Jeannie Out of the Bottle

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Overview

A magical, heartwarming memoir from one of Hollywood’s most beloved icons

Over the past four decades, the landmark NBC hit television series I Dream of Jeannie has delighted generations of audiences and inspired untold numbers of teenage crushes on its beautiful blond star, Barbara Eden. Part pristine Hollywood princess and part classic bombshell, with innocence, strength, and comedic talent to spare, Barbara finally lets Jeannie out of her bottle to tell her whole story.

Jeannie Out of the Bottle takes us behind the scenes of I Dream of Jeannie as well as Barbara’s dozens of other stage, movie, television, and live concert performances. We follow her from the hungry years when she was a struggling studio contract player at 20th Century Fox through difficult weeks trying to survive as a chorus girl at Ciro’s Sunset Strip supper club, from a stint as Johnny Carson’s sidekick on live TV to tangling on-screen and off with some of Hollywood’s most desirable leading men, including Elvis Presley, Clint Eastwood, Paul Newman, and Warren Beatty. From the ups and downs of her relationship with her Jeannie co-star Larry Hagman to a touching meeting with an exquisite and vulnerable Marilyn Monroe at the twilight of her career, readers join Barbara on a thrilling journey through her five decades in Hollywood.

But Barbara’s story is also an intimate and honest memoir of personal tragedy: a stillborn child with her first husband, Michael Ansara; a verbally abusive, drug-addicted second husband; the loss of her beloved mother; and the accidental heroin-induced death of her adult son, just months before his wedding. With candor and poignancy, Barbara reflects on the challenges she has faced, as well as the joys she has experienced and how she has maintained her humor, optimism, and inimitable Jeannie magic throughout the roller-coaster ride of a truly memorable life.

Illustrated with sixteen pages of photographs, including candid family pictures and rare publicity stills, Jeannie Out of the Bottle is a must-have for every fan, old and new.

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Editorial Reviews

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Actress Barbara Eden's resume includes five decades of appearances on television, in movies, and onstage, but nothing she did captured the public imagination than the five seasons (1965-1970), she metamorphosed as the perky blonde genie of I Dream of Jeannie. This autobiography isn't just a behind-the-scenes reprise of that magical fantasy; it's a fascinating recap of Eden's entire long, eventful life till now. Marked by candor and celebrity stories, Jeannie Out of the Bottle marks the materialization of a most welcome memoirist.

Library Journal

Actress Eden (www.barbaraeden.com), best known for her starring role in the 1960s sitcom I Dream of Jeannie, reflects candidly on her career and personal life. She shares some mildly gossipy stories about encounters with fellow 20th Century Fox stars like Marilyn Monroe, Lucille Ball, and Elvis Presley; divulges details about her sometimes volatile Jeannie costar, Larry Hagman; and discusses darker moments in her life, including several failed marriages and the accidental heroin-induced death of her adult son. Eden herself reads in an engaging, conversational tone that will appeal to fans of the star and the show. [The Crown Archetype hc, published in April, was a New York Times best seller.—Ed.]—Phillip Oliver, Univ. of North Alabama Lib., Florence

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Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780307914354
Publisher: Books on Tape, Inc.
Publication date: 4/5/2011
Format: MP3
Edition description: Unabridged
Ships to U.S.and APO/FPO addresses only.

Meet the Author

BARBARA EDEN has been a television, film, and stage actress, and a Las Vegas headliner, for more than five decades. She is best known for her title role in the hit TV series I Dream of Jeannie. She grew up in San Francisco and currently lives in Beverly Hills with her husband, Jon Eicholtz, and their Labradoodle, Djin Djin.

WENDY LEIGH is the New York Times bestselling author of thirteen books, including Life with My Sister Madonna (as co-author) and True Grace: The Life and Times of an American Princess.

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Read an Excerpt

chapter 1

A MAGICAL CHILDHOOD

Whenever I hear the blare of a foghorn or see a picture of a mermaid or a young couple madly in love, I feel as I've been Jeannie-blinked back into my childhood, happy and secure.

The foghorn, you see, reminds me of San Francisco, where I grew up. The mermaid reminds me of Dolfina, the famous "Girl in the Fishbowl" always on display at the Bal Tabarin restaurant on Market Street, where my parents often used to bring me when I was very young, simply because they couldn't afford a babysitter and had to cart me everywhere with them.

In those far-off years during the Depression, however poor my parents were, they still hadn't forgotten how to love, how to laugh, and how to dream. They were young and carefree, spent every penny my father earned from his job as a telephone lineman, and understood exactly how to have fun.

At the time, long before my younger sister, Alison, was born, I was my mother's "onliest only," as she called me then, and would until her dying day. Like many an only child, I was probably grown-up before my time, and those nights at the Bal Tabarin (which later became Bimbo's 365 Club), where Rita Hayworth danced in the chorus and Ann Miller was discovered dancing when she was just thirteen, only served to make me more mature and at the same time give me an early love of show business.

So did seeing Bob Hope perform live onstage when I was just four years old. My mother and father took me to his show at a local theater, and I remember how joyful watching Bob made me feel. Little did I know that when I grew up, I would meet him, we'd become friends, and I'd appear onstage with him many, many times myself.

When I was a small child, my dream was to be not an actress but a singer. Each night, when I did the dishes with my mother, Alice, she sang Gilbert and Sullivan ditties or tunes from her father's favorite Irish operetta, Bohemian Girl, and I joined in. I developed a passion for singing early on in my childhood, which was only further heightened when I sang in the church choir every Sunday.

At the same time, fishing on Fisherman's Wharf with my father (although the sight of fishermen gutting their fish put me off fish for life-to this day I never eat it), roller-skating along the wharf, and bicyling in Golden Gate Park with him all contributed to making me a bit of a tomboy (which, by the way, I always thought Jeannie was as well).

I've always considered myself a California girl and have been proud of it, but in reality I was born in Tuscon, Arizona. And I always relished looking back at my mother's family history and reconstructing exactly how I ended up being born there.

I still have a remarkable letter she gave to me, which was originally bequeathed to her by her mother. It was written in 1856 by my great-great-great-grandfather, John A. Bills, to my great-great- grandparents, Bilista and William Long, after they were forced to leave New York State and go west because William, a house-painter, was dying of lead poisoning. If I could have, I would have framed it, but it is too old and too fragile, so I keep it in an acid-free envelope. All in all, I think it's a fascinating historical document (but if you don't, just skip it).

Ramsey, Illinois 28 Nov. 1856

Dear Daughter,

We rec'd your letter a few days ago and hasten to answer. We were sorry to hear that William was so feeble although it was not all together unexpected. He has been so long sick that we sometimes almost believed that...

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Introduction 1

1 A Magical Childhood 11

2 Show Business Beginnings 27

3 A Babe in Hollywoodland 45

4 Twentieth Century Fox 67

5 Hollywood Star 87

6 Getting Jeannie 107

7 I Dream of Matthew 125

8 All About Larry 143

9 Viva Las Vegas 163

10 Tragedy 187

11 Chuck 201

12 Free Again 221

13 The End 245

14 It's a Wrap 257

Acknowledgments 263

Insert Photo Credits 265

Index 267

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Jeannie Out of the Bottle

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Available on NOOK devices and apps Nook Devices NOOK HD/HD+ Tablet NOOK NOOK Color NOOK Tablet Tablet/Phone NOOK for Windows 8 Tablet NOOK for iOS NOOK for Android NOOK Kids for iPad PC/Mac NOOK for Windows 8 NOOK for PC NOOK for Mac NOOK Study NOOK for Web

All Available Formats & Editions

Customers Who Bought This Also Bought

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best book

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NO DISAPPOINTMENT! EXTREMELY WELL WRITTEN,READS SO SMOOTH & ATENTITIVE!

Wouldn't recommend.

Blink, blink

I Recommend to Jeannie Fans

Fascinating Life

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Love It.......

Jeannie

I AM A CHILD AND DONT CARE

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