Cecil B. DeMille

American film director, producer and actor (1881–1959)

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Fame62.9
Momentum1.8
Directors rank#204
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Lived 1881–1959, aged 78United States

United States DirectorsMovie Director

Wikipedia
62 languages
Cross-language footprint
Era
1881–1959
Aged 78
Known for
Sunset Boulevard
1950

Summary

Updated 2026-06-08

He built Hollywood's scale—literally. DeMille made spectacle the industry's signature move, stacking chariots and parting seas before anyone else thought in those dimensions. The template for every blockbuster that floods a screen started in his cutting room.

Biography

About

Born in Ashfield, Massachusetts in 1881 and raised in New York, DeMille started as a stage actor in 1900 before moving into writing and directing plays. In 1914, he shot The Squaw Man, the first full-length feature filmed in Hollywood, marking the town's arrival as the industry's new center. He co-founded what became Paramount Pictures and spent the next four decades turning out 70 films that frequently dominated the box office several at a time. His 1923 The Ten Commandments held Paramount's revenue record for a quarter-century; The King of Kings reached 800 million viewers; Samson and Delila…

Voice

In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Cecil B. DeMille

Cecil B. DeMille

said1941

Actors are born, and every human being is born an actor.

— As quoted in "Hollywood News: De Mille on Acting" (1941)

Cecil B. DeMille

said1938

This bouquet is not given lightly.

— As quoted in "Private Lives of Film Stars - Akim Tamiroff" (1938)

Cecil B. DeMille

said1937

Legend rides high with history, but truth follows a lonely trail. I've pursued verity from the museum at Cairo to the smoking tepees of the Cheyennes at Lame Deer, Montana.

— As quoted in "Ah, Verity, Verity! Thy Name's DeMille" (1937)

Cecil B. DeMille

said1937

Most people never achieve stardom until they've had at least one good, serious siege of the grand passion. It doesn't hurt a career. It helps.

— As quoted in "Move Stardom Helped by Love, Says De Mille" (1937)

Cecil B. DeMille

said1934

Every year a new lesson is learned, but the one precept that never fails to be true is that a good picture will always be well received by the public.

— As quoted in "Famous Director: His Faith in the Future" (1934)

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