Barbara Eden: 'Jeannie' Wasn't Sexist, but O.J. Simpson Was

By Nicki Gostin Posted Apr 8th 2011 07:51PM

In her memoir, 'Jeannie Out of the Bottle,' Barbara Eden shares the story of her long and charmed life in Hollywood. From her Marilyn Monroe connection, to working with Elvis Presley, to of course starring as one of pop culture's iconic TV characters. Although Eden has thrived career-wise, she has also experienced a terrible amount of tragedy. Her second husband was verbally abusive and a cocaine addict and most heart-breakingly her only child, Matthew, died of a drug overdose at age 35. Eden talks to PopEater about the lingering pain of losing her son, how she dealt with her difficult 'Jeannie' costar Larry Hagman -- she also loudly disputes claims the show was sexist -- and reveals what it's like to be hit on by O.J. Simpson ("uncomfortable") and Elvis Presley ("sweet").

How many men have told you that you were their first crush?
(Laughs) Lots of them but it's when they were little boys.

It's amazing how popular 'I Dream of Jeannie' still is.
It's an anomaly isn't it? Jeannie has never been off the air.

You don't get residuals, do you?
No, but I'm happy that it's on. Understand the minute Jeannie went down I went on and did other things, although they haven't been as persuasive, I did do other characters and series. For me it was fine because I was active and working.

Is there any country in the world that doesn't show Jeannie?
I'm not sure, I only know by my fan mail. I get mail from South America, Europe, Israel, Eastern Europe, and Asia. I even get fan mail from Iran.

Your costar, Larry Hagman, sounds like he was a jerk on the set.
Well, I'll tell you he was interesting. He kept things alive let's put it that way. I think Larry was going through a very difficult time in his life. I'm no psychiatrist; he's wonderful, thoughtful and loving. He truly is but he's also a perfectionist and he wants things to be just right from his point of view and it frustrated him horribly that the scripts weren't what he would do, the way he wanted that carried over in his relationship with the crew, never with me though.

You were lucky he was nice to you.
I think we really got along. I would see the behavior coming and turn around and go into my dressing room.

You write how he urinated on the set.
That's what I hear. I was on set but not present. Whenever I knew something was going to happen I left, I went to my dressing room, you could tell when it was coming.

Sounds like a spoiled child having a tantrum.
Well yeah, but it kept you awake.

What do you say to critics who say the show was sexist?
It wasn't at all. First of all it's a fantasy and Jeannie was doing her job which is to please her master, it could have been a mistress. In this case it was a guy who was really cute so she fell in love immediately. She'd been in that bottle a long time. Her main thrust was to make him happy no matter what and that's where you get the comedy, that and the fact she was a fish out of water.

Did you think it was silly NBC wouldn't show your belly button?
Well it was silly. It didn't bother me. I didn't care one way or the other. It all happened because a reporter came down on the set and said to me that he didn't believe I had a belly button. He wrote about it and it got picked up by stringers all over the country. It sort of ballooned.

You were a very good girl. You never succumbed to the casting couch.
Well, I got married. I guess it didn't stop a lot of people but it stopped me.

You must have been hit on 24/7.
It's hard to answer because sometimes as a woman you may be hit on but if you don't acknowledge it, it goes no further.

OJ Simpson really did hit on you.
That was very uncomfortable. That was something you tried not to acknowledge but it was blatant. I was very surprised how aggressive he was, also because it was in front of so many people. Of course they blamed me because of what I wore. I wore a shammy pant suit which was a natural color and a black turtleneck sweater; I had a jacket over it. It was very modest but they said, 'Well she wore this clingy thing so what else is he going to do?' That was I guess a blatant case of male chauvinism.

You must have encountered lots of male chauvinism in Hollywood in the 50's and 60's.
Oh the men were definitely in control. I didn't always mind that actually because you know it takes a little responsibility away from the woman. You can say, 'Aha, it's his fault.'

You worked with Elvis.
He was a delight, a lovely guy. He was very well bred by his mother who had taught him manners. I'd walk on the set and he'd stand up immediately and pull a chair out for me. We laughed and flirted but it was tame, it was sweet. Years later I was with my second husband and we saw him in Vegas and Elvis said to him, 'How did you ever get with her? I tried!' I looked at him like, 'What? Come on,' but it was nice.

You lost your only child to a drug overdose.
The pain never goes away. I didn't go to support groups. I did before he had the overdose. I went to Al-Anon so I was very involved before his death because I was trying to find ways to help him. I felt helpless for many years.

It must be nice to have played a character that's so beloved.
For me it's like looking back at someone else. She's very, very easy to live with. I like her a lot. I'm so lucky and so appreciative. I have never had a rude fan. They're all very mannerly, as my mother would say, and good, they're nice people.

You worked in Vegas for years. Are you still performing?
No, no there's a time when you hang up your tap shoes.

Do you miss it?
I do miss it. There's something wonderful about being able to express yourself through music. I love to sing and there was so much good music when I was appearing in Vegas like 'MacArthur Park,' and 'I Will Survive,' those numbers to me were like tiny plays so I could express myself in them.

'Jeannie Out of the Bottle,' by Barbara Eden and Wendy Leigh, is in stores now.

More Q&As From Nicki Gostin: Dennis Quaid, Sheryl Crow, Ralph Macchio, Ted Danson

Tags: Barbara Eden, I Dream of Jeannie, Jeannie Out of the Bottle

Comments

(134)

Friday 08 April

By roger

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All this talk about obama's birth certificate is kinda got me think'n.Guess all he has to do is show it ,then its all over-RIGHT!!

By moira

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Huh? Did I miss something here? What on earth does Mr. Obama's birth certificate have to do with Barbara Eden? I guess I must have missed a page or two on this one.

By one4himjc

you guys must have skipped right over the "Would you vote for Donald Trump" survey.....And Donald is really pushing the birth certificate issue.

By Marty

Hey Rog, since you were lame enough to bring up Obama's COLB, let me ask: (1) Are you aware that you birthers have gone to court 74 times trying to unseat the president and have lost every single time? and (2)at the bottom of that COLB, there is this in official print "This copy serves as prima facie evidence of the fact of birth in any court proceeding". Do you have anything of substance, admissible in court that trumps that? Of course you don't. That's why you and your ilk keep asking the same questions and spouting the same conspiracy theories.

Saturday 09 April

By Yeesh

Focus, fruitcake...FOCUS!

Sunday 10 April

By Jeanne

Not sure what Obama's birth certificate has to do with the Barbara Eden article, but not surprised a teabagger would bring it up...

His birth record is all over the internet. He wouldn't have been able to run for office if he hadn't been able to produce it. You teabaggers need to pull up big girl/boy pants and deal with the fact that you've got a minority person for your president.

I loved I Dream of Jeannie when I was a kid!

By porter

I thought the story was about a TV show not our President ?

By yeehaa48

go to huffington all you lib Husain O. fans

By Billy

I guess I missed this part of the article, but if Obama had a birth certificate, it would end the doubt for me.

By karen

'scuse me, this is Popeater and it's an article about I DREAM OF JEANNIE - at least get off the Obama thing on this blog, let the rest of us have our fluff.

By JoanneVLavender

At least one tabloid has featured it on the front page of their rag.

No one is going to really force the issue on the first African-American president. Nor has anyone really looked at what the consequences of ascertaining what an out of country birth certificate would be, both here at home as well as abroad.

By Chris Calvin

It will be over about that. Just show it , and there will be no more questions about your place of birth. If it is not shown, then it will keep getting bigger. Why not show it and shut that question up? Why is it so hard to "find" it? It is a prerequisite for the office of President, why is that so hard to understand? Being a Citizen of the USA born here is required. Without it he should have never been on the ballot.

By isoroku5

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Don't be confused moira. Obama-haters can take any subject and turn it into an attack on the man that will be the cause of their descent into hell. Where else would someone go with hate as deep as theirs?

By Ratari

What the hell does the Barbara Eden article have to do with Obamas birth certificate? And further more, that issue has been settled. The two Hawaii newspapers got the info for the birth announcements from the hospital. His birth certificate in on the web and the courts have already settled this issue. Get a damn life and let it go. Shame on Trump for pandering to the ignorant rabble with this. What a Chump!

By tim

Did you take the short bus from Mars?

By Suzanne

Barbara Eden is as lovely and shows as much grace as she ever did, even with regard to Larry Hagman's bad behavior.

As for you yahoos, the governor of Hawaii, who is a Republican, by the way, has said the case is closed and the president's birth certificate was released long ago and the newspaper's birth announcement of his birth can also be seen on line. Hard to

Don't you why if the President isn't a natural born citizen, Boehner and the rest of Congress just might have thought it important enough to bring it up. Boehner has said many time that the President was born in the US.

You birthers sincerely need not only a life but a basic education. I'm thinking you didn't get past third grade. I feel bad for you. Really I do.

By Lou

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No, Unfortunately the morons who keep promoting this lie will never let it die, because they have a huge stake in believing it, thus putting down everyrthing Obama does. The story will only die when the tea partiers switch from tea to kool-aid (the Jim Jones variety).

By Tom

Why is it such a secret unless you weren't an American citizen...
that would be the issue don't you think....unless you really don't know who your father really was. Most people who hid idenity have something to hid or that they are ashame of.

By Avice

He's not going to show you his birth certificate because he knows it keeps your little mind focused on a non-issue. The people who matter have seen the birth certificate and the newspaper announcements. I know I have.

Monday 11 April

By sgreco

Um, sorry, but despite the fact he HAS SHOWN HIS BIRTH CERTIFICATE you birthers continue to push your tawdry lies on unrelated websites. You should be more concerned about what YOU can do TODAY to help with the mess Bush created in this country rather than so tirelessly lie so that more republicans get a chance to finish off the country. If Genie were here, I'd tell her to stick you in a bottle with a blink of her eyes and cast you into the sea but frankly, your type has caused enough pollution in the oceans as it is.

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