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00:00She's so versatile.
00:02It's kind of like she can do it all.
00:03That show could have never, ever gone on if it wasn't for Barbara.
00:07She was so energetic and fun, and she seemed to just be like embracing life.
00:12Oh, Master, I am so excited! So excited!
00:14There are people in the business who have a high likability quotient.
00:20She's one of those people.
00:21Generation after generation has grown up watching I Dream of Jeannie.
00:25If I'm going to be defined by a role, that's a nice one.
00:28It's a very good one.
00:30I think.
00:52She emerged from a 2,000-year-old bottle in a puff of smoke.
00:58She enchanted a straight-laced astronaut with a blink of an eye and a nod of her head.
01:04Yes, Master.
01:04Yeah.
01:07She had a sort of a magic about it, so that kind of gets in your head a little bit.
01:12To play clean, wholesome, sexy is a tough one, and that's there with her.
01:17I love that show. I love Jeannie.
01:19Although known to millions as Jeannie, Barbara Eden's film, stage, and television career has spanned more than four decades.
01:27Barbara is an actress, a consummate actress. She's got it all.
01:30But behind the effervescent smile is a strong-willed woman who has overcome professional obstacles and personal heartbreak.
01:40In 2001, Barbara lost her only child, Matthew, to an accidental drug overdose.
01:46And apparently he had taken a hit of heroin, but he hadn't had it in, oh, quite a while, I
01:57guess a couple of years.
01:58It killed him. It stopped his heart.
02:02Barbara was never the same after her son's death, but somehow she found the courage to go on with her
02:08life.
02:13Born on August 23, 1934, in Tucson, Arizona, the baby girl who would one day be known to the world
02:20as Jeannie grew up in San Francisco, California, as Barbara Jean Huffman.
02:27Like so many Americans, the Huffman struggled to make ends meet during the grueling years of the Great Depression.
02:34But they were determined to provide a stable and nurturing environment for their only child.
02:40Harrison Huffman was a loving father who worked long hours as a telephone lineman to make ends meet.
02:47And although Barbara's mother, Alice, was a strict disciplinarian, she possessed a lively sense of humor and upbeat attitude.
02:54My mom and dad were very much affected by the Depression.
02:59And of course, poor daddy, he didn't make a dime.
03:02He never, he worked so hard for very little.
03:06So we had a few rough times, but we always had fun.
03:11Sheltered by her protective parents, Barbara enjoyed a carefree childhood,
03:15often playing in Golden Gate Park with her mother and fishing with her father.
03:21The Huffman household was also filled with music and laughter, and singing was a ritual of daily life.
03:28We always had records, mostly classical.
03:33And when we'd do the dishes, my mom would harmonize with me and we'd sing.
03:39But by the age of seven, the sensitive girl's self-esteem plummeted.
03:44Her classmates teased her unmercifully when she was forced to wear an eye patch and thick glasses to correct a
03:51lazy eye.
03:53To coax Barbara out of her shell, Alice encouraged the child to focus on her singing.
03:59Barbara's confidence was slowly restored when she became a member of the church choir,
04:04and her angelic voice won her a throng of admirers.
04:09And Alice said, Barbara, you have such a beautiful, pure voice that you should take lessons.
04:16Alice was Barbara's biggest supporter.
04:20And that's how Barbara started, with her mother's encouragement.
04:26Alice wanted Barbara to study at the prestigious San Francisco Conservatory,
04:30but by now, the Huffmans had a second daughter to support, and tuition was out of the question.
04:36When a family friend donated $100 for enrollment,
04:41the grateful teen dedicated herself to her lessons with unbridled enthusiasm and discipline.
04:47And my mother heard me singing one day and said,
04:52Barbara, you know, you're singing every single note exactly where it ought to be,
04:56and you don't mean a thing you're singing.
04:59I think you should study some acting.
05:02Taking her mother's advice to heart, Barbara joined an acting class,
05:07and to her surprise, found a fulfillment in acting she had never experienced in singing.
05:13In order to pay for her lessons, the ambitious 15-year-old high school student
05:18opted for what was known as the 4-4 plan,
05:21attending school four hours a day and working another four at a local bank.
05:26She really wasn't interested, I don't think, in the normal kid things.
05:31I think that she was mostly interested in just getting her drama lessons and working.
05:38After high school graduation, 17-year-old Barbara enrolled at San Francisco City College,
05:44where she soon became a much sought-after campus co-ed.
05:49When she was at high school, she was playing, and then all of a sudden she developed.
05:55And all of a sudden, people were looking at her differently than they did before.
06:01Encouraged by the newfound attention, in 1951, Barbara worked up the courage to enter the Miss San Francisco beauty pageant.
06:09Competition was stiff, but with her poise and wholesome good looks,
06:13she walked away with the crown and a bolstered sense of self-confidence.
06:18But Barbara was more interested in being an actress than a beauty queen,
06:22a desire her drama coach fully supported.
06:25She said, you either go down to Hollywood or you go to New York,
06:30but if you are really serious about this business, you'd better get started in doing it.
06:35Terrified by the prospect of leaving her tight-knit family,
06:38Barbara decided to give Hollywood a try
06:40and moved in with her mother's sister in San Marino, 16 miles from Los Angeles.
06:47The resourceful young woman immediately followed up on a family connection
06:51to a casting director at Warner Brothers,
06:54but she was unprepared for the studio executive's blunt assessment.
06:59He told me that I was a very nice girl and very pretty little thing, he said,
07:05but you're not Hollywood pretty.
07:07He said, you just aren't going to make it in this town.
07:11Though initially crushed by the rejection,
07:14Barbara left the lot determined to prove him wrong.
07:18If something comes along that frustrates Barbara,
07:21Barbara takes a look at it.
07:23She then says to herself, okay, this is a challenge.
07:27Let me see what I can do about this.
07:30Convinced she needed to be closer to the action,
07:33Barbara took a room at the Hollywood Studio Club.
07:35It was a safe haven for young actresses
07:38who pooled information on classes and auditions.
07:41She landed an agent whose first order of business
07:45was to find a more marketable name than Barbara Huffman.
07:49After choosing the last name Eden from a long list of marquee-friendly names,
07:54the agent strongly advised his client to capitalize on her curvaceous figure
07:59by auditioning in sexy dresses.
08:03Reluctantly agreeing to the strategy,
08:05Barbara soon secured guest spots on television shows such as Highway Patrol
08:10and Johnny Carson's Variety Series.
08:13But employment was intermittent and the 22-year-old took the opportunity
08:18to hone her skills on the stage.
08:21The voice of the turtle was being done at the Laguna Playhouse
08:24and I agreed to do it because I would never say no.
08:28And Mark Robeson, who was directing at Fox at that time,
08:32saw me and he had me come up to Fox to read for a film he was doing.
08:36The film was paid in place and though Barbara didn't win the role of Betty,
08:4120th Century Fox was duly impressed and signed her to a seven-year contract.
08:47The aspiring actress who had been unceremoniously dismissed
08:51as not pretty enough by Warner Brothers
08:53was now a hot new property on the Fox lot.
08:58Wasting no time, the studio transformed the lovely ingenue
09:02into a screen siren in the style of Marilyn Monroe.
09:07Barbara's first assignment was a walk-on as a seductive secretary
09:11in the 1957 film
09:13Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?
09:15Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?
09:17starring Tony Randall and Jane Mansfield.
09:21This is Miss Carstairs.
09:23She's new here.
09:25Good morning, Mr. Hunter.
09:26Good morning, Miss Carstairs.
09:27If you want anything, just call.
09:30Mm-hmm.
09:35The actress was loaned out to other studios for television appearances
09:39and episodes of Perry Mason
09:42and Bachelor Father.
09:45Patricia, how pretty you look.
09:47Hello, Bentley.
09:48Forgive the casual look.
09:50It took me two hours to achieve it.
09:55The following year, Fox cast Barbara
09:57in the TV series adaptation of their hit film
10:00How to Marry a Millionaire
10:02about three bachelorettes looking for a rich husband.
10:06I'm Abner J. Doncourt.
10:10Good morning.
10:11Good morning.
10:13Hello.
10:14How do you do?
10:15Oh, and this is my secretary, Steve Chandler.
10:17How do you do?
10:19Good morning.
10:20Good morning.
10:22Barbara played the nearsighted gold digger Loco,
10:25a role originated by Hollywood's hottest sex symbol,
10:28Marilyn Monroe.
10:30No one could ever be Marilyn Monroe,
10:32visually or personality-wise,
10:35so I approached it differently.
10:38Being a person who's worn glasses
10:40since I was in the first grade,
10:42I knew what it was to go around without them,
10:45and I decided that that would be my focal point
10:48with her character.
10:49How I love these fortune cookies.
10:53That's fried shrimp.
10:58Oh.
11:00By 1957, Barbara had established herself as a working actress,
11:05and whenever she returned to San Francisco,
11:08the local press treated her like a star.
11:12How to Marry a Millionaire ended after two seasons,
11:16but Barbara Eden's career on the small screen was far from over.
11:25After the success of How to Marry a Millionaire,
11:2825-year-old Barbara Eden began filming the musical comedy,
11:32A Private's Affair,
11:34starring Sal Mineo, Terry Moore, and Gary Crosby.
11:39Hey, what's the idea of turning at all?
11:42Well, we're not going to hide in here like two lonely, defeated people,
11:45are we?
11:45When there's life to be there that's right?
11:47Yeah, you got something there, Buster.
11:49Uh, how come a cute little chick like you joined the army?
11:52I didn't look good in a sack dress.
11:58Well, this'll be the first time I ever danced with a sergeant.
12:02Barbara's hectic schedule left little time for a social life,
12:06but a studio executive was determined to play matchmaker.
12:10His choice?
12:11Actor Michael Ancerra,
12:13known to television fans as co-cheese
12:15in the hit series, Broken Arrow.
12:18Are you a child that you thought peace would come easy?
12:22Go, track them and capture them.
12:25You will turn them over to the military.
12:27The head of publicity there told Mike,
12:30there's a very nice girl in this next set,
12:32and you should meet her.
12:34And Mike's words were,
12:36I've got lots of girls, I don't need to meet another one.
12:39And I said, you know, I'm just working so hard,
12:41I don't think I want to meet anyone at this point.
12:44But when the two did meet,
12:46it was love at first sight.
12:48And six weeks later, on January 17th, 1958,
12:52Barbara Eden and Michael Ancerra were married.
12:56Michael was very solid,
12:58extremely intelligent,
13:00older,
13:03dependable,
13:05not a lot of malarkey.
13:07You know, when he said something,
13:09it was honest and true,
13:11and I could tell that.
13:12Not only was Barbara's personal life flourishing,
13:15so was her film career.
13:17The following year,
13:18the actress landed her first lead role in Flaming Star,
13:22opposite rock and roll sensation Elvis Presley.
13:26Barbara Eden,
13:27whose pale-paced beauty
13:29fired the conflict in Peter's soul.
13:31But you don't have to worry about it, I suppose.
13:35You'll always be safe from him.
13:42Now eager to display her range,
13:46Barbara accepted a supporting role
13:47in the sophisticated drama
13:49From the Terrace,
13:50starring Joanne Woodward
13:52and Paul Newman.
13:54Are you looking for me?
13:57I am,
13:57if your name's Lex Porter.
13:59Well, my name is Clemmie Shree,
14:01but I'll be glad to change it
14:02if you'll stop looking further.
14:04Well, just how far am I allowed to look?
14:07Oh, you're fresh.
14:10But despite the high-caliber cast,
14:13the film was only a modest success.
14:15And over the next few years,
14:18Fox kept Barbara busy in a variety of films.
14:22In 1961,
14:23she appeared as a lieutenant
14:25on board a nuclear submarine
14:27in Erwin Allen's Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
14:30with Walter Pidgeon and Joan Fontaine.
14:34You are there
14:35when Barbara Eden dances
14:37to Frankie Avalon's Hot Rhythms.
14:39You are there
14:39when the giant of the sea attacks.
14:42You are there
14:43in the most startling
14:45underwater pursuit ever filled.
14:51That'll grab the anchor!
14:53The following year,
14:55Barbara portrayed a school mom
14:56swept up in an aerial adventure
14:58opposite Red Buttons and Peter Lorre
15:01in another Erwin Allen picture,
15:03Five Weeks in a Balloon.
15:08But in 1962,
15:1120th Century Fox
15:12was facing financial ruin
15:14as the troubled production
15:15of their mega-budgeted film Cleopatra
15:18spun out of control.
15:24Fox reacted
15:25by selling off acres of prime real estate
15:28and releasing many of their contract players.
15:32Barbara Eden was forced to leave the studio
15:35that had been her home for the last seven years
15:38and her source of steady employment.
15:41Now freelancing,
15:43she took what she could get,
15:44returning to the small screen
15:46and guest-starring roles on TV series
15:48such as The Andy Griffith Show
15:50and Rawhide starring Clint Eastwood.
15:56In late 1964,
15:59Columbia Studios sent Barbara
16:00a TV pilot script
16:02written by Sidney Sheldon
16:04about a sexy genie
16:05and a handsome NASA astronaut.
16:10Sidney Sheldon did call me
16:12and his first words
16:13were,
16:15I understand you're my genie.
16:16It was the easiest job I've ever gotten.
16:19But the good news
16:20was nearly scuttled
16:21by even more significant tidings
16:23when Barbara learned
16:24that she was pregnant.
16:26She was so thrilled,
16:28she and Mike both,
16:29about having this little baby
16:32that even genie
16:33would have taken a backseat to this baby.
16:36I knew I had to tell Sidney quickly
16:38and I said,
16:40I really have to talk to you right now.
16:42And Sidney facetiously sat down and said,
16:46you're pregnant.
16:47And I said,
16:48yes!
16:50You know?
16:51He said,
16:52no!
16:52However,
16:54Sidney Sheldon was set on his genie
16:56and convinced the NBC brass
16:57to let Barbara begin filming
16:59as long as her condition didn't show.
17:02And on August 29, 1965,
17:05Barbara gave birth to a son,
17:08Matthew.
17:09Matthew was the most wonderful thing
17:11that ever happened to me in my life.
17:13I was awake when he was born
17:15and the doctor held him up
17:19and it was just like a shot of electricity.
17:22You know,
17:23just two weeks later,
17:25I Dream of Genie premiered on NBC.
17:31Featuring Bill Daly as Captain Roger Healy,
17:35Hayden Rourke as Dr. Bellows,
17:37and co-starring Larry Hagman
17:39as Captain Tony Nelson,
17:41an astronaut who,
17:42after crash landing on a deserted island,
17:45finds a very mysterious bottle.
17:47How are you?
17:48How are you?
17:48How are you?
17:48How are you?
17:50How are you?
17:51You can speak English.
17:52You're sure I hate Parian.
17:54Somehow I must find a way
17:55to please thee, master.
17:57You spoke English.
17:59That's all I had to do
18:00was say I wish.
18:01Thou may ask anything
18:02of thy slave, master.
18:04In 1965, the premise of a beautiful genie
18:08who moves in lock, stock, and bottle
18:10with her mortal master
18:11was considered highly risque.
18:14I tell you what,
18:15after I get a little rest,
18:16I'll pick you up and we'll go to dinner.
18:18Look who's here.
18:20Tony.
18:25I've always prided myself
18:27on being tolerant, but
18:30would you explain to me
18:31what is that girl doing here?
18:35But Barbara's unique brand
18:37of mischievous, innocent sensuality
18:39made their cohabitation
18:40acceptable to television audiences.
18:43The quality to live in the house
18:45with him in the bottle
18:46and live together
18:47and still pull it off
18:49that it's nothing naughty going on
18:50is a great technique.
18:52It's a great charm.
18:53A live-in genie
18:54who obeys her master's every command
18:56seemed to be a male fantasy come true.
19:00But the battle of the sex's repartee
19:02between the lead characters
19:03made the show equally popular with women.
19:07And it's that odd
19:08master-genie relationship
19:10where she seems subservient to him,
19:12but yet she has all the powers.
19:14So it's an interesting yin-yang
19:15between the male-female
19:16and this particular relationship.
19:18You've got to get out of here right now,
19:19and I mean...
19:19Oh, I'm happy here with thee.
19:21Oh, but you...
19:23Jeannie, I hate to do this,
19:25but I wish you'd have vanished.
19:30Where did I go wrong?
19:31Thou hast set me free.
19:33That means that I am free to please thee,
19:35and I am going to please thee very much.
19:38Let's all kill us.
19:39At 31 years of age,
19:42Barbara appeared to have it all.
19:43A loving husband,
19:45a beautiful baby,
19:46and a hit television series.
19:48But while Jeannie could simply
19:50blink away her troubles,
19:51Barbara Eden would have to face hers head-on.
19:56By 1967,
19:59graphic images of the bloody conflict in Vietnam
20:02dominated the airwaves.
20:04For many Americans,
20:06fantasy-based series like Batman,
20:08Bewitched,
20:09and I Dream of Jeannie
20:10provided a welcome escape.
20:18In its second season,
20:20I Dream of Jeannie was filmed in color
20:21and seen each week
20:23by more than 20 million viewers
20:25across the country.
20:27Although the chemistry
20:29between the ensemble cast
20:30was undeniable,
20:32Barbara remained the key
20:33to the show's success.
20:35That show could have never,
20:37ever gone on
20:38if it wasn't for Barbara.
20:39With anyone else,
20:41it couldn't happen.
20:42No one knows how brilliant
20:44that note is that she does.
20:45It was innocent,
20:47it was charming,
20:48it was lovely.
20:49Oh, master,
20:50you were imagining things.
20:51Oh, please,
20:52may we go with Major Healy?
20:53Yes.
20:54Oh, dear!
20:54Oh, you're going to make
20:55a beautiful girl very happy.
20:56But not until Saturday night.
20:58Saturday night,
20:58you won't forget this.
20:59I won't forget this.
21:00Oh, master,
21:00I am so excited,
21:02I'm so excited.
21:03Just think,
21:03we are going to a nightclub together.
21:04A nightclub!
21:06Oh, my goodness,
21:07I must go immediately
21:08to Paris
21:08and select my gown.
21:10She is a terrific comedian.
21:13She was so energetic and fun
21:15and she seemed to just be
21:17like embracing life, basically.
21:19For her to be carefree
21:20and for him to be kind of uptight,
21:21I think that's where you get
21:22the comedy and the chemistry.
21:24Did you not enjoy yourself?
21:26How can you ask me that?
21:27Well, it is very simple.
21:29Did you not have fun?
21:30You better come up
21:30with a very good explanation,
21:31young lady.
21:32Explanation?
21:33Yeah.
21:33For what?
21:34What have I done?
21:34All right,
21:35you're going to play that game with me?
21:36Go on, get in your bottle.
21:37Oh, master,
21:38you have no reason
21:39to be angry with me.
21:40I was angry with you,
21:41but I decided to forgive you.
21:43In 1967,
21:45Barbara was nominated
21:46for a Golden Globe
21:47as Best Female Star.
21:49She became even more popular
21:51when a line of Genie merchandise
21:53flooded the market.
22:11By now, both Barbara and Michael
22:14were working steadily,
22:15but they managed to make life
22:17at home their main priority.
22:19Barbara and Mike
22:20were family-oriented.
22:21It was very important
22:22they enjoyed their home
22:23and they enjoyed their pool
22:24and their baby.
22:27Very important.
22:29Although she was now recognized
22:30everywhere she went,
22:32Barbara struggled to maintain
22:33a sense of normalcy
22:35for her son.
22:36He didn't like to share
22:38his mommy.
22:39And he shouldn't have to
22:40with other kids, you know?
22:42And we'd go to,
22:43for instance, Disneyland
22:45and I'd wear a red wig
22:48so that people
22:49wouldn't recognize me
22:50so I could take him
22:51on, you know,
22:52the rides and things
22:53and just be concentrated
22:54on him.
22:55The only problem with that
22:56is when I'd open my mouth,
22:58they'd know who I was.
23:00I didn't like it very much.
23:02There'd be people
23:03mobbing her.
23:04And that was difficult
23:06at times, you know?
23:07You know, I think I was
23:08jealous of the public.
23:09In an attempt
23:10to keep the show fresh,
23:11producers started casting
23:13major stars,
23:14such as Sammy Davis Jr.
23:16and Guest Spots.
23:17Even Barbara's husband,
23:19Michael Ancera,
23:20got into the act
23:21when he played
23:22the evil blue djinn.
23:24The producers also
23:26spiced up the series
23:27by allowing Barbara
23:28to play Genie's alter ego,
23:31her conniving
23:31and sexy twin sister.
23:33I don't know
23:34what your master is like,
23:35but mine's a drag.
23:37Oh, not my major Nelson.
23:39He is a wonderful man.
23:42So this was Genie's dark side
23:43to have the sister
23:44come in from time to time
23:45and mix things up.
23:47But it gave you a chance
23:47to see Barbara Eaton
23:48do something a little bit
23:49different than just be
23:50sweet little blinky Genie.
23:56Oh, that's so happy.
23:58I finally see you.
24:00What's gotten into you anyway?
24:02Oh, nothing.
24:03Don't I always kiss you
24:05when you come home at night?
24:06Yeah, well, not that way.
24:07What a waste.
24:09But despite their efforts
24:11to keep the show contemporary,
24:13I Dream of Genie
24:14grew increasingly dated.
24:17Film actresses
24:18like Jane Fonda
24:19and Raquel Welch
24:20were shocking audiences
24:22with overt sexuality
24:23and revealing costumes,
24:25while Barbara's modestly
24:27constructed harem outfit
24:28exposed little more
24:30than a portion
24:30of her bare midriff.
24:32And in 1969,
24:34what appeared to be
24:35an instant invitation
24:36for Barbara to appear
24:37on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In
24:39turned into
24:40a full-blown controversy.
24:42The show's producers
24:43had decided
24:44it was time to unveil
24:45Barbara's never-before-seen navel
24:47to the American public.
24:49And NBC suddenly,
24:51who had never even
24:52thought about it before,
24:54went,
24:54No!
24:55No!
24:56Her navel will never be seen,
24:58you know!
24:59But I understand
25:00they had a meeting
25:01with all the suits
25:02and all they talked about
25:03was my belly button.
25:05NBC won the war
25:06and Barbara's navel
25:07remained coyly concealed.
25:10And by the fifth season,
25:12the premise of Genie
25:13and Captain Nelson's
25:14unconsummated love affair
25:16had played itself out.
25:18The sexual tension
25:19that had fueled
25:20the long-running series
25:21ended when Genie
25:22finally married her master.
25:25Much to Barbara's dismay,
25:27I Dream of Genie
25:28was canceled in 1970.
25:30I was very depressed
25:31when the show was canceled.
25:33Very depressed.
25:35It's a big change
25:37and shock to your system.
25:39These are the people
25:40you spend most of your life with.
25:42And it's very depressing.
25:45And you never see them again
25:46exactly that way.
25:49By 1971,
25:51Barbara was working steadily
25:52in a string of highly rated TV movies,
25:55including The Feminist and the Fuzz,
25:57a comedy co-starring David Hartman,
25:59and The Stranger Within,
26:01a dark melodrama.
26:03She's one of those sitcom actresses
26:05that made the leap,
26:06became a marketable TV movie personality
26:08at a time when the TV movies were very hot.
26:10Just having Barbara Eden in a TV movie
26:13usually meant you could get a lot of eyeballs
26:14to the TV set.
26:16Barbara was eager to expand
26:17her growing repertoire
26:19and began preparing a nightclub act
26:21that would showcase the singing talent
26:23which had been all but ignored by Hollywood.
26:27In the midst of all this activity,
26:29Barbara was overjoyed to learn
26:31that she was pregnant once again.
26:33But in her seventh month,
26:36tragedy struck
26:37when doctors delivered the heart-wrenching news
26:40that the unborn baby had died.
26:43Barbara's obstetrician advised her
26:45to carry the child
26:46for an additional two months
26:48before labor could be induced.
26:51I think there's a period of time
26:53that they cannot take the child from you
26:55because it endangers a mother's life.
26:58I don't know how she carried that child
27:01for two months knowing that it was dead
27:04and the people coming up to her
27:06and saying,
27:07oh, I'm so happy for you.
27:09And Barbara's knowing that the child is dead.
27:13I just don't know how she did it.
27:16The anguish that both Barbara and Michael suffered
27:19during the previous months
27:20caused tension in their 13-year marriage
27:23and the relationship started to unravel.
27:27As Barbara spiraled into a deep depression,
27:30she struggled to put the tragedy behind her.
27:33But more heartache lay just around the corner.
27:39In 1972, 38-year-old Barbara Eden
27:42slowly emerged from the depression
27:44that had plagued her since the death of her child
27:47and focused on her upcoming nightclub engagement.
27:51How she got through, I don't know,
27:53but I think in some ways it was a blessing
27:55that we had dates, we had rehearsals,
27:58and she had to show up.
28:02Capitalizing on her little-known talent
28:04as a songstress,
28:06Barbara impressed audiences
28:07with her one-woman show in Las Vegas.
28:24The star performed everything
28:26from energetic pop tunes
28:28to bluesy ballads.
28:31I want a Sunday kind of love.
28:42A love to last past Saturday night.
29:01She's so versatile.
29:03It's kind of like she can do it all.
29:05And I think people lose sight of the fact
29:08that she has so many gifts.
29:11I want a Sunday kind of love.
29:27Although she had managed
29:28to hold her career together,
29:30Barbara's relationship with her husband
29:32had reached an impasse.
29:34In 1973, after 15 years of marriage,
29:38she and Michael divorced.
29:40I think that she was very upset
29:42about the divorce and heartbroken
29:44and mostly concerned about her son.
29:48She had always wanted just a happy marriage
29:51and a home life.
29:54Refusing to dwell on the past,
29:57Barbara took her nightclub act on the road.
29:59While in Chicago,
30:01she was courted by newspaper executive Chuck Feigert.
30:05If Michael and Sarah was kind of the stoic,
30:08kind of solid introvert,
30:10Chuck Feigert was the exact opposite.
30:13He was the guy that wanted to have a good time
30:15and do things and go places.
30:18Barbara fell in love
30:19with the gregarious Feigert
30:21and for the next four years,
30:23divided her time between the Windy City
30:25and Los Angeles.
30:26But in 1976,
30:29her adolescent son announced
30:30that he wanted to live with his father.
30:33Barbara was devastated by Matthew's departure.
30:37Horrible.
30:38It was horrible.
30:39But, you know,
30:41it was the best thing for Matt at that time.
30:44I guess we all thought.
30:47Barbara married Chuck
30:48on September 11, 1977.
30:51And although she now resided primarily in Chicago,
30:55the actress had no intention of slowing down.
30:59She made her first foray into the world of independent film
31:03in a movie based on the popular tune
31:05Harper Valley PTA.
31:07Nobody expected it to be as successful as it was.
31:10And we took the picture out
31:11and opened it in different areas
31:13and it just caught on
31:15and it became the sleeper hit of that year.
31:18When NBC created a series based on Harper Valley PTA,
31:23they asked Barbara to reprise her role as Stella Johnson,
31:27a brassy small-town single mother
31:29who shocks the locals with her free-spirited attitudes.
31:34You know it's the truth,
31:35and I know it's the truth,
31:37but the PTA board has their own kind of truth.
31:40What are you going to do about it?
31:43I don't know.
31:45I don't know.
31:46They can take me off the committee,
31:47but they can't keep me from working the carnival.
31:52Bingo.
31:53Oh, I know, sir, I'm out here.
31:56All right, Steve,
31:57there you go.
31:58Three hokey for 50 cents.
32:00Oh, win the grand prize
32:01of the big old teddy bear.
32:02Anybody can do it.
32:03We'll get her all back.
32:04I thought we kicked her off the committee.
32:06Well, we did,
32:06but we can't stop her from working in the booth.
32:09Five dollars, please.
32:10Harper Valley was a waiting success,
32:13but when the executive producer, Sherwood Schwartz,
32:16left at the end of the first season,
32:18the show began to flounder.
32:20And in its second season,
32:22the series went through a succession
32:24of producers and writers.
32:26It was very difficult for Barbara
32:27because she still had to finish her commitment
32:30and get up and knowing that
32:31the show was going down the tube.
32:33And I think that NBC really respected the fact
32:36that Barbara didn't put any blame on anybody
32:39and criticized anybody.
32:41Barbara, in general,
32:43deals with life's challenges
32:44in a very interesting way.
32:46Barbara's a very positive person.
32:48And by that,
32:49I don't mean to say
32:50that she doesn't look at what's negative,
32:52but she deals with the negative,
32:54and she brings it up to a positive level.
32:57But despite Barbara's best efforts,
32:59Harper Valley PTA was canceled.
33:02And by now,
33:03the differences in Barbara and Chuck's lifestyles
33:06could no longer be ignored.
33:08You know, everybody gets confused in life
33:10and thinks they want different things,
33:13and they make certain decisions,
33:15and sometimes they make bad decisions.
33:16And I think my mom made a bad decision.
33:19In 1982, the couple filed for divorce,
33:22and Barbara moved back to Beverly Hills.
33:25There she seized the opportunity
33:26to spend more time with her 18-year-old son, Matthew,
33:30who was now attending junior college.
33:32But Barbara was about to make a startling discovery.
33:36He wasn't going to school.
33:40And he had lied to me,
33:42and he never lied.
33:43Never.
33:44I knew something was horribly, horribly wrong.
33:47I was just dropping my classes,
33:49and I was just doing drugs constantly.
33:51I mean, it was morning till night.
33:52I had never left the room.
33:54I think I turned to drug use
33:55because it just numbed me out,
33:57and I didn't have to feel.
33:58I know it killed my mom.
34:00Although she was shattered
34:01and terrified by the revelation,
34:04Barbara took action
34:05and immediately sought expert advice.
34:08I'd gone to Al-Anon meetings,
34:10and I had a little counseling myself
34:13to find out how to cope with this.
34:15I learned you can't get them well.
34:17They have to do it themselves,
34:18but at least you can offer the opportunity,
34:20and all you can do is keep offering it.
34:22But it was hard.
34:24It was hard for him.
34:25It was hard for me.
34:26It was hard for his father.
34:27As she had so often before,
34:30the 51-year-old actress
34:31sought solace in her work.
34:33In 1985, she returned to the role
34:35that had made her famous
34:37and starred in
34:38I Dream of Jeannie 15 years later.
34:41But when Larry Hagman
34:43was unavailable to reprise his role,
34:46Wayne Rogers stepped in
34:47as Major Anthony Nelson.
34:49I think she enjoyed coming back to it.
34:52She's nobody's fool,
34:53and she knows exactly what she's about.
34:56So she did it because she was having fun.
34:59Barbara's always been proud of the fact
35:01that she had a series
35:02that brought a lot of happiness
35:04and joy to people over the years.
35:06And so rather than reject it,
35:09she's embraced it.
35:11Barbara slipped back into her harem costume,
35:13this time with her navel in full view,
35:16and Bill Daly returned to his role
35:18as Roger Healy.
35:19I was doing a scene,
35:22and Barbara came out.
35:23And she had,
35:25God,
35:25it was an unbelievable thing
35:27I've seen.
35:27She had the same outfit,
35:29and she looked the same.
35:31And I really couldn't go on.
35:32I just kind of took my breath
35:33and went,
35:34wow.
35:36The TV movie earned high ratings,
35:38proving that Ageless Beauty's
35:40immense appeal.
35:41And although Barbara Eden
35:44had endured a series
35:45of professional
35:46and personal heartaches
35:47in the eyes
35:48of the American public,
35:50she was forever
35:51the sprightly
35:52and youthful genie.
35:56Following the success
35:57of her 1985 return to TV
36:00as everyone's favorite genie,
36:02Barbara continued to face challenges
36:04in her personal life.
36:06She was still struggling
36:07with her son's drug addiction,
36:08and her mother, Alice,
36:10was diagnosed
36:11with inoperable lung cancer
36:13caused by years of smoking.
36:15I learned everything
36:16from my mother.
36:19She was a very,
36:20very wise woman.
36:21I didn't always listen to her,
36:23but I'd always find out
36:24she was right,
36:25and then I'd tell her,
36:26you know.
36:31I have a lot
36:32to thank my mother for.
36:34Barbara took on the role
36:35of caretaker
36:36until her mother's death
36:37the following year.
36:40As a result,
36:41she became actively involved
36:43with the wellness community,
36:44a support program
36:46for cancer patients.
36:49In 1989,
36:50Barbara's life
36:51took an unexpected turn
36:52when she was set up
36:53on a blind date
36:54with contractor
36:55John Eischultz,
36:56probably the only American male
36:58over the age of 21
37:00who didn't know
37:01who she was.
37:02I did see a rerun
37:04of I Dream of Jeannie
37:05before we had a date.
37:06I at least knew
37:07what she looked like.
37:08I saw that,
37:09and I said,
37:09yes,
37:09I do want to date
37:10with that lady.
37:12On January 5, 1991,
37:15after a two-year courtship,
37:16the couple was married
37:17in Barbara's hometown
37:18of San Francisco.
37:20He's a good guy.
37:21He cares about my mom a lot.
37:23I feel comfortable
37:24with them being married.
37:26I know he'd do anything for her.
37:29Barbara's the love of my life.
37:31I didn't realize
37:32that a relationship
37:34as strong as we had been able
37:37to develop and enjoy
37:39was possible.
37:41She's the most important thing
37:42that's happened to me.
37:44With John,
37:45Barbara could settle
37:46into the stable domestic life
37:48she loved,
37:49filled with family and friends.
37:51They're a very loving couple.
37:54They're great together.
37:56And they're best friends.
37:57And that's the most important thing.
38:01The couple traveled
38:02as much as possible,
38:04experiencing new worlds
38:05and new cultures.
38:08Barbara's constantly reading.
38:10Barbara loves history.
38:13And I think that's
38:14where her love of travel
38:15to go and see the places
38:17that she's read about
38:18comes from.
38:20Throughout the decade,
38:22Barbara continued working
38:23on the small screen,
38:25appearing in more than a dozen
38:26made-for-television movies
38:28and yet another genie installment.
38:32And in 1993,
38:34she won critical praise
38:36for her dramatic portrayal
38:38of a therapist
38:38with psychic powers
38:40and visions of murder.
38:43I'm seeing things
38:44that are real hell,
38:45things that are actually happening.
38:49It could mean
38:53Gloria Hager's body
38:54is in the bay.
38:55I saw Hager dump
38:56something in the bay.
38:59It could have been a body.
39:01And it could be
39:01your imagination.
39:02Gloria was frightened of him.
39:05She said that sometimes
39:06he lost control.
39:07Hey, we all lose control
39:09sometimes,
39:10including you.
39:10It doesn't make us criminals.
39:14They have a child, Hal.
39:17What's that supposed to mean?
39:19It means that if I'm right,
39:21at this moment,
39:22that little girl
39:23is living with a killer.
39:29Barbara also earned
39:30rave reviews in 1995
39:32for her role as a vixen
39:34in the play
39:34Nightclub Confidential,
39:36a glitzy musical
39:37spoofing cabarets
39:39of the 1950s.
39:41I would sit out
39:42in the audience
39:44and she'd start singing
39:46and I'd hear people say,
39:48I didn't know she could sing.
39:50She has a wonderful voice.
39:52They just never think
39:54of Barbara having a voice.
39:56They think of Jeannie.
39:57Since its cancellation
39:58in 1970,
40:00I Dream of Jeannie
40:01has continued to run
40:03throughout the world
40:04in syndication.
40:05And in 1994,
40:07the series premiered
40:08on the youth-oriented
40:09Nick at Night cable station,
40:11introducing Jeannie
40:12to a whole new audience.
40:14What's interesting, though,
40:15is a lot of shows,
40:16and Jeannie is one of them,
40:17might not have been
40:18a big cultural icon
40:20at the time,
40:21but by being seen every day
40:22by new generations of people,
40:24the show's legend
40:25begins to build and build
40:27by repeated exposure.
40:30She's been on the air
40:31for more than 30 years
40:32without an interruption.
40:34Generation after generation
40:35has grown up
40:36watching I Dream of Jeannie.
40:38In 1998,
40:40there was yet another resurgence
40:42in Barbara's popularity
40:44when the star appeared
40:46as Jeannie
40:46in a very creative
40:48ad camera.
40:49Whoa, whoa, whoa!
40:50That's what I'll never do!
40:52Whoa!
40:55Introducing the first
40:56luxury SUV
40:57that doesn't ride
40:58like a truck.
41:01The RX 300,
41:03like no other vehicle
41:04or value on Earth.
41:05Well, hello there!
41:09You know, actors
41:10are always defined
41:11by one role,
41:13it seems.
41:15And if I'm going
41:16to be defined
41:17by a role,
41:17that's a nice one.
41:19It's a very good one.
41:20I think.
41:23But to Barbara,
41:25her most important role
41:26was that of a parent.
41:27And in 2001,
41:29Barbara experienced
41:30a mother's worst nightmare
41:32when Matthew
41:33was found dead
41:34in his car,
41:35the victim
41:35of an accidental
41:36heroin overdose.
41:38In an interview
41:39with Good Morning America,
41:40only eight months
41:41after her son's death,
41:43Barbara was shown a clip
41:44of this A&E biography
41:45where Matthew made
41:47a now-chilling statement.
41:49My mother never seemed
41:50to lose hope in me.
41:52She always had belief in me.
41:54I didn't have belief in myself.
41:55I mean,
41:55I feel like she saved my life.
42:00He'd been away from it
42:01for a while.
42:02The police told me
42:04that probably...
42:07I'm so sorry.
42:09That's okay.
42:09That's okay.
42:11Probably he wasn't aware
42:13that there was
42:13stronger stuff out there.
42:16And that's what killed him.
42:18It was painful for Barbara
42:19to look back at Matthew
42:20and hear how grateful
42:22he was for her support
42:23during his lifelong battle
42:25with drugs.
42:26He knew he hadn't beaten it.
42:28He knew he was winning.
42:29The best thing for Matthew
42:30was AA.
42:32And it was the last,
42:33I guess,
42:34seven to eight years
42:34that he's been wanting
42:35to be clean and sober.
42:37The last two or three years,
42:39he was.
42:40And it was a joy.
42:41He was just a different human being.
42:43Unfortunately,
42:44Matthew's sobriety didn't last.
42:46And his death left Barbara
42:47with a lot of unanswered questions.
42:50Matthew had a favorite reference
42:52with his mom and dad.
42:53He knew that we didn't use drugs.
42:57We didn't overdrink.
42:59He knew that.
43:00I guess there are hundreds of things
43:02I would have changed in my life.
43:04But you can't worry about
43:05what's in the past.
43:07Just go forward.
43:08And that's exactly what Barbara did.
43:11After her son's death,
43:12Barbara threw herself
43:13back into acting.
43:14From guest starring roles
43:15on Sabrina the Teenage Witch,
43:17Lifetime's hit series Army Wives,
43:20and the Hallmark channels
43:21Always and Forever,
43:22she has kept busy over the years.
43:24But it was her onstage reunion
43:27with former co-star Larry Hagman
43:29for the play Love Letters
43:31that brought her acting career
43:33full circle.
43:37Although she has embraced
43:38the mystical character
43:39that has made her world famous,
43:42Yes, Master, I am going.
43:44It is Barbara Eden's
43:46down-to-worth personality
43:47and optimism
43:48that have brought magic
43:50into the lives of those
43:51closest to her.
43:53There are people
43:54in the business
43:56who have a high
43:58likability quotient.
43:59She's one of those people.
44:00I think everybody loves Barbara.
44:03Barbara's a very special person.
44:04She's a very giving person,
44:06a very unselfish person.
44:08There's little or nothing
44:09about her not to like.
44:12It is your sister, Jeannie!
44:15She's just my sister.
44:18And she always will be.
44:20People always say,
44:21Oh, well, Jeannie is,
44:23you know,
44:23does she really cross her arms
44:25and blink?
44:26And I say,
44:27Yes, she does.
44:28She is Jeannie.
44:31It's a hit
44:33with kids everywhere.
44:35Hot, hot, burn.
44:37Rango, rated PG.
44:38Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.
45:05Go, go, go, go.
45:25Oh, my God.
45:39Fuck.