Cecil B. DeMille - Director, producer, writer and actor. Cecil Blount DeMille was an original aristocrat of Hollywood, but this aristocrat had humble beginnings. His father was a clergyman and his mother ran a girl's school. An old soul in knee pants and determined to get his show on the road, he ran away from military school and tried to enlist in the Armed forces at the outbreak of the Spanish-American War. He was disappointed when he turned down for being too young. His next plan was to join his older brother, William, who had begun a successful stage career. Cecil, a young man of fierce integrity, enrolled at the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts. In the decisive year of 1900, he first trod the boards on Broadway. For the next 12 years he remained devoted to brother William's tutelage and eventually collaborated with him on several moderately successful plays.

There was something stirring in Cecil's blood. It was a mixture of self-confidence, ambition, passion, artistry and gutsiness. In 1913 he could add the attribute of astute businessman to his list of abilities. He formed a lucrative alliance with a vaudeville musician, Jesse L. Lasky, and a glove salesman named Samuel Goldfish (later Goldwyn) called the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company. Cecil then did something astounding. He moved to Hollywood, rented an old barn in the heart of town (it still exists today, although moved to a different location) and directed the most famous early feature film, The Squaw Man (Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Co., 1914), starring Dustin Farnum and Monroe Salisbury. The results were beyond everyone's expectations (except possibly Cecil himself), for The Squaw Man not only established the new company as a force, but it also instantly placed Cecil B. DeMille in the top echelon of directors. With everything set in place, it was only the beginning of his fantastic voyage.

DeMille was a born showman and had an innate sense of what the public would clamor for. He has been called many things: "the founder of Hollywood," "the world's greatest director" and "the showman of showmen." While these names may be debatable, given the existence of other great showman directors such as , Mack Sennett and Thomas Ince, one thing is for sure - he became a household name to a huge audience that appreciated his ability to entertain them, often in provocative ways that had not been scene previously. He insisted on realism and wouldn't hesitate to use any method achieve it.

Credit: lostcitydemille.com