Barbara Eden

Barbara Eden was born Barbara Jean Moorhead in Tucson, Arizona. Her date of birth has usually been given as August 23, 1934, although some sources cite 1930.

She is an American film and television actress and singer; and is best known for her starring role in the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie. She was also known as Barbara Huffman, following her mother's re-marriage, by which she has a younger half-sister. She graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in San Francisco in 1949.

Eden made memorable featured appearances on popular television shows such as I Love Lucy, Perry Mason, Bachelor Father, and Gunsmoke. 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". She played supporting roles in films over the next few years, including a notable, if odd, movie, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, 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, 1965-1970, opposite 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'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 2001-06-25 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 1977-09-03 until their divorce in 1983. She married her third and current husband, Los Angeles real estate developer Jon Eicholtz, on 1991-01-05.

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 eries in 1981.

In 1991, Barbara 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 Larry 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 Eden has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to television at 2003 Hollywood Boulevard.

Filmography

Back from Eternity (1956)
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957)
The Wayward Girl (1957)
A Private's Affair (1959)
Twelve Hours to Kill (1960)
From the Terrace (1960)
Flaming Star (1960)
Swingin' Along (1961)
All Hands on Deck (1961)
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961)
The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962)
Five Weeks in a Balloon (1962)
The Yellow Canary (1963)
The Confession (1964)
7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964)
The Brass Bottle (1964)
The New Interns (1964)
Ride the Wild Surf (1964)
The Toy Game (1973)
The Amazing Dobermans (1976)
Harper Valley PTA (1978)
Chattanooga Choo Choo (1984)
The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal (1985) (documentary)
The Fantasy Worlds of Irwin Allen (1995) (documentary)
A Very Brady Sequel (1996) (Cameo)
Loco Love (2003)
Carolina (2003)

Television Work

How to Marry a Millionaire (1957-1959)
I Dream of Jeannie (1965-1970)
Kismet (1967)
The Feminist and the Fuzz (1971)
A Howling in the Woods (1971)
Love is... Barbara Eden (1972)
The Barbara Eden Show (1973) (unsold TV pilot)
Guess Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1973)
The Stranger Within (1974)
Out to Lunch (1974)
Let's Switch! (1975)
How to Break Up a Happy Divorce (1976)
Stonestreet: Who Killed the Centerfold Model? (1977)
The Girls in the Office (1979)
Condominium (1980)
Harper Valley PTA (1981-1982)
Return of the Rebels (1981)
Woman of the Year (1984)
I Dream of Jeannie: 15 Years Later (1985)
The Stepford Children (1987)
The Secret Life of Kathy McCormick (1988)
Your Mothers Wears Combat Boots (1989)
A Brand New Life (1989-1990)
Opposites Attract (1990)
Her Wicked Ways (1991)
Hell Hath No Fury (1991)
I Still Dream of Jeannie (1991)
Visions of Murder (1993)
Eyes of Terror (1994)
Dead Man's Island (1996)
Nite Club Confidential (1996)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1998)
A Magical Evening with Barbara Eden (1999)
At Home with Barbara Eden (2001)

External links

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