When you think of beloved actress Barbara Eden, I Dream of Jeannie immediately comes to mind. Ms. Eden dazzled the audience as the sultry 2,000-year-old genie in the 1965-70 fantasy-themed sitcom who, years before Dallas, found a love interest via co-star Larry Hagman. The age 2,000 never looked better!
Today we wish Barbara Eden a Happy 93rd Birthday! But yes!
Fans of I Love Lucy will recognize the “but yes” reference to Barbara Eden who, pre-I Dream of Jeannie, guest-starred in the 1957 episode titled “Country Club Dance.” Who could forget Eden as Diana Jordan, the attractive niece of the Ricardos’ neighbors whom Lucy (Lucille Ball) and Ethel (Vivian Vance) encourage their husbands to dance with?
On the last day on shooting, Lucy reportedly wanted to put Barbara Eden under contract to her production company Desilu. But Eden had done an earlier screen test at 20th Century Fox and, on that very day, she received a call that Fox had picked up her option.
That resulted in the first-run syndicated sitcom How to Marry A Millionaire, Eden’s first regularly scheduled sitcom role, from 1957 to 1959. Based on the 1953 movie of the same name, which starred Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall and Betty Grable, How to Marry A Millionaire followed three young women who move to the big city in search of wealthy men as potential husbands.
Barbara Eden’s early exposure on television also included occasional appearances on half-hour variety series The Johnny Carson Show in 1955 and guest spots on series like The Millionaire, Perry Mason, Gunsmoke, Bachelor Father, Father Knows Best, and police drama The Lineup.
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In addition to her next set of guest-starring roles on TV series like The Andy Griffith Show, Dr. Kildare, Route 66, The Virginian, Rawhide and Burke’s Law, Eden made her mark on the big screen in movies like Swingin’ Along, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Brass Bottle, The New Interns, and opposite Elvis Presley in Flaming Star.
In 1965, Eden was cast in her career-changing role on I Dream of Jeannie, which launched out of the adventure series Flipper. Not only did she play the blonde bombshell in the series, she acted as Jeannie's wicked twin sister — also named Jeannie. It ran for five seasons and firmly solidified Eden’s status as a pop culture icon.
Eden would later appear opposite her I Dream of Jeannie co-star Larry Hagman in the TV movie A Howling in the Woods in 1971, and on Hagman’s Dallas for five episodes in the 1990-91 season. She also headlined sitcoms Harper Valley P.T.A. (based on the movie of the same name, and later retitled Harper Valley), which aired for two seasons from 1981 to 1982; and the one season entry, A Brand New Life in 1989-90.
In addition to comedy, Eden tackled a number of dramatic television movies, including The Stranger Within (1974), and Stonestreet: Who Killed the Centerfold Model? (1977). There was also more innocent made-for television fare, including Guess Whose Sleeping? in My Bed” (1973), The Secret Life of Kathy McCormick (1988), and Opposites Attract with John Forsythe in 1990. And, not surprisingly, there were two I Dream of Jeannie reunion movies: I Dream of Jeannie...15 Years Later in 1985, and I Still Dream of Jeannie in 1991.
In 1988, Eden received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to television. And, in 1990, the University of West Los Angeles law school granted Eden an honorary doctor of laws degree.
From 2000 to 2004, Eden starred in the national touring production of the play The Odd Couple: The Female Version playing the role of Florence Unger opposite Rita MacKenzie as Olive Madison. And, in 2011, she wrote her memoir Jeannie Out of the Bottle, which chronicles her personal life and Hollywood career of more than 50 years, and includes intimate details about her life (including the tragic passing of her son Matthew Ansara from a drug overdose in 2001).
Eden also co-wrote a children’s book, Barbara and the Djinn, which focuses on the adventures of a young girl named Barbara who discovers and releases a wizardly genie.
Of course, this is only a capsule summary of Barbara Eden’s many contributions to the world of media. And today we all wish the legendary Barbara Eden a Happy Birthday!
