Barbara Eden

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Barbara Eden, Children's Laughter Gala 2010 in Dortmund

Barbara Eden (born August 23, 1931 in Tucson , Arizona ; actually Barbara Jean Moorhead , Barbara Jean Huffman ) is an American actress who became world famous in the 1960s for the television series Adorable Jeannie .

life and career

youth

Barbara Eden was born Barbara Jean Moorhead on August 23, 1931. After her parents divorced, she grew up in San Francisco . In 1949 she graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School there. She worked in a bank and on the advice of her mother took theater lessons at the Elizabeth Holloway School of Theater. Elizabeth Holloway herself got Barbara Eden to enter the "Miss San Francisco" beauty contest in 1951. She won the title under the name Barbara Huffman (the family name of her mother's new husband) and gained a certain degree of notoriety in her hometown. In the following years she appeared as a singer in the Russ Byrd Band. At the end of 1954 she moved to live with her aunt in Hollywood .

There she changed her last name from Huffman to Eden on the recommendation of her agent. She took on small theater roles and was engaged for some time as a dancer and singer in the famous night club "Ciro's". There she made her first acquaintance with celebrities, including Sammy Davis Jr.

Start of the film and TV career

A Hollywood agent discovered Eden during a theater performance. This initially led to small guest appearances in series such as I Love Lucy and later to a role in the TV series How to Marry a Millionaire? based on the 1953 film of the same name . There she took on the role of Loco Jones, who had previously been played by Marilyn Monroe . While filming in 1957, Barbara Eden met actor Michael Ansara , whom she married in January 1958.

After two seasons of How To Marry a Millionaire , Barbara Eden got a lucrative contract with 20th Century Fox and her first small roles in movies. She starred alongside Paul Newman in From the Terrace (1960) and had a major role in the Elvis Presley film Flaming Star .

Eden appeared in the early 1960s film Company Fire Belt and the film adaptation of Jules Verne's book Five Weeks in a Balloon . Both films were produced by George Pal , as was Die Wunderwelt by the Brothers Grimm , for which Barbara Eden moved to Germany to film. She played the lover of Jacob Grimm, who was played by Karlheinz Böhm . As it became known only years later, she suffered a miscarriage while filming. After MGM became aware of Barbara Eden, her leading roles were found in films alongside Tony Randall in My Room Becomes a Harem and The Mysterious Dr. Lao .

Success with Charming Jeannie

In 1964, Eden received the screenplay for the series The Charming Jeannie . After months of searching for a leading actress, Sidney Sheldon, the show's creator, called her personally and invited her to the Beverly Hills Hotel for tea. The two talked casually and after a simple conversation he said to her: “ I think you are my Jeannie ”.

Filming began that same year. At the side of Barbara Eden, Larry Hagman was hired as her master Anthony Nelson. The story is about an astronaut who finds a bottle on a desert island that contains the genie Jeannie. Jeannie moves to her "master" in Cocoa Beach , Florida, and causes a lot of chaos there in the following years. Barbara Eden became pregnant while filming the first season. Therefore her harem costume was changed for a few episodes. Eden wore more veils around her body and in many scenes she was behind large accessories. Their son Matthew Ansara was born on August 29, 1965. In 1967 the series was first broadcast on ZDF with great success . At the time, ZDF spoke of a market share of 49%. In the following years, Eden received the Gold and Silver Bravo Otto . In 1967 and 1970 Barbara was nominated for an Emmy for the role of Jeannie .

The enchanting Jeannie series was discontinued in late 1969, after five years and 139 episodes. To date, reruns run in over 50 countries. Eden herself has claimed that there is no day on which an episode of Jeannie is not aired somewhere in the world . After the success of Jeannie , Eden tried to develop artistically through other roles in theater and television. She played again alongside Larry Hagman and had already accepted engagements as a singer in Las Vegas in the past few years from Charming Jeannie , where she later had her own show. Many other greats of show business also appeared in it.

1970s and 1980s

Her television films A Howling in the Woods and The Woman Hunter received good reviews. Her shows in Las Vegas were regularly sold out. The designer Bob Mackie , who also dressed Cher and Ann-Margret , designed revealing stage costumes especially for Eden. In the years that followed, Eden remained active in show business. She stood in front of the camera for television productions at least once a year. She was a guest on variety shows on US television. Her 1978 film Harper Valley PTA became a television series a little later, in which she also played the lead role.

In 1985 she made a television movie with Bill Daily , Wayne Rogers and Hayden Rorke on the popular series Be Zauberende Jeannie entitled The Return of the Bewitching Jeannie: 15 Years Later ( I Dream of Jeannie: 15 Years Later ). That same year, Barbara Eden, aged 53, was voted the woman with the most sex appeal by People Magazine . Barbara Eden played a leading role in each of the television films Where is the military going? , The Double Life of Kathy McCormick ( 'The Secret Life of Kathy McCormick), opposites attract each other (' Opposites Attract ', 1990), Höllenwut (' Hell Hath No Fury ', 1991) and Her Wicked Ways (Alternative title Lethal Charm , 1991).

Since the 1990s

In 1991 she was again in front of the camera in a Jeannie costume for the television film Jeannie sucht den Meister . In the same year she had five guest appearances in the then expiring Dallas series, which she found back to the side of Larry Hagman . Films like Eyes of Terror (1993) and Eyes of Death (1994) followed. In 1994 she was invited to Thomas Koschwitz's Late Night Show . In 1996 she was in the film The Brady Family 2 again as Jeannie for a short appearance in front of the camera. In 1996, she also appeared in Thomas Gottschalk's SAT.1 telecast house party on.

From 2000 to 2005 she was on stage with actress Rita McKenzie for the female version of men’s economy and toured US states . 2006 followed with Larry Hagman the play Love Letters . In late 2006 and early 2007, Eden started another US tour with Love Letters , this time alongside Hal Linden .

Guest appearances in the US series Sabrina - Totally Verhext! (as dictatorial aunt Irma) in 2001 and 2002 were further TV activities. In 2001 she had a small role in the movie Carolina (written by her niece Katherine Fugate) alongside Shirley MacLaine , and in 2002 in Loco Love . In 2007, Barbara Eden made a guest appearance on the George Lopez Show and was hired to play Victoria Greyson on Army Wives . Eden shot the film Always & Forever for the Hallmark Channel in the USA. The television film first aired on October 24, 2009.

Barbara Eden, 2013

In April 2011, Eden's autobiography Jeannie Out Of The Bottle was published . The book was written in collaboration with author Wendy Leigh, who has written books on Zsa Zsa Gabor , Arnold Schwarzenegger and Grace Kelly . Barbara Eden's hard-working doctorate and interviews in numerous TV and radio programs led to the expected success: the book landed on the New York Times bestseller list in the USA, Canada and Australia . In it, Barbara tells about her early years in Hollywood, the tough path from starlet to big engagements alongside Elvis Presley and Paul Newman . Eden describes her meetings with John F. Kennedy , Marilyn Monroe , Tom Jones and other well-known personalities in show business, describes Larry Hagman's mental health problems on the set of The Glamorous Jeannie , reports on her divorce from Michael Ansara , on her marriage to the cocaine addict Charles Fegert, about successes after Jeannie and her happy marriage to Jon Eicholtz. The book has not yet been published in Germany.

From September to November 2012, Barbara Eden starred in the theater comedy Social Security in Kansas City.

Barbara Eden with Elton John and Cornelius Obonya at the Life Ball 2013

In May 2013 Barbara performed at the Life Ball in Vienna . Already on the red carpet , she got a lot of press attention in her golden Bob Mackie dress. A media-acclaimed event was the fact that at the age of 78 she slipped into her belly-free, charming Jeannie costume for a good cause and presented Jeannie as a genie in a bottle, including Bill Clinton , Elton John and the singer Fergie ( Black Eyed Peas ).

Private

Barbara Eden was married to actor Michael Ansara from 1958 to 1974 , and their son Matthew was born in 1965. In 1971, Eden lost her second eight-month son. Her second husband was Charles Donald Fegert from 1977 to 1983. She has been married to Jon Trusdale Eicholtz since January 5, 1991.

After the drug death of her son Matthew on June 25, 2001, she became involved in the fight against drugs .

Filmography

Movies

  • 1956: Back from Eternity
  • 1957: Get out at 43,000 (at Bailout 43,000)
  • 1957: Siren in Blond (Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?)
  • 1957: The Wayward Girl
  • 1959: It's only available in America (A Private's Affair)
  • 1960: Death lurks for twelve hours (Twelve Hours to Kill)
  • 1960: From the Terrace
  • 1960: Flaming Star (Flaming Star)
  • 1961: Swingin 'Along
  • 1961: All Hands on Deck
  • 1961: Fire Belt Company (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)
  • 1962: The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm)
  • 1962: Five Weeks in a Balloon
  • 1963: Password: Canary (The Yellow Canary)
  • 1964: The mysterious Dr. Lao (7 Faces of Dr. Lao)
  • 1964: My room becomes a harem (The Brass Bottle)
  • 1964: Interns (The New Interns)
  • 1964: Ride the Wild Surf
  • 1964: Marry me, crook! (The Confession)
  • 1967: Kismet (TV movie)
  • 1968: Hellcats
  • 1970: Howdy (TV movie)
  • 1971: The Feminist and the Fuzz (TV movie)
  • 1971: A Howling in the Woods (TV movie)
  • 1972: The Woman Hunter (TV movie)
  • 1973: The Toy Game (TV movie)
  • 1973: The Barbara Eden Show (TV movie)
  • 1973: Guess Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (TV movie)
  • 1974: Die Saat des Alien ( The Stranger Within , Movie made for TV)
  • 1974: Out to Lunch (TV movie)
  • 1975: Let's Switch! (TV movie)
  • 1976: How to Break Up a Happy Divorce (TV movie)
  • 1976: You don't joke with Dobermans (The Amazing Dobermans)
  • 1977: Stonestreet: Who Killed the Centerfold Model? (TV movie)
  • 1978: Revenge of the Blonde Witch (Harper Valley PTA)
  • 1979: The girls in the office ( The Girls in the Office , TV movie)
  • 1980: Condominium (TV movie)
  • 1981: Return of the Rebels (TV movie)
  • 1984: Chattanooga Choo Choo
  • 1984: Woman of the Year (TV movie)
  • 1985: The return of the enchanting Jeannie ( I Dream of Jeannie… Fifteen Years Later , TV movie)
  • 1987: The Stepford Children ( The Stepford Children , Movie made for TV)
  • 1988: The Double Life of Kathy McCormick ( The Secret Life of Kathy McCormick , Movie made for TV)
  • 1989: Brand New Life (TV series)
  • 1989: Where do you go to join the military, please? ( Your Mother Wears Combat Boots , TV movie)
  • 1990: Opposites Attract ( Opposites Attract , TV movie)
  • 1991: Dangerous Charm ( Her Wicked Ways , TV movie)
  • 1991: Hell Hath No Fury , TV movie
  • 1991: Jeannie seeks her master ( I Still Dream of Jeannie , TV movie)
  • 1993: Visions of Murder , TV movie
  • 1994: Eye of Terror ( Eyes of Terror , TV movie)
  • 1996: A Deadly Coup ( Dead Man's Island , Movie made for TV)
  • 1996: Nite Club Confidential (TV movie)
  • 1996: The Brady Family 2 (A Very Brady Sequel)
  • 1998: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (TV movie)
  • 2003: Mi Casa, Su Casa
  • 2003: Loco Love
  • 2003: Carolina - In Search of Mr. Perfect (Carolina)
  • 2009: Always and Forever (TV movie)
  • 2014: Army Wives: A Final Salute (TV movie)
  • 2019: My Adventures with Santa

TV Shows

  • 1956: West Point (an episode)
  • 1957: Highway Patrol (an episode)
  • 1957: I Love Lucy (an episode)
  • 1957: The Millionaire (an episode)
  • 1957: Crossroads (an episode)
  • 1957: Perry Mason (an episode)
  • 1957: Smoking Colts ( Gunsmoke , an episode)
  • 1957: Bachelor Father (one episode)
  • 1957: December Bride (an episode)
  • 1957–1959: How to Marry a Millionaire (52 episodes)
  • 1958: Father Knows Best (an episode)
  • 1958: The Lineup (an episode)
  • 1961: Adventures in Paradise (an episode)
  • 1962: Andy Griffith Show ( The Andy Griffith Show , an episode)
  • 1962: Target: The Corruptors (an episode)
  • 1962: Cain's Hundred (an episode)
  • 1962: Saints and Sinners (an episode)
  • 1963: Dr. Kildare (an episode)
  • 1963–1964: A Thousand Miles of Dust ( Rawhide , three episodes)
  • 1963–1965: Amos Burke (four episodes)
  • 1964: Route 66 (two episodes)
  • 1964: The People at Shiloh Ranch ( The Virginian , an episode)
  • 1965: Slattery's People (an episode)
  • 1965: Crooks Against Crooks ( The Rogues , an episode)
  • 1965–1970: Enchanting Jeannie ( I Dream of Jeannie , 139 episodes)
  • 1967: Off to See the Wizard (an episode)
  • 1975: NBC Special Treat (an episode)
  • 1981–1982: Harper Valley PTA (30 episodes)
  • 1989–1990: A Brand New Life (six episodes)
  • 1990–1991: Dallas (five episodes)
  • 2002–2003: Sabrina - Totally Bewitched! ( Sabrina, the Teenage Witch , three episodes)
  • 2003: Teamo Supremo (one episode)
  • 2007: George Lopez (an episode)
  • 2007: Army Wives (an episode)
  • 2016: Shimmer and Shine (dubbing in the role of Empress Caliana)

Audio books

Web links

Commons : Barbara Eden  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Life Ball in Vienna: 1001 stars and a genie in a bottle legend on nwzonline.de from May 26, 2013, accessed June 27, 2019
  2. ↑ Entry at filmreference.com
  3. ↑ Kronen Zeitung of July 10, 2009
personal data
SURNAME Eden, Barbara
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Moorhead, Barbara Jean (maiden name); Huffman, Barbara Jean (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-american actress
DATE OF BIRTH August 23, 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH Tucson , Arizona , United States