Biography

Cecil Day-Lewis was born on April 27, 1904 in Ballintubber, Ireland. He was a writer, known for This Man Must Die (1969), The Beast Must Die (1952) and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962). He was married to Jill Balcon and Constance Mary King. He died on May 22, 1972 in London, England, UK.

'Nicholas Blake' was the pen name of Cecil Day-Lewis, Poet Laureate of England, from 1968 until his death in 1972. Father of actor Daniel Day-Lewis, writer/director Tamasin Day-Lewis, Sean Day-Lewis, and Nicholas Day-Lewis. Husband of actress Jill Balcon.

Father-in-law of Rebecca Miller.

His 1930s novel, "The Smiler With A Knife", was an early film project of Orson Welles's. When Welles had to abandon his initial plan to film Joseph Conrad's "Heart Of Darkness" because RKO deemed it too expensive, he hastily turned to Day-Lewis's novel (written under the pseudonym of "Nicholas Blake") as a much less costly and more light-hearted substitute, and planned to cast Carole Lombard in the leading role. She couldn't do it, and Welles instead suggested the then much less famous Lucille Ball for the lead; but the studio wasn't keen on her. The novel remains unfilmed.

Son-in-law of Michael Balcon, who initially opposed the marriage of his daughter Jill to Day-Lewis, as the latter was not Jewish. However, the marriage was a happy one, and Balcon greatly admired his son-in-law.