Cecil B. DeMille Christian and Jewish heritage to convey a message of tolerance. "The Crusades" was the first film to show accord between Christians and Muslims. DeMille received more than a dozen awards from Jewish religious and cultural groups, including B’nai B’rith. In 1954, he was seeking approval for a lavish remake of his 1923 silent film "The Ten Commandments". He went before the Paramount board of directors, which was mostly Jewish-American. The members rejected his proposal, even though his last two films, "Samson and Delilah" and "The Greatest Show on Earth", had been record-breaking hits. Adolph Zukor, the chairman of the board,
Henry Churchill de Mille Henry Churchill de Mille Henry Churchill de Mille (September 17, 1853 – February 10, 1893) was an American businessman and Georgist, and the father of film pioneers Cecil B. de Mille and William C. de Mille, and the paternal grandfather of the dancer and choreographer Agnes de Mille. Henry Churchill de Mille was born on a farm at Washington, North Carolina. He was the son of businessman and politician William Edward de Mille (1824–1873) and Margaret Blount Hoyt de Mille (1835–1911). He received his BA and AM degrees from Columbia College in 1875 and 1879. He had studied for the