By Eunice Charles
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Barbara Eden (born Barbara Jean Morehead; August 23, 1931) is an American actress and singer, who starred as the title character in the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie (1965–1970). Her other roles included Roslyn Pierce opposite Elvis Presley in Flaming Star (1960), Lieutenant (JG) Cathy Connors in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961), and a single widowed mother, Stella Johnson, in the film comedy Harper Valley PTA (1978) and in the spinoff television series.
Eden began singing in bands as a teenager and studied singing and acting. In 1955, she began her television career with appearances on The Johnny Carson Show and on various other series, such as Burke’s Law. By 1957, she was starring in the comedy TV series How to Marry a Millionaire. She also began to act in plays. In 1959, she had her first major film role in A Private’s Affair. After I Dream of Jeannie, Eden appeared mostly in dramatic roles, such as in the TV movie Stonestreet: Who Killed the Centerfold Model? (1977). She also appeared in musical comedy tours, other theatrical roles and a TV broadcast of Kismet, released an album, appeared on variety television shows and USO shows, and headlined Las Vegas acts. After starring in the film and TV series Harper Valley PTA, she played opposite her I Dream of Jeannie co-star Larry Hagman on several occasions, including in five episodes of the final season of Dallas and the play Love Letters.
Eden continued to perform until the age of 90; she continues as of 2024 to make public appearances at comic-cons and other fan-related events.
In 1965, producer Sidney Sheldon signed Eden to star in his then-upcoming fantasy sitcom I Dream of Jeannie for NBC. After various brunette starlets and beauty queens had unsuccessfully tried out for the role, Eden was approached by Sheldon, who had seen her in The Brass Bottle and had received numerous recommendations for Eden from various colleagues. Eden played Jeannie, a beautiful genie set free from her bottle by astronaut and United States Air Force Captain (later Major) Anthony “Tony” Nelson, played by Larry Hagman.
Eden played this role for five years and 139 episodes.
On November 17, 1988, Eden received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to television. In 1990, the University of West Los Angeles law school granted Eden an honorary doctor of laws degree.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
Question of the Day
Advice of the Day
Home Hint of the Day
Word of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
Born
- King Louis XVI of France –
- Oliver Perry (naval hero) –
- Edgar Lee Masters (poet) –
- Gene Kelly (dancer & actor) –
- Barbara Eden (actress) –
- Rick Springfield (singer) –
- River Phoenix (actor) –
- Scott Caan (actor) –
- Kobe Bryant (basketball player) –
- Mike Yastrzemski (baseball player) –
Died
- Alexander Wilson (ornithologist) –
- Oliver Perry (naval hero) –
- Rudolph Valentino (actor) –
- Oscar Hammerstein II (lyricist) –
- Hoyt Wilhelm (baseball player, first relief pitcher ever elected to the baseball hall of fame) –
- Marion Hargrove (G.I. whose account of Army basic training, See Here, Private Hargrove, became a best seller in 1942 and turned him into a World War II celebrity) –
- Bobby Bonds (baseball player) –
Events
- In London, the first one-way street was established –
- Emmanuel Allen last enslaved person sold in Canada –
- Fannie Farmer opened a cooking school in Boston, MA –
- Marseilles liberated –
- Ranger I lunar probe launched –
- U.S. Lunar Orbiter 1 took famed photo of Earth from Moon’s orbit –
- Jenny Thompson swam 100-meter butterfly in 57.88 seconds –
- For the final episode of CBS’s first Survivor program, approximately 51 million people (41% of America’s viewing public) watched Richard Hatch win the $1 million prize –
- An 5.8-magnitude earthquake centered northwest of Richmond, Virginia, caused buildings to be evacuated across Washington, D.C., and New York City. The quake was felt as far south as Chapel Hill, North Carolina. –
- Two-pound blue lobster caught off Pine Point in Scarborough, Maine –
Weather
- A major hurricane made landfall over Nags Head, North Carolina; tracked into Chesapeake Bay; and had wind gusts up to 88 mph in Norfolk, Virginia –
- Storm formed that later became Hurricane Katrina –
- Historic heatwave roasts the central United States, with high temperatures combining with high dewpoints to create Heat Indices as high as 134°F (Lawrenceville, Kansas: Aug. 20, Aug. 21). – , – , – , – , –
COURTESY www.almanac.com
