Flaming Star

MISS BARBARA EDEN

(August 23, 1934)

We admit it -- in the Great Bewitched vs. I Dream of Jeannie Debate, we are firmly in the pro-nose twitching camp. Bewitched just seemed so much more...gay, what with Agnes Moorehead, Paul Lynde, Alice Ghostley and Marion Lorne prancing in and out. Samantha was also centuries more emancipated than Jeannie could ever hope to be. However, we cannot deny the irresistible charm of Barbara "Jeannie" Eden, whose beauty and sincerity made what could have been a completely dreadful show watchable, and even entertaining.

Prior to Jeannie, Eden ran the usual 50's/60's starlet trajectory: she did television (playing the MM character in a TV sitcom version of How to Marry a Millionaire); co-starred in the obligatory Elvis flick (1960's Flaming Star); co-starred in the obligatory beach party flick (1964's Ride the Wild Surf); and paid her dues by co-starring in utter crap -- 1963's The Yellow Canary with Pat Boone, anyone?

Jeannie, of course, made her an icon, and after its 1965-1970 run ended, Eden was seldom off the screen for long, making a long series of made-for-TV movies. She also toured with her nightclub act and did summer stock and dinner theater (including The Sound of Music -- although, we're not 100% sure if she played Maria, Leisl, or The Baroness). In 1979, she scored a surprise hit with an independent feature film based on Jeanne C. Riley's 1968 country/pop smash, Harper Valley P.T.A. Its success led to a mildly successful sitcom, which ran during the 1981-82 season.

There's a certain gooniness to Barbara Eden's persona and personality which we find rather charming and endearing (witness the cut-rate Ann-Margret knockoff pose, gown, wig and filtered lens above). Maybe it reminds us of the willful mix of obliviousness and delusions of glamorous grandeur that we recognize in so many drag queens (and ourselves, after one too many). If that sounds like a catty put-down, it's not intended to be: we sincerely admire Miss Eden's unflappable good humor and warmth, and send her our affectionate good wishes on her special day.