Jeannie Out of the Bottle by Barbara Eden

This is a book by Barbara Eden and Wendy Leigh that cannot be put down. As a
kid growing up in the '60s, I saw Barbara Eden all the time in "I Dream of
Jeannie," but it was fascinating to hear about how her strong work ethic (and of
course stunning beauty!) led to her success in that series, and in other ventures
on stage and screen. Startling revelations included that Larry Hagman was
difficult to work with, which was a huge surprise, since it is rare to hear of stars
being so manipulative. But since he was the child of someone famous (Mary
Martin), it seems he felt very entitled to get his way, and certainly knew various
methods to accomplish that, much to the chagrin of other actors and visitors to
the set. Still, Barbara tells her tales in a matter-of-fact way, not bitter or seeking
retribution, and that makes the stories all the more believable.

Since this is a biography, there are those juicy details every fan looks for, like
who propositioned, dated and married Barbara, which other actresses she knew,
and her relationship with them. The book is entertaining because Barbara hands
out both curses and compliments to icons like Marilyn Monroe and Elvisfresl~y.
It's fun as a fan to see that side of celebrity, since it is rarely the backstage side
that comes out with a star's publicity.

The most amazing part of the book for me was the story of Barbara's son, who
had a drug problem, and ended up dying as a result. She mentions several other
personal tragedies like that in the book, which humanizes her. The only "clever"
part of the book which got annoying was her tendency to repeat the phrase
"Jeannie-blink," which smacks of the ghost-writer trying to inject personality into
transitions rather than the way Barbara would normally write or speak. The trick
worked at first, but on constant repetition became annoying, but that is fairly
minor.

In summary, the biography is worth reading because it is highly entertaining, as
well as enlightening about the person Barbara Eden is, and unlike other bio's I
have read, it portrays her as a very likeable, approachable person, which makes
it a joy to read and I highly recommend it if you have any interest in the actress at
all.

Submitted by Gerti