HistoricSiteMarkers
Progressive & Modern Era

Cecil B. DeMille

New York, New York, New York

Marker Inscription

Cecil B. DeMille 1881-1959 The director and producer of silent and sound epic films lived here from 1906 to 1913. He directed the first Hollywood feature motion picture, The Squaw Man (1913). Known for his multimillion-dollar spectacles, he produced 70 films including The Ten Commandments.

Erected by Historic Landmarks Preservation Center

The Story

Filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille lived at this New York address from 1906 to 1913, in the years before he headed west to help invent Hollywood. In 1913 he directed 'The Squaw Man,' celebrated as the first feature-length film made in Hollywood, launching a career of some 70 pictures. Famed for lavish spectacles like 'The Ten Commandments,' DeMille became one of the defining showmen of American cinema.

Why it matters

DeMille's move from this house to California mirrors the birth of Hollywood itself, marking the moment American filmmaking became a defining industry and art of the modern age.

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