Barbara Eden is a renowned actress, singer, and producer who rose to fame with her role
as Jeannie, a 2,000-year-old genie who falls in love with an astronaut who frees her from
a bottle, in the comedy series "I Dream of Jeannie" (1965–1970).
The show became a classic, and reruns introduced Eden to generations of fans.
However, Eden has also appeared in many other films and TV shows since the mid-1950s, working
with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, such as Lucille Ball, Clint Eastwood, and
Elvis Presley.
Eden's life and career are full of fascinating stories that may surprise even her most devoted
admirers.
Join FactsVerse as we discover some secrets and truths about Barbara Eden you may not
know.
Her first job in Hollywood was working in a bank.
Like many aspiring actors, Barbara Eden left her hometown of San Francisco to pursue her
dream of becoming a Hollywood star in Los Angeles.
However, her career did not get off to a promising start.
When she went to see an agent, he gave her a discouraging assessment.
According to the agent, she wasn't tough or pretty enough, and her breasts weren't big
enough.
This left her crushed, and she ended up working at a bank since she didn't have any relatives
in the industry and didn't know enough to qualify for the Screen Actors Guild membership.
Despite the agent's negative feedback, Eden didn't give up on her dream.
Instead, she decided to aim at becoming a character actor rather than a leading lady.
Several months later, she ran into the same agent while working at the Warner Bros. lot.
Even after she told him about their previous conversation, he still couldn't place her.
However, he did offer to do a screen test with her, which ended up being a pivotal moment
in her career.
Thanks to a chance meeting during an audition, Eden was able to break into the industry and
leave the bank behind.
She met a girl who suggested she audition for a dance show, even though Eden had no
dance experience.
After insisting that she was an actor, the girl encouraged her to audition anyway, and
she ended up getting the job.
She was secretly pregnant on I Dream of Jeannie.
In 1965, Barbara Eden starred in a pilot episode for a sitcom with a pretty ridiculous premise.
She played a genie trapped inside a bottle which is freed, not by Aladdin, but by an
astronaut played by Larry Hagman, who crash-lands on a deserted island due to a malfunction
with his spacecraft.
As fate would have it, on the same day that Eden discovered she was pregnant, she found
out that the pilot episode for "I Dream of Jeannie" was being picked up for a full series.
This confluence of good news was quite complicated, given that Eden's character was very much
not pregnant.
However, instead of recasting the role of Jeannie the genie, the decision was made to
film with Eden, concealing her condition behind various props and billowing veils.
Eden told the producers, expecting to be fired, but to her surprise, they decided to continue
with her as the lead actress.
During a CNN interview with Piers Morgan, Barbara Eden joked that she had many scarves
during her pregnancy that looked like a walking tent.
The production team had to be creative in finding ways to hide Eden's pregnancy, such
as positioning her behind furniture and other objects.
The only time that it was a little ticklish, as Eden puts it, was when the director, Gene
Nelson, had a red two-piece bathing suit he wanted her to wear.
Despite Eden's reminder that she was pregnant, Nelson insisted that she try on the bathing
suit, so she obliged.
However, when the director saw her in the bathing suit, he knew that they had to continue
hiding her pregnancy from the viewers.
In the end, the efforts paid off, and "I Dream of Jeannie" went on to become a huge success,
running for five seasons and a total of 139 episodes.
Eden's performance as Jeannie is still well-loved by audiences to this day, and the show remains
a classic of American television.
Barbara Eden saved her I Dream of Jeannie co-star.
During the making of "I Dream of Jeannie," a complicated dynamic developed between co-stars
Larry Hagman and Barbara Eden.
In her book "Jeannie Out of the Bottle," Eden explained that Hagman had expected the show
to launch him to stardom.
However, creator Sidney Sheldon once said that the public was only interested in Jeannie,
not Hagman's character.
As a result, Hagman coped with his frustrations by turning to alcohol and drugs.
He was known to drink champagne all day and smoke pot in his dressing room between scenes.
Despite his behavior, Eden considered him a "great human being but a troubled man."
Hagman's antics on set were becoming disruptive, and producers were considering firing him
and recasting his role.
However, Eden intervened and saved his job by telling the producers that he simply had
difficulty getting along with people.
Eden believed that it would be foolish to replace him in the middle of the show.
Meanwhile, Hagman's frustration with the show's shallow scripts led to outlandish behavior,
including urinating on furniture and chasing away a group of visiting nuns with an axe.
Barbara Eden turned down advances from famous men.
Barbara Eden is a Hollywood legend who has been in the spotlight for over six decades.
As a beautiful Hollywood star, she was typically approached by her male co-stars, including
Welsh singer Tom Jones when she appeared on his TV variety show.
In an interview with the Express, Eden revealed that Jones was wonderful and that he proposed
to her.
However, she had to turn him down since she was already married.
But that wasn't the only time she was proposed to by a famous personality.
In her memoir and an interview with Sunday Life magazine, Eden wrote that she was once
approached by future President John F. Kennedy.
In 1957, while at an airport, a man approached her and asked if she'd like to meet the then-Massachusetts
senator.
She agreed, and they briefly said hello and goodbye.
As she was boarding the plane, she found a note in her coat pocket that read "Call me"
and had a phone number on it.
She further wrote that she threw away the note, but later regretted not keeping it.
The incident suggests that Kennedy was not hesitant in approaching attractive women even
before he became the president.
Eden's star power also caught the attention of Elvis Presley.
While working as a chorus girl, she caught the eye of the King of Rock 'n' Roll, who
called the club's manager to inquire about a potential date.
She didn't think much of it at the time and assumed the owner was joking.
However, three years later, she found herself working with Presley on the film "Flaming
Star."
In an interview with Sunday Life, Eden recounted how Presley tried to seduce her by confiding
his vulnerabilities to her.
Even though she was flattered by his attention, she didn't reciprocate his advances.
Despite the attention she received from famous men, Eden claimed that dating wasn't a priority
for her as a teenager.
She was focused on her career aspirations, particularly her desire to become a singer
and actress.
Even so, she still managed to attract plenty of admirers, many of whom were considered
big catches at the time.
She tragically lost her son to addiction.
Barbara Eden, star of the show "I Dream of Jeannie," had a son named Matthew with her
then-husband Michael Ansara while filming the first season of the show.
However, Eden was faced with a mother's worst fear in 2001 when she learned that her son
had died from an accidental heroin overdose.
In June 2001, Matthew Ansara was found dead in his car at a gas station in Monrovia, CA,
from an overdose.
He was just 35 years old and months away from his wedding.
Despite the passage of a decade, Eden still struggled with the loss of her son and speculated
that his struggles with addiction began in his youth after a neighbor introduced him
to marijuana.
According to ABC News, she was described as "devastated" by the loss.
Twenty years later, in an interview with People, Eden opened up about her tragic loss and the
guilt and anger she felt over her son's death.
Despite her pain, she eventually realized that openly discussing her son's death and
the addiction that caused it could help other parents who were going through similar situations.
As a result, she became a staunch advocate of early intervention when parents suspect
a child is in the throes of addiction.
Barbara Eden published her first children's book at the age of 90
Barbara Eden, who's on her way to 92, has authored a children's book titled "Barbara
and the Djinn," in addition to her book "Jeannie Out of the Bottle."
Co-written with Dustin Warburton, the book's storyline is inspired by Eden's love for reading
as a child.
She explained that her aunt and mother read to her when she was very young, which helped
her imagination bloom.
And by the time she was 7 or 8 years old, she had her own library card and would check
out the full limit of books to read all week.
Although the book borrows a bit from Eden's hit sitcom "I Dream of Jeannie," it conveys
an important message that people should have empathy and love for those who are different.
In the story, a young girl discovers a Djinn, or genie, in a lamp, and they embark on a
journey.
Eden revealed her inspiration for co-writing the children's book in an interview with The
Hollywood Reporter.
She mentioned how her love for reading as a child played a significant role in her decision
to write the book.
Eden believes that children should be encouraged to read, as it helps expand their imagination
and develops their reading skills.
She hopes that her book will inspire children to love reading and empathize with others
who are different from them.
In conclusion, Barbara Eden's life and career have been filled with fascinating and sometimes
surprising stories.
From her breakout role in "I Dream of Jeannie" to the tragic loss of her son, Eden has faced
many challenges with grace and resilience.
Her advocacy for early intervention in addiction and her efforts to keep the memory of her
son alive have inspired many.
Despite the ups and downs, Eden remains an icon in the entertainment industry and a beloved
figure to many fans around the world.
There is no doubt that her legacy will continue to inspire and entertain generations to come.
There you have it.
It's now time to hear from you.
Which of the facts about Eden above impressed you the most?