A magical, heartwarming memoir from one of Hollywood’s most beloved actresses, best known for her iconic role on I Dream of Jeannie 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, for decades. Part pristine Hollywood princess and part classic bombshell, with … 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.
more
You wouldn’t believe how far from charmed her life was, at times. Her still born baby story is shocking beyond belief, except it was true. That’s how those tragedies were handled then. What were they thinking??? I listened to the audiobook read by her. It was like having one long girl talk with Barbara Eden.
Very informative. I read it twice!;-)
Well written biography
Predictable
Loved this book!
Iteresting story
Entertaining and fast read. Lots of Hollywood and TV gossip plus some hard truths in her life.
I like celebrity bios, and this one was interesting and easy to read, without being too salacious.
I’ve always loved Barbara Eden and truly enjoyed learning about her childhood and foray into acting. She worked with many major stars and at interesting venues. There is so much more to this talented actress than what we know from t.v. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
This was a fun romp through a time in my childhood. I Dream of Jeannie was a must watch show as I was growing up. I thoroughly enjoyed this book which was not a tell on or a look at me sort of take. It was good , clean fun!
Pleasant retrospective of Jeannie’s life. A quick read.
I feel I can hear Barbara Eden talking when I read this book. She seems very honest in what she has to say.
Barbara Eden bio. Fairly well done, but dances around the point a little too much for taste. Although I did meet Ms. Eden and she seemed every bit as nice as she outlined in her book.
I thought she had her priorities seriously out of whack….as she admitted at points. But the sentence where she described she grabbed her Louis Vuitton luggage and left someone’s house. Why the brand name dropping? It was gag inducing and from my perspective, spoke volumes about her true character. Not to mention it took away from the drama …
I did NOT enjoy this book at all.
While Ms. Eden’s stories were interesting, I found myself getting more and more cynical about how she always did the right thing, was always the hardest working and best prepared actor, and had pretty much every man she ever met flirting with her. The book is an easy read and, taken with a grain of salt, an enjoyable way to pass the time and …
As much as I loved the series “I Dream of Jeannie” growing up, and Barbara Eden in general, I found this book to be a bit shallow. Very dishy with all of her accounts of Hollywood stars and events, but I found her account of her early years, and upbringing to be the most interesting, and balanced part of the book. Beyond those first chapters, …