Barbara Eden

Next in my list of celebrity autographs is Barbara Eden.

Barbara is best known for playing the titular role in the TV series I Dream Of Jeannie, however she has quite an extensive career in show-business both on TV and in film.

Originally starting out as a singer, Barbara made a name for herself by winning the Miss San Fransisco pageant in 1951.  She then entered the Miss California pageant but did not win.  Soon after she landed roles in an extensive list of TV shows such as The Johnny Carson Show, I Love Lucy, and The Andy Griffith Show.

In 1960 she starred alongside Elvis Presley in the movie Flaming Star.  Over the next 3 years she starred in such movies as Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea, and The Wonderful World Of The Brothers Grimm.

Then in 1965 she landed the role of Jeannie in I Dream Of Jeannie, alongside Larry Hagman as astronaut Major Anthony Nelson, and Bill Daily as Roger Healy.  The show was NBC's answer to Bewitched, and ran for 5 seasons, totalling 139 episodes.  Set in Coco Beach, the show centered around Major Nelson's house and his work at NASA.  Jeannie was his loyal yet ditzy servant, whom Major Nelson had rescued from her genie bottle.  Jeannie's costume was a big talking point, with the censors furious that her navel was showing in a few episodes of Season 4 and 5.  A majority of show was based around the unrequited love which Jeannie had for Major Nelson, however in the show's final season the two were married.

 After the show was cancelled it became popular in re-runs, and even produced a cartoon series, Jeannie (not voiced by Barbara Eden) and 2 reunion episodes, I Dream Of Jeannie: 15 Years Later (with Barbara Eden reprising the role of Jeannie, and Wayne Rogers as Major Nelson), and I Still Dream Of Jeannie (again starring Barbara Eden, but with the character of Major Nelson mentioned, but not shown).

Since then, Barbara has appeared in cameo roles in numerous TV shows, including Dallas, and Sabrina: The Teenage Witch.  Her final appearance as Jeannie (to date) was in the 1996 movie A Very Brady Sequel.

In 2011, Barbara released her autobiography, Jeannie Out Of The Bottle.

Now, onto the autograph!  A few years ago, the Australian Pay-TV channel TV1 produced postcards promoting I Dream Of Jeannie re-runs.  So, I sent one to Barbara, and a few weeks later I received a reply:

Too easy!