70 Fun Facts About Cecil B. DeMille

In which Massachusetts town was Cecil B. DeMille born in 1881, while his parents were on summer vacation?

The family was back in its New York flat within three weeks, and he was raised in New York City.

How many feature films did DeMille create between 1914 and 1958?

He is called the most commercially successful producer-director in film history, often with three or four films dominating the box office at once.

Why did DeMille adopt the spelling 'DeMille' rather than the family's 'de Mille'?

His grandfather had already added the 'le' to the original 'de Mil' for 'visual symmetry'; his children and niece Agnes kept 'de Mille'.

DeMille's father Henry, a playwright, frequently collaborated with which legendary Broadway impresario?

Belasco's realistic staging and dramatic lighting shaped DeMille's showmanship, though Belasco later plagiarized one of DeMille's ideas.

Which famous sharpshooter neighbor practiced by shooting mud balls young Cecil threw in the air?

John Philip Sousa was also a family friend at the estate called 'Pamlico'.

Which New York school, where his father had taught, did DeMille attend tuition-free until 1900?

Charles Frohman saw his graduation performance and cast him in Hearts Are Trumps, his Broadway debut.

Which producer cast DeMille in his 1900 Broadway debut, Hearts Are Trumps?

DeMille later admitted he became an actor to pay the bills, not to learn directing.

Which vaudeville producer partnered with DeMille on 1912 musicals before they entered films?

Lasky had originally wanted DeMille's brother William; their mother Beatrice steered him to Cecil instead.

Which 1912 French film ignited DeMille's passion for cinema?

He had lost interest in a theater career full of flops before seeing it.

Legend says Lasky and DeMille sketched their new film company's structure on the back of what?

The Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company was formed in 1913 with Sam Goldfish, later Samuel Goldwyn.

DeMille's debut, The Squaw Man (1914), holds what place in Hollywood history?

Its success established Hollywood as the new home of the American film industry.

Where did DeMille first plan to shoot The Squaw Man before deciding it lacked a Western look?

He continued by train to Los Angeles and rented a barn in Hollywood rather than shooting in Edendale where other studios were.

What did DeMille rent to serve as the studio for The Squaw Man?

The Lasky-DeMille Barn is now the Hollywood Heritage Museum and was dedicated as a California landmark in 1956.

Who co-directed The Squaw Man with the inexperienced DeMille?

It was the only film on which DeMille ever shared director's credit.

DeMille's cheap British perforator punched how many holes per foot of film, instead of the standard 64?

Siegmund Lubin's technicians had to reperforate the film to save it.

Sam Goldwyn suggested marketing DeMille's shadowy look under which painter's name so audiences would 'pay double'?

Exhibitors had complained they could only see half the actors' faces and would pay half price.

Which 1915 Sessue Hayakawa film brought DeMille acclaim for its lighting and tinting?

He then bought land in the Angeles National Forest for a retreat he named 'Paradise'.

What did DeMille call his mountain retreat, a sanctuary where only snakes could be shot?

His wife disliked it, so he often took mistresses such as actress Julia Faye there instead.

The 1916 merger of the Lasky company with Famous Players eventually became which studio?

Adolph Zukor became president, Lasky vice president and DeMille director-general; Goldwyn was later fired.

Which screenwriter was DeMille's exclusive writer for fifteen years and his long-time mistress?

DeMille avoided affairs with his stars, believing it would cost him control on set.

DeMille's silent-era trademarks included lion attacks, Roman orgies and what domestic fixture?

He is credited with discovering the possibilities of the 'boudoir' on screen without being vulgar.

The 1923 The Ten Commandments cost how much, making it Paramount's most expensive production to date?

It held the studio's revenue record for 25 years, until DeMille himself broke it.

The Exodus scenes of the 1923 The Ten Commandments were shot in the dunes of which California county?

Legend says the massive sets, including four 35-foot pharaohs and 21 sphinxes, were dynamited and buried in the sand.

DeMille estimated his 1927 life of Jesus, The King of Kings, had been seen how many times worldwide?

It was the first film to premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles.

The King of Kings (1927) holds what distinction at Grauman's Chinese Theatre?

H. B. Warner played Jesus, and the opening and resurrection scenes were shot in two-color Technicolor.

In the 1920s DeMille founded which unusual side business, one of America's first commercial airlines?

He was also vice president of Bank of America and approved loans to other filmmakers.

Which comedian lived next door to DeMille's mansion until DeMille bought his house and combined the estates?

DeMille had bought the mansion in Laughlin Park in 1916.

DeMille's first three sound films, including Madam Satan, were made at which studio, all flopping?

He then found no studio would hire him and called it the lowest point of his career until Paramount took him back in 1932.

What two sound-era production tools did DeMille devise during the transition to talkies?

He also popularized the camera crane.

What was DeMille's first film back at Paramount in 1932, made in eight weeks on a $650,000 budget?

It is said to be the first sound film to integrate every aspect of cinematic technique.

Which DeMille film was his first to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar?

Claudette Colbert starred, in her third and final film for DeMille.

Who played the Egyptian queen in DeMille's 1934 epic?

Warren William was Caesar and Henry Wilcoxon, later DeMille's associate producer, was Mark Antony.

From 1936 to 1945 DeMille hosted which weekly CBS broadcast of film adaptations?

It drew 40 million weekly listeners and paid him $100,000 a year.

DeMille quit broadcasting in 1945 because he refused to pay how much to the American Federation of Radio Artists?

He fought the union to the Supreme Court and lost, and was banned from radio and television for the rest of his life.

DeMille lobbied for which 1947 labor law after his union fight?

It prohibited denying anyone work for refusing to pay a political assessment.

Which 1939 DeMille western, made with the railroad's help, was posthumously awarded the Palme d'Or?

The railroad gave him historical data, period trains and expert crews.

DeMille first used three-strip Technicolor in which 1940 film?

He never made another black-and-white feature after audiences embraced its saturated color.

Which Hemingway novel did DeMille drop in 1940 over its 'communist themes' after paying $100,000 for the rights?

He was so eager to make it that he had not yet read the book.

Reap the Wild Wind (1942) featured which elaborate special-effects creature?

It was Paramount's most successful film that year.

How many extras were hospitalized after the fireballs-and-flaming-arrows scene in Unconquered (1947)?

At 146 minutes, 102 shooting days and $5 million, it was his longest, slowest and most expensive film to that point.

Which actress's refusal to risk a fire scene in Unconquered cost her a Greatest Show on Earth role?

DeMille despised actors unwilling to attempt stunts he had first demonstrated himself.

DeMille called which star '100% yellow' for refusing to wrestle a tame lion in a 1949 epic?

DeMille had just tussled with Jackie the Lion himself to prove it was safe.

Who played Delilah in DeMille's Samson and Delilah (1949)?

George Sanders played the Saran and Angela Lansbury played Semadar; it was the highest-grossing film of 1950.

How much did DeMille pay Ringling Brothers for the title and facilities of The Greatest Show on Earth?

He toured with the circus while helping write the script.

In The Greatest Show on Earth, which star plays Buttons, a clown who never removes his makeup?

Betty Hutton and Cornel Wilde play trapeze artists competing for the center ring; Heston is the circus manager.

Which two Academy Awards did The Greatest Show on Earth win?

It also brought DeMille his only Best Director nomination.

Who convinced Paramount's board to approve DeMille's 1956 remake of The Ten Commandments after it initially said no?

He argued for it on grounds of morality, and the board then approved unanimously despite no exact budget.

How much did the 1956 The Ten Commandments cost, making it the most expensive film in Paramount history?

At 3 hours 39 minutes it was also the studio's longest, and it grossed over $80 million.

How many people were filmed in the Exodus scene shot on location in Egypt?

Four Technicolor-VistaVision cameras captured it; filming later continued in Paris and on 30 Hollywood sound stages.

Who played Rameses opposite Moses in the 1956 The Ten Commandments?

Anne Baxter played Nefretiri, and DeMille himself narrated the film.

The 1956 The Ten Commandments won its only Academy Award in which category?

John P. Fulton's parting of the Red Sea has been called by Steven Spielberg 'the greatest special effect in film history'.

How was the parting of the Red Sea achieved in the 1956 film?

Some 360,000 gallons of water were used, and the waterfall was built on the Paramount backlot.

The 1956 The Ten Commandments has aired annually on US network television during which season since 1973?

Only Gone with the Wind had grossed more when it was released.

What happened to DeMille on November 7, 1954, after climbing a 107-foot ladder on the Egyptian set?

He was 73; further heart attacks followed and his daughter Cecilia directed some scenes while he sat behind the camera.

What share of his Ten Commandments profits did DeMille give the crew, unusual at the time?

The film premiered in Salt Lake City after a year of post-production.

Which son-in-law did DeMille ask to direct the 1958 remake of The Buccaneer, his last production?

Despite Heston and Brynner in the cast, the film disappointed; DeMille died a month after its Santa Barbara premiere.

Which Scout Movement founder was the subject of a film biography DeMille was researching when he died?

He had asked David Niven to star; he was also planning an epic based on the Book of Revelation.

In which 1950 film does DeMille play himself, greeting Norma Desmond on the Paramount lot?

Her final line, 'All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up', ranks seventh on AFI's list of movie quotes.

In what year was the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award first presented, to DeMille himself?

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association gives it for 'outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment'.

DeMille's niece Agnes de Mille became famous in which field?

Her ballet Rodeo (1942) led to her choreographing the musical Oklahoma!

In 1954 the Secretary of the Air Force asked DeMille to help design what for the new academy in Colorado?

His cadet parade uniform design was adopted and is still worn.

Dulles and Wisner recruited DeMille to the board of which anti-communist organization?

It was the public face of the group that oversaw Radio Free Europe.

Which director has been called 'the Cecil B. DeMille of the digital era' for his historical epics?

Five DeMille films were the top grossers of their year; only Spielberg, with six, has beaten that.

Which of these stars did DeMille make famous from an unknown?

Gloria Swanson, Bebe Daniels, Claudette Colbert and William Boyd were others he launched.

Which cinematographer shot 43 of DeMille's films?

Loyal Griggs shot the 1956 Ten Commandments while DeMille sat behind the camera after his heart attack.

Where was DeMille entombed after his death in January 1959?

The cemetery is now known as Hollywood Forever; his funeral was at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church.

DeMille's favorite artist, whose engravings inspired some of his best-known scenes, was whom?

He is also credited with creating the job title 'art director' on a film set.

How many stars does DeMille have on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?

One at 6240 Hollywood Blvd honours his radio work; the other is at 1725 Vine Street.

DeMille's 1950 Honorary Academy Award cited how many 'years of brilliant showmanship'?

His only competitive Oscar came in 1953, Best Picture for The Greatest Show on Earth.

Whom did the 21-year-old DeMille marry in August 1902 in East Orange, New Jersey?

His mother's family stayed away, which biographer Simon Louvish reads as concealing his part-Jewish heritage.