The Autographs of Cecil B DeMille

Cecil B DeMille was born in Ashfield, Massachusetts on August 12. 1881. His father died in 1893. To help support the family, his mother opened a girl's school in the family home. Later she developed an agency for playwrights, the Demille Play Company. From this exposure Cecil developed a love of the theatre. On February 21, 1900, he made is acting debut in the play "Hearts Are Trumps." It was during this time that he met and married Constance Adams, an actress.

While working as an actor, DeMille continued to help his mother manage the DeMille Play Company in the capacity of writer, director and stage manager. During this time he formed a friendship with vaudeville producer Jesse L. Lasky. Lasky and DeMille joined with Lasky's brother-in-law Samuel Goldfish to form the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company. Their first film, "The Squaw Man" was released in 1914. It became a huge success, largely because of Cecil B. DeMille's talent.

In 1916, the Lasky Feature Play Company, Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Films Company and Frank Garbutt's Bosworth, Inc. joined together to distribute motion pictures through the newly established Paramount Pictures.

Some of DeMille's more successful films during this period were "Old Wives For New" (1918), "Don't Change Your Husband" (1919) and "Why Change Your Wife?" (1920).

In 1923, Cecil B DeMille produced "The Ten Commandments." It was a huge production that went over budget, and it eventually cost DeMille his job at Lasky Feature Play Company. This turned out to be a good thing for DeMille because he set out on his own and opened his own studio, Cecil B. DeMille Pictures, Inc. His company had mixed success ("The Volaga Boatman" and "King of Kings" were major hits) and was financially unsustainable. He then merged his company with Pathe Exchange, Inc. and signed with with MGM to do three films.

After a string of successes at MGM, DeMille was hit hard by the Great Depression. The movie business was suffering and Demille had lost a lot of money in investments. He quit MGM to take a break from the business. When he returned to pictures, it was to Paramount where he remained for the rest of his career.

At Paramount he was responsible for such huge hits as "The Plainsman" (1936), "Reap the Wild Wind" (1942), "Samson and Delilah" (1949), and the remake of "The Ten Commandments (1956).

While in Egypt working on "The Ten Commandments," DeMille suffered a heart attack. He recovered well enough to finish the picture, but his ill health impacted his work for the rest of his life.

He died three years later on January 21, 1959.

DeMille produced a total of seventy pictures, the majority of them profitable. He is one of the most important figures in film history.

Earlier this year, I bought the 8 x 10" signed photo at the top of this page on eBay for around $40. It had previously sold for $117 at an R&R Enterprises Auction to a collector in Britain. The inscription reads "To Audrey Baxter, I am sorry to hear that you are ill. And I hope that you will be well in time to see the Ten Commandments, but if you don't I will send you a book about it. With affection - Cecil B DeMille."

Dealers usually list Cecil B DeMille signed photos at around $300. With a little work, authentic examples like this one can be found much cheaper.

Some of DeMille's signed banks checks are also on the market. They can be found for around $100 each, sometimes less. I was fortunate to find an authentic one on eBay for $50, custom framed with a nice photo.

Cecil B DeMille on eBay