His parentsHenry C. DeMille andBeatrice DeMille were playwrights. Hisfather died when he was 12, and his mother supported the family byopening a school for girls and a theatrical company. Too young toenlist in the Spanish-American War, Cecil followed his brotherWilliam C. de Mille to the New YorkAcademy of Dramatic Arts, making his stage debut in 1900. For twelveyears he was actor/manager of his mother's theatrical company. In 1913,Jesse L. Lasky,Samuel Goldwyn and DeMille formed theLasky Film Company (which years later evolved into Paramount Pictures),and the next year went west to California and produced the successfulsix reeler,The Squaw Man (1914),of historical significance as the first feature length film produced inHollywood. He championed the switch from short to feature-length filmsand is often credited with making Hollywood the motion picture capitalof the world. Rather than putting his money into known stars, heemphasized production values. He also developed stars, notablyGloria Swanson. He produced and directed70 films and was involved in many more. Many of his films were romanticsexual comedies (he is supposed to have believed that Americans werecurious only about money and sex). His best-known were biblical/religious epics:Joan the Woman (1916),The Ten Commandments (1923),The King of Kings (1927),The Sign of the Cross (1932),The Crusades (1935),Samson and Delilah (1949), and十戒 (1956). From 1936to 1945 he hosted and directed the hour-long "Lux Radio Theatre", whichbrought the actors and stories of many movies to the airwaves andfurther established him as the symbol of Hollywood. He appeared ashimself in the classicSansetto ôdôri (1950) with his formerstarGloria Swanson as the fictitiousdisturbed former silent film actress Norma Desmond. His nieceAgnes de Mille was the acclaimedchoreographer of both the original Broadway production and film versionofOkurahoma! (1955).