10 Reasons To Visit Hollywood Forever Cemetery (Before You're Dead)

9. I'm Ready For My Closeup, Mr. DeMille

FILE - This Jan.29,2010 file photo shows the Hollywood sign as seen in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles. Thirty-five years after it was rebuilt, the sign's letters will be stripped down to sheet metal, primed and given a new coat of white paint. The 10-
Paramount Pictures

Long before the fictitious Norma Desmond haunted the silver screen in Sunset Blvd., the real life Cecil B. De Mille had already cemented his own legend. He first enjoyed success as a producer and director beginning in the silent era and is often credited with making Hollywood the motion picture capital of the world.

With the advent of sound pictures, DeMille would become king of the epic blockbuster with biblical films such as The Ten Commandments and Samson and Delilah. In 1952, he won the Oscar for Best Picture with The Greatest Show On Earth starring Charlton Heston.

Overall, De Mille made over 70 films and remains as one of the most successful producer-directors at the box office in film history. He died of heart failure on 21 January 1959.

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Christopher Warner is an actor and freelance writer. His articles have appeared in numerous magazines and websites across multiple genres, including World War Two Quarterly, Portland Monthly, and bootsnall.com