Okay, this version of Samson didn't have long hair.
December 21, 1949: The film Samson and Delilah premieres, one of several Biblical stories directed by Cecil B. DeMille, who also narrates. It stars Italian-American actor Victor Mature as the the Nazirite strongman who served as a judge of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, whose tale is told in the Book of Judges, Chapters 13 to 16, allegedly taking place between 1085 and 1065 BC; and Hedy Lamarr, the Austrian actress and scientist, often regarded as the most beautiful woman in the world at the time, as the woman who betrays her on behalf of the enemies of the Jews at the time, the Philistines.
She seduces him, and gets him to tell her that the source of his strength is that he has never cut his hair. So she cuts it while he sleeps, sapping him of his strength. The Philistines are thus able to capture him, blind him, and enslave him. She visits him in his prison cell, and repents. He tells her his strength has returned as his hair has grown, and that he is biding his time, and that she should not go to the temple the next day. She goes, anyway, and dies with the Philistines as Samson breaks the pillars of the temple, collapsing it on them all, including himself.
Among the other actors appearing were future Superman actor George Reeves, George Sanders, Angela Lansbury, and Russ Tamblyn, later to play Riff in the film version of West Side Story, and the last survivor of this film's cast.
Part of Samson's legend is that he wears a lion's skin. As Samson, Mature was asked to fight a lion. He refused, saying he could get killed. He was told the lion had had its teeth and gums removed -- possibly poetic justice, given the Samson story. Mature said, "I don't want to be gummed to death, either!"
He was once rejected for membership in a country club because he was an actor. He said, "I'm not an actor, and I've got 64 films to prove it!" In 1968, he said, "Actually, I am a golfer. That is my real occupation. I never was an actor. Ask anybody, particularly the critics." In 1971, he said:
I was never that crazy about acting. I had a compulsion to earn money, not to act. So, I worked as an actor until I could afford to retire. I wanted to quit while I could still enjoy life...
I like to loaf. Everyone told me I would go crazy or die if I quit working. Yeah? Well, what a lovely way to die.
By 1980, he had changed his mind somewhat, saying he was "pretty proud of about 50 ,f my motion pictures. Demetrius and the Gladiators wasn't bad. The Robe and Samson and Delilah weren't bad. I made 72 of them and I made close to $18 million. So, what the hell."
In 1984, ABC aired a remake, with Antony Hamilton as Samson, and Belinda Bauer as Delilah. In his last role, Mature played Manoah, Samson's father. He died in 1999; Lamarr, the next year.
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December 21, 1949 was a Thursday. Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. There were 5 games played in the NBA:
* The Philadelphia Warriors beat the Baltimore Bullets, 70-60 at the Philadelphia Arena. These Bullets would go out of business in 1954, and the Baltimore Bullets that started in 1963, and are now the Washington Wizards, have no connection to them beyond name. The Warriors moved to San Francisco in 1962, and adopted the "Golden State Warriors" name in 1971.
* The Minneapolis Lakers beat the Washington Capitols, 75-61 at the Uline Arena (now the Washington Coliseum) in
Washington. The Capitols folded in the middle of the next season, and the Lakers moved to Los Angeles in 1960.
* The Syracuse Nationals beat the Tri-Cities Blackhawks, 96-84 at the Wharton Field House in Moline, Illinois. The "Tri-Cities" were said to be Moline and Rock Island, Illinois and, right across the Mississippi River, Davenport, Iowa. Eventually, Bettendorf, Iowa was included, and the metro area became known as the "Quad Cities." The Blackhawks moved in 1951, becoming the Milwaukee Hawks, then the St. Louis Hawks in 1955, and finally the Atlanta Hawks in 1968. The Nationals became the Philadelphia 76ers in 1963.
* And there was a doubleheader at the St. Louis Arena. In the opener, the Chicago Stags beat the Iowa-based Waterloo Hawks, 78-70. In the nightcap, the St. Louis Bombers beat the New York Knicks, 75-52. The following season, of those 4 teams, only the Knicks would still be in the NBA.
And the NHL's entire "Original Six" were in action:
* The New York Rangers beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-1 at the old Madison Square Garden.
* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 7-1 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit. The Wings got goals from 7 different players: Pete Babando, Joe Carveth, Gordie Howe, Sid Abel, Jim McFadden, Jack Stewart and Jimmy Peters.
* And the Boston Bruins beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 4-1 at the Chicago Stadium.
