Cecil B. DeMille was born in Massachusetts, the son of a successful writer and producer of plays. The family soon moved to New Jersey, then later to New York City, where many of Mr. DeMille’s plays were produced. As a boy, Cecil helped to criticize and improve some of the plays.

One time Cecil stood in the wings watching a sad episode in a play, which caused many people in the audience to cry. He became so engrossed that he edged his way onto the stage to be closer. Then the people forgot their tears and burst into laughter.

Cecil was a fun-loving boy, ever ready to entertain others. Once the family lived in an old house that was supposed to be haunted. Cecil entertained his friends by telling them exciting ghost stories about the place. Once when he visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York he climbed into a mummy case and caused a woman to faint.

As Cecil grew up, he developed a fondness for the stage, and came to know many actors and actresses. His father entertained some of the leading dramatists in his home. Finally, Cecil decided to study drama and to make his career on the stage.

DeMille became an actor with a traveling troop and in several plays in New York City. One day he and his friends, Jesse Lasky, Sam Goldwyn, and Arthur Freed, stopped to look in a nickelodeon. DeMille was disappointed with the picture and said, “I could film a much better picture than that.”

Shortly thereafter, DeMille and his three friends formed a company to make a motion picture in California. They settled in a little country town called Hollywood, outside Los Angeles, and used a cow barn as a studio. Here in these simple surroundings, they produced their first motion picture, called “The Squaw Man.”

This first motion picture was a tremendous success, and DeMille went on to produce more than seventy highly-successful motion pictures during his lifetime. These pictures include some of the most colossal productions ever filmed, including “The Greatest Show on Earth,” “The Ten Commandments,” “King of Kings,” and “Union Pacific.”

In writing this book, Hortense Myers and Ruth Burnett have developed a dramatic story about a dramatic character. They clearly portray the characteristics of Cecil B. DeMille which enabled him to become one of the greatest dramatists of all time.

From the dust jacket