Cecil Blount DeMille was a founder of the Hollywood motionpicture industry one of the most commercially successful producerdirectors of his time and one of the most influential filmmakers in history Between 1914 and 1956 he made seventy feature films all but seven were profitable Cecil B DeMille is synonymous with religious epics The King of Kings Samson and Delilah and The Ten Commandments 1956 He blended spectacle sex and spellbinding narrative to convey a message of faith It was DeMille who created the image of the omnipotent director megaphone in hand wearing boots and a visored cap DeMille gave Hollywood numerous stars Wallace Reid Gloria Swanson William Hopalong Cassidy Boyd Claudette Colbert Robert Preston Jean Arthur and Charlton Heston DeMille created the posts of studio story editor art director and concept artist He was one of the first to use theatrical lighting on a movie set In the late 1920s when Hollywood converted to sound films DeMille defied the sound experts liberating the camera from a confining booth and implementing the microphone boom DeMilles authority extended beyond the confines of his studio He was a power in aviation banking politics and real estate In the 1930s his fame as a filmmaker was surpassed by his fame as a radio star He was a founder of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences an institution from which he eventually won two awards In 1953 his film The Greatest Show on Earth won the Award for Best Picture of 1952 and he was presented with the Irving G Thalberg Memorial Award DeMilles influence on world culture is incalculable but there are estimates and milestones His biography of Jesus Christ The King of Kings was a silent film but because of a unique distribution arrangement it was eventually seen by 800 million viewers Samson and Delilah 1949 and The Ten Commandments 1956 are still listed with the top ten alltime boxoffice champions They continue to generate revenue and provoke thought
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