Background and career
Barbara Eden (born Barbara Jean Morehead; August 23, 1931) is an American actress and singer. She is known for starring as the title character in the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie (1965–1970). Her other roles included Roslyn Pierce opposite Elvis Presley in Flaming Star (1960), Lieutenant (JG) Cathy Connors in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961), and a single widowed mother, Stella Johnson, in the film comedy Harper Valley PTA (1978) and in the spinoff television series. Eden began singing in bands as a teenager and studied singing and acting. In 1955, she began her television career with appearances on The Johnny Carson Show and on various other series, such as Burke's Law. By 1957, she was starring in the comedy TV series How to Marry a Millionaire. She also began to act in plays. In 1959, she had her first major film role in A Private's Affair. After I Dream of Jeannie, Eden appeared mostly in dramatic roles, such as in the TV movie Stonestreet: Who Killed the Centerfold Model? (1977). Eden also appeared in musical comedy tours, other theatrical roles and a TV broadcast of Kismet, released an album, appeared on variety television shows and USO shows, and headlined Las Vegas acts. After starring in the film and TV series Harper Valley PTA, she played opposite her I Dream of Jeannie co-star Larry Hagman on several occasions, including in five episodes of the final season of Dallas and the play Love Letters.
Eden was born on August 23, 1931, in Tucson, Arizona, to Alice Mary (née Franklin) and Hubert Henry Morehead. She is a descendant of Benjamin Franklin. For decades, the public believed that the year of her birth was 1934. After her parents divorced, she and her mother moved to San Francisco, where her mother married Harrison Connor Huffman, a telephone lineman, by whom she had a daughter, Eden's half-sister. Eden grew up in San Francisco's Parkside neighborhood and traces her family back four generations in San Francisco, remembering stories about her grandmother who came in a covered wagon and her grandfather who arrived by clipper ship. The Great Depression affected the family deeply. As they were unable to afford many luxuries, Alice entertained her children with singing. Eden remembers having a "very musical family." Eden's first public performance was with the church choir, where she sang solos. As a teenager, she sang in local bands led by Howard Fredericks and Freddie Martin. At 16, she studied singing with voice teacher Paulina Giovanini at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and acting with the Elizabeth Holloway School of Theater. She graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in San Francisco in 1949 and studied theater for one year at City College of San Francisco. As Barbara Huffman, she was crowned Miss San Francisco in 1951; she also entered the Miss California pageant.
Eden began her television career as a semiregular on The Johnny Carson Show in 1955. She also made featured appearances on shows such as The West Point Story, Highway Patrol, Private Secretary, I Love Lucy, The Millionaire, Target: The Corruptors!, Crossroads, Perry Mason, Gunsmoke, December Bride, Bachelor Father, Father Knows Best, Adventures in Paradise, The Andy Griffith Show, Cain's Hundred, Saints and Sinners, The Virginian, Slattery's People, The Rogues, and the series finale of Route 66. She guest-starred in four episodes of Burke's Law, playing different roles each time. She was an uncredited extra in the movie The Tarnished Angels with Rock Hudson, in partnership with 20th Century Fox studios. She then starred in the syndicated comedy TV series How to Marry a Millionaire. The series is based on the 1953 film. In 1957, Eden had minor roles in Bailout at 43,000, Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, and The Wayward Girl. In 1959, she became a leading lady, starring in A Private's Affair. She had a co-starring role in Flaming Star (1960) with Elvis Presley. In 1961, she played in a supporting role as Lt. Cathy Connors in Irwin Allen's Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. In 1962, she starred in The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, a Cinerama film directed by George Pal for MGM, and another Irwin Allen production for 20th Century Fox, Five Weeks in a Balloon. She was the female lead in the 1962 Fox comedy Swingin' Along, starring Tommy Noonan and Peter Marshall, in their final joint screen appearance. She did a screen test with Andy Williams for the 20th Century Fox movie State Fair, but did not get the role.
Her last film for 20th Century Fox was The Yellow Canary (1963). She left Fox and began guest-starring in television shows and acting in films for MGM, Universal, and Columbia. She played supporting roles over the next few years, including The Brass Bottle and 7 Faces of Dr. Lao.
In 1965, producer Sidney Sheldon signed Eden to star in his then-upcoming fantasy sitcom I Dream of Jeannie for NBC. After various brunette starlets and beauty queens had unsuccessfully tried out for the role, Eden was approached by Sheldon, who had seen her in The Brass Bottle and had received numerous recommendations for Eden from various colleagues. Eden played Jeannie, a beautiful genie set free from her bottle by astronaut and United States Air Force Captain (later Major) Anthony "Tony" Nelson, played by Larry Hagman. Eden played this role for five years and 139 episodes.
Eden starred in such musical comedies as Nite Club Confidential (playing the role of Kay Goodman, in 1996), The Sound of Music, Annie Get Your Gun, South Pacific with Robert Goulet, The Pajama Game with John Raitt, and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes playing Lorelei Lee. She played Lalune in a TV adaptation of Kismet (1967). From April to September 1984, she starred in the national production of Woman of the Year, playing the role of Tess Harding Craig. She has been a musical guest star in many variety television shows, including 21 Bob Hope specials, The Carol Burnett Show, The Jonathan Winters Show, The Jerry Lewis Show, This Is Tom Jones, Tony Orlando and Dawn, and Donny and Marie. She released an album titled Miss Barbara Eden in 1967 on Dot Records. She also had long-running stints headlining in Las Vegas.
