December 10, 1962: "Lawrence of Arabia" Premieres

Peter O'Toole as T.E. Lawrence

December 10, 1962: Lawrence of Arabia premieres, directed by David Lean, and based on The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, a memoir published in 1926 by Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, a British Army officer who aided the Arab peoples in the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

The real Lawrence was born in 1888 in Wales, and grew up in Oxford, England, where he studied archaeology at Oxford University. He was working in Ottoman-controlled Syria when the war broke out, and was stationed at the Arab Bureau in Egypt. There, and across the Middle East, he aided leaders such as the man who would become King Faisal I of Iraq. Lawrence led the capture of Damascus, the capital of Syria, a few days before the Armistice in 1918.

The real Lawrence

He then worked in the Foreign Office, working with the British government to establish the nations breaking off from the Ottoman Empire. In 1922, he retreated from public life, serving in the Royal Air Force and writing his books. In 1935, he wrecked his motorcycle in Dorset, England, and died 6 days later, only 46 years old.

Lawrence had already sensationalized his own story, much as American frontiersman Davy Crockett had. The film version did so even more. Albert Finney was Lean's 1st choice, but was fired 2 days after filming began. Marlon Brando was offered the part, and turned it down. Irish actor Peter O'Toole took a screen test, and Lean said, "This is Lawrence!"

Not everyone agreed: Lawrence was short, 5-foot-5, while O'Toole was 6-foot-2. And British playwright Noël Coward told O'Toole after the premiere, "If you had been any prettier, the film would have been called Florence of Arabia."

Laurence Olivier was originally supposed to play Faisal, but the role went instead to Alec Guinness, who had previously starred for Lean in Bridge On the River Kwai. Egyptian actor Omar Sharif played Sherif Ali ibn el Kharish, a composite character. He wasn't the only composite, and there were plenty of other inaccuracies for a film taking place less than half a century earlier. It would be like making a film about Watergate today, and making a single character play the roles of Bob Haldeman, John Ehrlichman and Chuck Colson.

Nevertheless, the film was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, and won 7, including Best Picture, and Best Director for Lean. O'Toole was nominated for Best Actor, and Sharif for Best Supporting Actor, but neither won.

Lean died in 1991, Guinness in 2000, O'Toole in 2013, and Sharif in 2015.

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December 10, 1962 was a Monday. Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. No NHL games were scheduled.  One game was played in the NBA: The Detroit Pistons beat the Chicago Zephyrs, 109-100 -- but not in either team's home city. Rather, this game was played at the Baltimore Civic Center (now named the CFG Bank Arena). Walt Bellamy scored 36 points.

The failing Zephyrs franchise got the message, and moved the next season, becoming the Baltimore Bullets. They moved to Washington in 1973, and became the Washington Wizards in 1997.