Matilda Beatrice deMille (January 30, 1853 – October 8, 1923) (born Matilda Beatrice Samuel; also known as ''Beatrice C. deMille, Agnes Graham, Tillie Samuel, Mrs. Henry deMille)'' was an English-American play broker,

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

, theater actress and entrepreneur. She had a part in founding

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

Life

deMille was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

, England to

German Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...

parents. She emigrated to New York with her family in 1871. She was married to Henry deMille, an aspiring

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, in 1876. He was a Christian so she had to marry without her family's approval.Buck, Julie. "Beatrice deMille." In Jane Gaines, Radha Vatsal, and Monica Dall’Asta, eds. Women Film Pioneers Project. Center for Digital Research and Scholarship. New York, NY: Columbia University Libraries, 2013. Web. September 27, 2013
link
/ref> HarrietFordBeatricedeMille1900

Together, Beatrice deMille and Henry deMille worked primarily as teachers in a preparatory school. She taught elocution whilst her husband taught the children how to compose. However, in the vacation they were able to work as traveling actors in numerous theatrical productions.Numerous archives found are found in the DeMille collection at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

. Henry became successful as a playwright and actor and the family thrived. In 1893, Henry died and deMille had to create an income. She converted her house in Pompton, New Jersey into the ''Henry C. deMille Preparatory School for Girls''. She was able to trade a free class at that school with the President of a boys' school to get Cecil educated and William was sent to a school in Germany. At the same time she negotiated with her late husband's co-author to be the agent for their plays. This worked out and her success led to her representing the work of other writers. In 1900, Beatrice deMille collaborated with Harriet Ford to write her first published play "The Greatest Thing in The World" – directed by Liebler & Company, and performed on Broadway and in

Washington DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

. In 1907 the ''Henry C. deMille Preparatory School for Girls'' lost its students after it was identified as one of the schools that the scandalous Evelyn Nesbit had attended and the school as "guilty by association". Beatrice recovered rapidly by taking on even more writers including her sons. Cecil B de Mille credits his mother with teaching him to write and direct. Beatrice was a deal maker and she introduced her son to

Jesse Lasky Jesse Louis Lasky (September 13, 1880 – January 13, 1958) was an American pioneer motion picture producer who was a key founder of what was to become Paramount Pictures, and father of screenwriter Jesse L. Lasky Jr. Early life Born in to ...

and his production grew to be

. The company would produce her son's silent epics. She moved to California in 1914 and she is credited with launching the careers of actor

Victor Moore Victor Fred Moore (February 24, 1876 – July 23, 1962) was an American actor of stage and screen, a major Broadway star from the late 1920s through the 1930s. He was also a writer and director, but is best remembered today as a comedian, play ...

who appeared in her son's films and screenwriter

Beulah Marie Dix Beulah Marie Dix (December 25, 1876 – September 25, 1970) was an American screenwriter of the silent and sound film eras, as well as a playwright and author of novels and children's books. She wrote for more than 55 films between 1917 and ...

. Over the next few years she wrote a fair number of screen plays which were made into silent films. She stopped writing in 1920 and enjoyed her and her son's wealth.

Legacy and family

She had three children; her first son

William C. deMille William Churchill deMille (July 25, 1878 – March 5, 1955), also spelled de Mille or De Mille, was an American screenwriter and film director from the silent film era through the early 1930s. He was also a noted playwright prior to moving into ...

followed by Cecil B. DeMille in 1881 and daughter, Agnes Beatrice in 1891 who died four years later of

spinal meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusi ...

. Matilda Beatrice deMille died on October 8, 1923 in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Picture ...

Plays

*''The Greatest Thing in the World'' (co-written)

Filmography

Notes

References

External links

*
Beatrice deMille
at Women Film Pioneers Project at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:deMille, Matilda British women screenwriters British women film producers Silent film people English Jews English people of German-Jewish descent 1853 births 1923 deaths Beatrice Women film pioneers 20th-century British screenwriters