Barbara Eden
| Barbara Eden | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Barbara Jean Moorhead | |
| Born | Aug 23, 1934 Tucson, Arizona | |
| Spouse(s) | Michael Ansara (m. 1958; div. 1974) Charles Fegert (m. 1977; div. 1982) Jon Eicholtz (m. 1991) | |
| Children | Matthew Ansara | |
| Notable roles | "I Dream of Jeannie" | |
Barbara Eden (born Barbara Jean Moorhead on August 23, 1934 in Tucson, Arizona) is an American film and television actress and singer who is best known for her starring role in the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.
Early years
Eden graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in San Francisco in 1949, and was elected Miss San Francisco, 1951, a preliminary to Miss America. She became Barbara Jean Huffman when her mother remarried, and then changed from "Huffman" to "Eden" came at the behest of her manager who thought the name Huffman would not sell in Hollywood. Eden agreed to change her last name, but insisted on keeping her first name, stating that she could not answer to anything else.
TV and film roles
Eden made featured appearances on popular television shows such as I Love Lucy, The Andy Griffith Show, Perry Mason, Bachelor Father, Gunsmoke, and the series finale of Route 66. Eden made her film debut in Back from Eternity (1956), and the following year she starred in the television series How to Marry a Millionaire, playing the role Marilyn Monroe had played in the film version. Eden had a notable part in Flaming Star (1960), an Elvis Presley movie. The following year, she played in a supporting role as Lt. Cathy Connors in Irwin Allen's Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, one of many successful science fiction outings by "The Master of Disaster", where she was the hottest thing on television at the time. She played supporting roles in films over the next few years, including The Brass Bottle and the notable, if odd, movie, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, both with Tony Randall, before being signed to play her most famous and widely-recognized role, the character of Jeannie in the television sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.
Jeannie
On the Screen Gems-produced I Dream of Jeannie, Eden starred as a magical genie named Jeannie, set free from her bottle by astronaut Major Anthony Nelson, played by Larry Hagman. The show proved to be a huge success, running from 1965 until 1970, and during this time Eden was nominated twice for Golden Globe Awards. Eden later reprised her Jeannie role in two made-for-TV reunion movies (I Dream of Jeannie: 15 Years Later in 1985 and I Still Dream of Jeannie in 1991), and TV commercials (AT&T, Lexus, Old Navy ) .
Marriages
Eden's first husband, actor Michael Ansara, made guest appearances on Jeannie as "The Blue Djinn". They had one son together, actor Matthew Ansara, who died on June 25, 2001 after a heroin overdose. Michael Ansara and Barbara Eden divorced in 1974. She was married to her second husband, Chicago Sun-Times news journalist Charles Donald Fegert from 1977 to 1983. She married her third and current husband, Los Angeles real estate developer Jon Eicholtz, on January 5, 1991.
Later career
She continued to appear regularly on television and starred in the feature film "Harper Valley PTA" based on the popular country song. This led to a namesake television series in 1981; in both the movie and the TV series, she played the show's hero, Stella Johnson.
In 1990, Eden had a recurring role in five episodes of the final season of "Dallas", playing the character Lee Ann de la Vega, reuniting her with her "I Dream of Jeannie" co-star Hagman. In her final episode, the character says her maiden name was "Lee Ann Nelson", which was a production gag as Nelson was the surname of Hagman's character, and Eden's character's married name in "I Dream of Jeannie".
She also made appearances in the last few seasons of "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" as the evil family matriarch, Aunt Irma.
Barbara is also a talented singer, and has been a musical guest star in over 50 variety TV shows, including 21 Bob Hope specials. Barbara released an album entitled "Miss Barbara Eden" in 1967, under the record label Dot Records.
Eden wrote an autobiography, "Barbara Eden: My Story", which was published in October 1989. Barbara received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in the spring of 1990 from the University of West Los Angeles School of Law. She also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to television at 2003 Hollywood Boulevard.
"Barbara Eden: My Story" was written and was issued an isbn number for circulation. However, the book itself was not mass produced and disputes over its content between the publisher and Eden prevented circulation.
In March 2006, Barbara Eden reunited with her former "I Dream Of Jeannie" co-star Larry Hagman for a publicity tour in New York to promote the first season DVD of I Dream Of Jeannie. They appeared together on such shows as Good Morning America, The View, Martha, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, and Showbiz Tonight. That same month, both reunited on stage for the play Love Letters at the College of Staten Island in New York and at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. This was Eden's first visit to the Academy since appearing in The West Point Story in 1956. It was also the first time the two had acted together since appearing on the TV series Dallas in 1990.
Eden's most recent work was a guest starring role on the Lifetime series Army Wives, written and produced by her niece, Katherine Fugate.
Charity work
Barbara Eden has worked to raise money for multiple humanitarian charities including "Life Ball in Vienna"., one of the biggest charity events in Europe supporting people with HIV or AIDS. (See picture at right of Barbara Eden walking the Magenta Carpet at "Life Ball in Vienna".)
- More information is available at [ Wikipedia:Life Ball in Vienna]] ]
Filmography
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A Personal Note from Robin
In 2000, I attended the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and I visited the booth of a company which produced "Genie" remote actuators. As part of their advertising campaign, they had Barbara Eden as their spokesperson, and they had drawings for several "gifts/awards". I was lucky enough to win their "Grand Prize":
- a beautiful velour, reversable, monogrammed jacket
- an autographed "Jeannie" picture (and of course, it is the ONLY one she EVER autographed!)
- a picture of the two of us together on their stage receiving their award, and
- a kiss on the cheek from Barbara Eden (and they thought the jacket was the Grand Prize!)
"Jeannie" ran on TV from 1965 to 1970, and it was an easy step to fantasize me in the role of "Major Nelson" with Barbara Eden as my "Jeannie". <g>
External links
- Barbara Eden Online - Barbara Eden Resource / Fansite
- Barbara Eden at the Internet Movie Database
- Love Letters New York
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