Legendary film director and producer most noted for his epic extravaganzas, The Ten Commandments and The Greatest Show on Earth. In 1900, he was too young to enlist in the Spanish-American war, and followed his brother William to the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts, making his stage debut in 1900 in Hearts Are Trumps. He was a member of the Standard Opera Company as director-actor, directed and wrote many plays and in 1910 was made general manager of his mother's DeMille Play Company. He also wrote several one-act operettas with vaudeville producer Jesse L. Lasky, with whom he went to California and into the movie business in 1913. This photograph is a sepia matte-finish 3.5 x 5.75 portrait, likely taken at some point between 1905 and 1913. The photo is mounted to a slightly larger card, which is, in turn, mounted to a 6.5 x 10 card, signed and inscribed on the larger mount in fountain pen “To Carrazzo, Dave and Col. Callaway and Tommy Tucker, after two seasons of good work and I trust two to come, Cecil B. deMille.” Evidently this was inscribed to cast or crew of one of his plays in his pre-Hollywood days. In very good condition, with a diagonal crease to the left side of the image, a bit of edge wear, toning and creasing to the mounts and a small chip to the lower left corner of the mount. R&R COA.
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