His stage career began in 1880, but Theodore Roberts is remembered today for his association with the films of Cecil B. DeMille, including DeMille’s 1918 remake of his own SQUAW MAN, as well as DON’T CHANGE YOUR HUSBAND and MALE AND FEMALE (both 1919) and (as Moses) in DeMille’s first TEN COMMANDMENTS (1923).
N.B. The member numbers follow The Internet Movie Database's list order announcing the Academy in January 1927.
17. Michael C./M. C. Levee (1891-1972), Producers Branch, third president of the Academy, 1931-32, with his wife in New York in 1932.
He was both a longtime studio executive and a top agent; his clients included Mary Pickford, Joan Crawford, and Cecil B. DeMille.
Bill Carter works out. Photo by Floyd J. Hopkins
Dane Clark in DESTINATION TOKYO (1943). Photo by Henry Waxman
Cecil B. DeMille in 1940, aged 58. Photo by Don English
N.B. The member numbers follow The Internet Movie Database's list order announcing the Academy in January 1927.
15. Sid Grauman (1879-1950) of the Producers Branch, at a typical ceremony at his Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Here, (Richard) Red Skelton (1913-1997) signs the pavement with his wife Edna in 1942.
In his day, Sid Grauman was as famous as any of the stars whose films showed in his Los Angeles theaters: the Chinese, the Egyptian, the Million Dollar, and the Metropolitan.
Grauman's Chinese Theatre particularly captured people's imaginations: built on land that had once belonged to Francis X. Bushman, it opened in May 1927 with Cecil B. DeMille's THE KING OF KINGS. (Jeanie MacPherson, #29, was the film’s screenwriter; the cast was a Who's Who of 1920s' Hollywood,)
In 1949, the Academy awarded Grauman an honorary Oscar as a "Master showman, [one] who raised the standard of exhibition of motion pictures."
Ina Claire (Ina Fagan, 1893-1985) by De Mirjian Studio.
Starting as a chorus girl in OUR MISS GIBBS (1910), Miss Claire quickly ascended the theatrical ladder, reaching the ZIEGFELD FOLLIES in 1915 (and again in 1916); she made her film début in Cecil B. DeMille’s THE WILD GOOSE CHASE (1915) alongside DeMille’s stock company of actors.
Photo by Sir Cecil Beaton (1904-1980)
In 1922, she originated the role of Lucy Warriner in Arthur Richman’s THE AWFUL TRUTH on Broadway. Seven years later, she starred in the 1929 film version of THE AWFUL TRUTH opposite Henry Daniell’s Jerry Warriner. Her supporting part as Grand Duchess Swana in NINOTCHKA (1939) stole sections of the film from Greta Garbo and Melvyn Douglas, and remains her most famous role.
She was married three times; John Gilbert was her second husband, from 1929 until 1931. This relationship began shortly after the explosive end of Gilbert’s romance with Garbo.…
N.B. The member numbers follow The Internet Movie Database's list order announcing the Academy in January 1927.
9. Henry King (1886-1982) of the Directors Branch. The photo is by Woodbury Studio.
Harry King was a reliable spotter of talent, picking out Ronald Colman, Gary Cooper, and Tyrone Power (Jr.), among others. As with Cecil B. DeMille, the Academy was chary with honors: King was twice nominated for Oscars, but never won as Best Director. That said, in 1956 the Directors Guild of America honored him for lifetime achievement.
Theodore Kosloff (1882-1956), the choreographer and dancer, is shown here with Lillian Rich picking his pocket in Cecil B. DeMille’s THE GOLDEN BED (1925). Rich's character ensures that Kosloff's Marquis de San Pilar comes to a bad end, allowing her to pursue ...
Rod La Rocque, pictured skipping rope at home by Alexander Paul Kahle. In THE GOLDEN BED, his character is named Admah Holtz -- a singular, and therefore perfect, name for a 1920s hero.
N.B. The member numbers follow The Internet Movie Database's list order announcing the Academy in January 1927.
8. Cecil B. DeMille (Cecil Blount de Mille, 1881-1959) of the Directors Branch.
Like Mary Pickford or Jesse L. Lasky, DeMille was a model of his kind: in his case, the bravura "Hollywood director." His career lasted long enough that he remade some of his films: THE SQUAW MAN of 1914 was remade twice, in 1918 and 1931; a wide-screen remake of the silent TEN COMMANDMENTS (1923) was the final film in DeMille's (directorial) career, released in 1956. He moved back and forth between romantic comedies and time-spanning (often Biblical) epics: the scenery-chewing GOLDEN BED (1925) was followed by THE VOLGA BOATMAN (1926) and THE KING OF KINGS (1927).
Perhaps he was not the first to say it, but the phrase "The public is always right" is credited to him. Oddly enough, considering his film pedigree, DeMille was nominated for an Academy Award just twice; only one of his films won Best Picture: THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH (1952). In honor of his service to the Academy, and the industry, he won an honorary Oscar in 1950 and the 1953 Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award.
THE CRUISE OF THE JASPER B. (1926) was a late silent film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It starred Rod La Rocque (1898-1969) and Mildred Harris (1901-1944), today most famous as Charlie Chaplin's first wife. The plot of THE CRUISE OF THE JASPER B. revolves around a stolen inheritance and has elements suggesting reincarnation: it also boasts more than one scene where the hero (or the heroine) must appear in fetching undress.
By 1926, La Rocque had already appeared in DeMille's first TEN COMMANDMENTS (with Theodore Roberts and Julia Faye), and in 1927 DeMille served as best man at La Rocque's marriage to Vilma Bánky. The range of careers Cecil B. DeMille launched, or helped, is quite as remarkable as the length and variety of his career.
Standing, left to right: Oscar Apfel (1878-1938), camera man for and co-director of THE SQUAW MAN (1914); Max Figman (1861-1952), Lolita Robertson's husband and frequent co-star; Charles Richman (1865-1940); art director Wilfred Buckland (1866-1946); Theodore Roberts (1861-1928), Moses in THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1923); Broadway transplants Robert Edeson (1868-1931) and Edward Abeles (1869-1919); and Cecil B. DeMille (1881-1959).
N.B. The member numbers follow The Internet Movie Database's list order announcing the Academy in January 1927.
Some of the early actors and staff at the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company in 1913. The studio -- later Famous Players-Lasky and then Paramount Pictures -- was developing THE SQUAW MAN (1914): the film's two directors -- including Cecil B. DeMille (#8 on IMDb's list of A.M.P.A.S. founders), standing at right -- may be seen in this photo.
Seated, left to right: Lolita Robertson (1888-1959), Jesse L. Lasky (1880-1958, #16 on the list), and Bessie Barriscale (1884-1965).
I will cover the rest of the group in another post.
