This is an I-Heart podcast.

This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories, the show where America is the star and the American people.

When you think of Hollywood, you should think of Cecil B. DeMille.

Here to tell us why is Scott Eymann, author of Empire of Dreams, the life of Cessal B. DeMille.

Let's get into the story. Take it away, Scott.

Without DeMille, there's no Hollywood, and without Hollywood, there was no DeMille.

It was a perfect symbiotic relationship.

He was born in Massachusetts, but essentially he was raised in New York City, a child of the 19th century theater.

Cecil's childhood, when his father was alive, he remembered as a golden period.

As a matter of fact, he had very little criticisms to make of either of his parents in terms of

raising their children. They indulged him. There was sufficient money. They were fine. His father

was Henry DeMille, an Episcopalian, I guess, lay minister you could call him,

and wrote plays in collaboration with David Belasco.

There's no modern equivalent for David Belasco.

Belasco was a producer, a writer, a wildly theatrical character who wore an ecclesiastical

collar in spite of the fact that he was Jewish.

And everybody pretended not to notice. DeM fact that he was Jewish. I had everybody pretended not to notice.

DeMille's mother was Jewish. His father, as I said, was Episcopalian. And a mixed marriage in that

era was extremely unusual. There were three children in all, Cecil, his older brother, William,

and a younger daughter named Agnes. Agnes died at the age of three of meningitis.

One of those 19th century childhood diseases that swept off thousands and thousands of children

that doesn't really exist much anymore.

...