Cecil
В.
DeMille
A the ago of
Г.*
(Veil B. Do-
Milk* can look, with justifiable
satisfaction, back on a life and
career filled with variety, action, and
accomplishment. This does not mean
that he's ready to re*t on his oars and
«tart reminiscing: not thi* dynamic
man with his rich «ton- of humor,
imagination, creative ability, strong
sense of the dramatic, gift for pro¬
ducing "hit" motion-pictures, and for
rounding talented actors and actresses
into “star material."
Down on the firing-line is where he
belongs. That's where he will likely 1«*
found for some time to come. Action
lio must have. To create and to pro¬
duce come natural to this energetic,
clear-eyed North Carolinian, himself
trttlv a "pioneer" of the motion-picture
industry.
First Feature Producer
Tlic*c bright achievements stand to
I >e Mi lie's credit, lie Was the producer-
ditwtor of thi* fir*t feature length
tilth ever made in this country. That
was
2.*»
years ago. II.- was the first man
to improve the visual art <>f the screen
with “effect" lighting. Skeptical stage
star* and playwrights once thought
that the movies had no future. De-
Milk* was the first to convince them
of the error of their judgment. Father
of the big. spectacular motion-picture,
bis two initial productions along that
lino were “Carmen" and “-loan the
Woman." These films proved box-office
successes.
Lest another little item bo over¬
looked. let it be . . . now that
Cecil De-Mille enjoys wide repute for
hi> "bath-tub" scenes, lie has created
twelve of them in twenty-five years
of picture-making. K«d*ert Barrat.
the most recent "victim" to be doused,
was tossed, fully attired, into a IV-
Mille bath-tub on tho "Union-Pacific"
not.
Born in Massachusetts
C.-cil B. DeMille was born August
12. 1>S1. at Ashfield, Massachusetts.
But that event waa premature. Hi*
mother. Mathilda Beatrice Samuel, an
English woman, had gone to Massa¬
chusetts on a vacation, and it was her
Ьо|н*
to
1ч*
back at her Washington.
North Carolina, home in plenty of
time to give birth to her child there.
A quirk of nature prevented her real¬
ization of that wish. du*t the same,-
DeMille feels that hi* homo and his
real beginnings were in Washington.
North Carolina. More than that, he is
proud to claim North Carolina as his
lmme state.
IVMille i* of French and Dutch ex¬
traction. Hi* father, Henry Churchill
DeMille, was a teacher and play¬
wright. After the latter * death. Mrs.
DeMille moved to Echo Lake.
New Jersey, and converted her
home there into a memorial school
for girl*. When this occurred young
Cecil IVMille had reaches! his eighth
birthday. Hence he had spent hi*
early, formative, boyhood days in
North Carolina; and the scenes and
haunts where he played over that pc-
riod left a lasting imprint on his
mind.
With part of the proceeds accruing
from her New Jersey school. Mrs. IV¬
Mille sent Cecil to Pennsylvania Mili¬
tary College. When the Spanish-
American war broke out. an urge to
plunge into the thiek of lighting over¬
took him: so he deserted school and
tried t" enlist in the army. He wa- too
young to
1ч*
accepted for service.
New York Performance
After that . . ssful flurry. Cecil
DeMille studied at the American
Academy of Dramatic Arts. Having
blossomed into an actor, lie gave bis
first performauee ill tin* Old Garden
Theatre. New York. Ho enacted prom¬
inent roles in such play- as "The
Prince Chap": and be al-o found time
to organize and play leads in the
Standard Opera Company.
By now, a company hi* mother and
brother ba<l promoted was growing in
importance; and. confronted with
overwork, they ap|*ointcd Cecil it*
manager. In that capacity he pushed
its activities with hi* customary rigor.
Oil the -ide. he turned to writing,
collaboration with hi» brother, V
limn, be wrote “The Koval Mounte
I4*de" and "R<
Mill.* credit for it* authorship.
In the summer of I'.MJ Cecil B.
Mill.* ne t JeSM L. l.a-ky —
Ш
guiding power :it I'nranmunt Stu-
—in New York. Both were dispir
at that time: IVMille because he
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