It is a very long time since I spent a very pleasant summer in stock at the Elitch Gardens. Today in Hollywood I can hardly go anywhere without meeting one or more now rather famous people who…played in what all actors and actresses consider one of the greatest cradles of the drama in American history. As you start a new season, permit an old-time actor in Elitch’s Gardens to wish you a continuance of that success which was so rightfully yours in the early days of the stage. With kindest regards. Cecil B. DeMille.
[Borrillo, T. A. (2012). Denver’s historic Elitch Theatre: A nostalgic journey (a history of its times). Colorado. pp. 64-65.]
“All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up.” 45-years before Gloria Swanson spoke that legendary line, the 1905 season at Elitch Theatre included the young actor, Cecil B. DeMille, who would appear in minor roles in eleven of fifteen productions that summer.
However, Cecil B. DeMille went on to do much greater things as a director in Hollywood and is widely considered to be the man who made Hollywood the filmmaking capitol it is today.
A Hollywood pioneer, he directed and produced films such as The Ten Commandments (1923), The King of Kings (1927), The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) and The Ten Commandments (1956).
The Cecil B. DeMille Award is an honorary Golden Globe Award for “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment”. It was first presented at the 9th Golden Globe Awards ceremony in February 1952 and is named in honor of its first recipient, director Cecil B. DeMille. DeMille received the award the year his penultimate film, The Greatest Show on Earth, premiered.
Seasons at the Theatre
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Notable Roles, Awards, and Other Work:
Elitch Theatre Connections:
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