La Rocque, William Boyd, Claudette Colbert, and Charlton Heston. [134] William Keighley was his replacement. Cecil B. DeMille Born: 1881-08-12, Ashfield, Massachusetts, USA Education: NY Academy of Dramatic Arts Ethnicity: Caucasian Death Date:-0001-11-30 . He was disliked by many inside and outside of the film industry for his cold and controlling reputation. [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. [39] In the summer of 1905 DeMille joined the stock cast at the Elitch Theatre in Denver, Colorado. DeMille's film The Affairs of Anatol came under fire. In that respect, he was better than any of us. Now he wants to make the life of Moses. [169] DeMille attended the Santa Barbara premiere of The Buccaneer in December 1958. [72] DeMille adapted Belasco's dramatic lighting techniques to film technology, mimicking moonlight with U.S. cinema's first attempts at "motivated lighting" in The Warrens of Virginia. [207] Costume designer Dorothy Jeakins, who worked with DeMille on The Ten Commandments (1956), said that he was skilled in humiliating people. The Union Pacific gave DeMille access to historical data, early period trains, and expert crews, adding to the authenticity of the film. Just two years before his death, and shortly after the release of his last film, The Ten Commandments, he delivered a commencement address at Brigham Young University. Farnum chose $250 per week. However, Sam Goldwyn realized that if they called it "Rembrandt" lighting, the audience would pay double the price. [121], In 1932, DeMille returned to Paramount at the request of Lasky, bringing with him his own production unit. [181] Henry was heavily influenced by the work of Charles Kingsley whose ideas trickled down to DeMille. Cecil B. DeMille was born on August 12, 1881 in Ashfield, Massachusetts, U.S., United States, is Film Director, Producer. Mrs. DeMille's office and library opened to the music room. Famous Players-Lasky donated the films. (Cecil Blount De Mille o DeMille; Ashfield, 1881 - Hollywood, 1959) Productor y director de cine estadounidense recordado especialmente por sus superproducciones de epopeyas histricas y religiosas. [309][310][note 17] For his contribution to the motion picture and radio industry, DeMille has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. [218][219] DeMille cast some of his performers repeatedly, including: Henry Wilcoxon,[220] Julia Faye, Joseph Schildkraut,[221] Ian Keith,[222] Charles Bickford,[223] Theodore Roberts, Akim Tamiroff[224] and William Boyd. [36][note 6], Film started becoming more sophisticated and the subsequent films of the Lasky company were criticized for primitive and unrealistic set design. Soon after, in 1959, he had another heart attack, which led to his death. "[156], Alfred Zukor responding to DeMille's proposal of The Ten Commandments remake, In 1952, DeMille sought approval for a lavish remake of his 1923 silent film The Ten Commandments. Hollywood, California: Paramount Pictures.2011, Last edited on 25 February 2023, at 18:28, Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Drama, eighth-highest-grossing film of all time, adjusted for inflation, "Back in the Day - Sept. 18, 1991: De Mille's Pompton Lakes roots recalled", "Anthony Quinn: Colourful Hollywood star who built a career playing ethnic heroes and villains", "Guide to the Richard DeMille Collection", "Cecil DeMille, 77, Pioneer of Movies, Dead in Hollywood", "How a Hollywood Director Almost Launched L.A.'s First Commercial Airline", "Register of the Cecil B. DeMille Archives, 1863-1983", "Financing Hollywood through the Great Depression", "Angelina Jolie Buys Historic Cecil B. DeMille Estate for $24.5 Million", "Sixty years later, The Ten Commandments remains one of the most popular biblical films ever made", "Angelina Jolie Buys Cecil B. DeMille's Estate at Record-Shattering Price", "Christie's East to Auction DeMille Possessions", "New Testament to Genius: Turner's "Cecil B. DeMille", "Cecil B. DeMille's "Samson and Delilah" Brings the World's Greatest Love Story to the Screen", "Hollywood Legend Claudette Colbert Dies", "Charlton Heston: as you won't remember him", "The Deep Focus Typecasting of Joseph Schildkraut as Judas Figure in Four DeMille Films", "A Brief History of Movie Special Effects", "All-Time Box-Office Hits By Decade and Year", "Ridley Scott: from Alien to Exodus, a Cecil B. DeMille for the digital age", "Samson as a Moses-Figure in Cecil B. DeMille's "Samson and Delilah" (1949)", "BFI Sight & Sound Top Ten Poll 2002 How the directors and critics voted", "Hollywood Flashback: Cecil B. DeMille Accepted the Golden Globe Named for Him in 1952", "Reel dictators: why despots love directors", "Disp L.A. Case #45: Cecil B. DeMille's Riding Crop", "DeMille's Re-Released 'Commandments'Better Than Ever", "Cecil B. DeMille the greatest filmmaking showman rediscovered! The Tikah still made a few trade canoes into the early 20th Century. [235] DeMille was also known for his use of special effects without the use of digital technology. Learning of the Eagles' work and keen to promote his film with their cause the director encouraged the group to donate carved stone tablets . However, his earlier films The Captive, Kindling, Carmen, and The Whispering Chorus are more serious films. [73] There were problems; however, with the perforation of the film stock and it was discovered the DeMille had brought a cheap British film perforator which had punched in sixty-five holes per foot instead of the industry-standard of sixty-four. [301][302], Cecil B. DeMille received many awards and honors, especially later in his career. 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.