When I was growing up we all thought of the 1950s as the golden age of television.
Classics such as “I Love Lucy” and “Leave It to Beaver” can still be seen in reruns. “The Ed Sullivan Show,” “Bonanza,” and “Gunsmoke” were mainstays that lasted into the ‘70s. But these days it’s becoming more apparent that the real golden age of television was the 1960s. How else can you explain all the big-screen remakes of popular TV shows from that era?
One of the classic sitcoms from the ‘60s was “I Dream of Jeannie.” For those of you too young to remember, its premise was an astronaut gets marooned on a desert island after his space capsule crashes and he discovers a genie bottle. After opening it out pops a beautiful maiden who says he is now her master and grants him any wish. He wishes to be rescued and poof! a NASA helicopter appears out of thin air to save them.
What followed was five years of a hit program featuring the comical misadventures of Jeannie and her “master” Tony Nelson. The series starred Barbara Eden as Jeannie and Larry Hagman as Tony. Hagman is better known as the evil J.R. Ewing on “Dallas” from the 1980s. Although Eden has appeared in numerous other TV shows and movies, most notably “Harper Valley PTA,” her signature rolehas always been “Jeannie.”
Eden has just published her autobiography, “Jeannie Out of the Bottle,” and it is a delightful read of a 1960s icon.
It is not a “tell-all” book in the usual sense of vindictively trashing other celebrities. But it produces some fascinating tidbits about the men in Hollywood, a behind-the-scenes look at her trademark show, and a tragic but poignant discussion of her son’s addiction to drugs.
Eden’s formative years weren’t anything extraordinary except for the fact that she was chosen Miss San Francisco for the Miss California pageant in 1951. She did have a talent for acting and singing and it led her to take a chance on a career in Hollywood.
She managed to get some bit parts, including one as a gorgeous young floozy on “I Love Lucy” where all the men, including Ricky and Fred, go head over heels for her (it makes for a good trivia question).
She was signed to a contract by Twentieth Century Fox and that led to several small film roles opposite many of Hollywood’s leading men. The juiciest part of her book is her description of these honchos.
Everyone from Elvis Presley to Burl Ives tried to romance her without success. Even Tony Randall, who always seems to be the consummate straight arrow, had his eye on her.
The one actor who successfully romanced Eden, Michael Ansara, became her first husband. He was the star of a popular western, “Broken Arrow,” as she struggled with her career. Fans of the original “Star Trek” will remember him as the Klingon captain in “Day of the Dove.” Interesting enough, their marriage went south when Eden hit it big with “Jeannie” while he was struggling to find work. The most surprising part of the making of “I Dream of Jeannie” was how difficult Larry Hagman was to work with. His personality perfectly fit his later role as J.R. Ewing.
Hagman expected the show to be his vehicle to stardom, but that mantra fell to Eden. He clearly didn’t like it and caused mayhem whenever possible. Drinking champagne and smoking pot to stay “calm” didn’t help matters. Sammy Davis, Jr. after guest starring on the show called him a “total expletive.”
The most striking part of Eden’s book focuses on her son’s losing battle with drugs. She pulls no punches. He was introduced to marijuana at the age of 10 by a rich “hippie” neighbor and started his descent from there. Despite entering rehab eight times he could not conquer his addiction. Eden’s efforts to interdict in his recovery are quite moving.
It’s rather sad to think that popular down-to-earth icons such as Eden, Carol Burnett, and Mary Tyler Moore all lost kids who were involved with drugs.
Other than her son’s experience, Eden’s autobiography is simply a fun read for all those who remember her as “Jeannie” or in one of her many other roles. It’s also a cautionary tale for any upcoming actor to understand that “stardom” is usually a hit-ormiss proposition. Eden’s book makes a lasting impression.
Book Notes
July 28, 2011
Book Notes: Dreaming of Jeannie
- Book Notes
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- Book covers much more than caddies and golf St Andrews in Scotland is famous as the birthplace of golf. Every few years the "old course" hosts the British Open so all television viewers are reminded that the place is hallowed ground.
- Memoir reflects on 'roller-coaster life and career' Apparently, the third time wasn't the charm. The way Reynolds described him, the third husband was worse than the first two combined and that's saying a lot. Eddie Fisher literally walked away from Reynolds and their two infant children to chase a sex goddess. At least he got his just desserts when Elizabeth Taylor tossed him aside for Richard Burton.
- 'Who's on Worst?' reveals the ugly in baseball The Baseball Hall of Fame celebrates the greatest players, managers and owners from our national pastime. Any of us who have watched Major League baseball have inevitably seen some of these immortals practicing their craft. But we have also likely witnessed a sample of their opposite brethren, players who shouldn't have been in the Major Leagues. Has there ever been a definitive source that "celebrates" the non-accomplishments of the worst that Major League baseball has to offer?
- Book takes readers on path for equal rights One of the most troubling aspects of our history is race relations. It takes a long time to achieve true equality in a society when the heritage of one ethnic group is slavery and Jim Crow laws. Even today African Americans are more likely to be stereotyped as athletes than doctors, lawyers or entrepreneurs. The path to a "color-blind" nation is still a work in progress.
- Piazza wasn't considered much of a prospect for the majors It's probably going to be a quiet few days in Cooperstown when Hall of Fame weekend rolls around this summer. The baseball writers did not elect anybody this year despite some heavyweight candidates. The problem was that at least three of the poster boys for the steroids era, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa, were on the ballot for the first time. The writers were clearly making a statement when nobody got elected.
- Who would have thought e-books would be so popular? When I was in library school 25 years ago, a future concept was presented that seemed absurd at the time. It was the notion you could read books on a small computerized device about the size of a pocketbook.
- 2012 was a year of great films, future favorites The year 2012 was a blockbuster year for great films. Several of the movies up for Best Picture would have been runaway favorites almost any other time. They will make for easy pickings for the library when they become available on DVD.
- Blockbusters are not the only movies worth watching Hollywood makes enough movies that there are always a few that you don't hear about until they are on DVD. Sometimes they are simply horrible films that end their theater run quickly, but often they are "diamonds in the rough" that made their mark at film festivals.
- Mickey Mantle biography shows the good and the ugly It has become obvious in recent days that bestowing "hero" status on athletes is a misplaced priority.
- Book looks at 50 years of James Bond movies When I was in elementary school, James Bond was all the rage. For some reason I didn't see any of the early films with Sean Connery playing the infamous 007 British spy, but my siblings and several friends certainly did.
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