Barbara Eden, who is 91 years old, has been performing for an incredible 70 years and is still going strong.
The actress, singer, and producer is most known for her role in the 1965 television series “I Dream of Jeannie,” though she had been on film for eleven years before that.
Many TV generations have watched the classic 1960s sitcom I Dream of Jeannie, which tells the story of an astronaut who brings home a 2,000-year-old female genie.
Fans watched and laughed despite the ridiculous premise because of Barbara Eden, the stunning and talented actress who portrayed Jeannie.
It might be hard for fans to believe, but Barbara is 91 years old now!
She hasn’t been seen on TV in her notorious harem attire in a while, but she is still going strong and staying busy.
Barbara’s life hasn’t always been easy, though.
Barbara Eden was born in Tucson, Arizona, in the United States, in 1931. Following her parents’ divorce, she moved to San Francisco and enrolled in the Conservatory of Music to begin studying singing.
Barbara grew up in Golden Gate City, where she played in neighborhood nightclubs with local bands. But in the end, she too decided to go into acting.
“Barbara, you don’t sound like you mean a word you’re singing,” my mother remarked. “Acting is something I think you should study too,” Eden recalled.
She then decided acting was a suitable fit for her and moved to Los Angeles, where she began appearing on some of the biggest shows of the 1950s.
She made her television debut in 1955 as a semi-regular guest on The Johnny Carson Show, but her role in the cult classic fantasy sitcom “I Dream of Jeannie” is what really made her famous.
Arizonan actress Jeannie played the enticing genie that astronaut and US Air Force Captain Anthony “Tony” Nelson (played by Larry Hagman) released from her bottle.
“We simply clicked,” Our rhythms were identical. Whatever we were doing, we were getting the same truth,” Eden clarified.
“I was really in love with him. There are some actors that you have to really try to like them. then you store it in a different mental box. But I never had to do it with Larry. He was there all the time.
She played Jeannie’s mother and her mean sister in the program over her five years in the role. Jeannie became well-known because of Eden’s harem clothes, which at the time was a touch too risque for television.
In 2015, close to the show’s 50th anniversary, she told Today, “Executives at NBC got very frightened.” “They tightened their rules regarding the navel.”
Eden asserted that the myth was really spread by means of an entirely separate, far earlier interview with the Hollywood Reporter, following her friend and columnist Mike Connolly’s ridicule of her over the issue.
Mike started making fun of my belly button when he first came in, and it quickly caught on and went throughout the globe. I would tease him back and we had a nice fun with it, but I had no idea it would turn into something.
The iconic ensemble additionally contributed to Eden’s rise to fame as a TV sex symbol among a host of celebrities, including Elvis Presley and John F. Kennedy, who emailed her his phone number.
As stated in her 2011 memoir, Jeannie Out of the Bottle, the actress “binned the piece of paper, but I wish I still had it.”
Eden, who is 91 years old, has acted in more than 50 motion pictures.
In her most recent movie, My Adventures with Santa, which came out in 2019, she portrayed Mrs. Claus. Melissa Gardner made her stage debut as Melissa Gardner in the play of “Love Letters” the same year the movie was made.
“I feel so young!” Barbara continued, saying that she felt fortunate to be able to accomplish the work that she did. “I feel bad for anybody who, like my poor father, had to work in a job he didn’t enjoy every day. I take pleasure in what I do. I’m still employed.
Barbara said that she had continued to go to the gym, do spin classes, and lift weights until a few years ago. Now, a personal trainer comes to her house to help with resistance training, and they take a walk together.
The television icon declared, “I have a lot of friends.” “I’m not too bad at socializing.”
She even has a scheduled appearance in March 2022.
She remarked in jest, “If I’m around, I’ll be there; I really like it.”
In addition to writing children’s books, Barbara likes to act. Barbara, a little child, meets a “charming and wizardly Genie” who takes her on adventures that are a little bit like those in her well-known part in the novel Barbara and the Djinn, which she co-wrote.
She claims that because “now all they do is look at telephones,” she believes that her books will help kids understand the importance of reading.
Barbara brushes off the notion that “I Dream of Jeannie” would seem a little out of date to modern audiences.
This is a famous concept, come on, she said. “Twelve Hundred and One Nights”? This fantasy is really sweet and great.
And to be very honest, you know, she was in charge. She was anything but submissive.
Barbara Eden has led such an incredible life, enabled by her positive outlook and boundless enthusiasm. She is a true example of how age is simply a number.
If you also adore this iconic actress, do share.
The sultry Heather Thomas of ‘The Fall Guy’ struggled with addiction – but look at her now, at 66
Heather Thomas, who turned 66 on September 8, was well-known for her leading part opposite Lee Majors in The Fall Guy and was expected to have a very successful Hollywood career.
However, the stunning blonde hurried to the hospital, thinking her father had an emergency, when the actor’s mother appeared on set during the filming of the show’s conclusion.
She was informed by her relatives and friends who met her at the Santa Monica hospital that her father, Leon, was doing well and that they were worried about her.
This was only the start of a new adventure for the 28-year-old woman, whose job and personal life had totally changed as a result of her hospital stay.
Discover what became of the 1980s pinup girl by continuing to read!
With a natural beauty and ability comparable to that of Farrah Fawcett and Heather Locklear, Heather Thomas pursued her passion.
When the girl was just 14 years old, she presented the talk show Talking with a Giant on NBC, where she and four other teenagers conducted celebrity interviews.
Thomas, now 66, studied theater and cinema at UCLA with the goal of advancing her career as an actor, director, and writer. The year before she graduated, she made an appearance in the short-lived comedy series Co-Ed Fever (1979).
The Connecticut-born performer landed her first major part in 1980 in the television series The Fall Guy, supporting Lee Majors, who became well-known throughout the world in the 1970s for his portrayal of Steven Austin in The Six Million Dollar Man.
As the popular action show’s stuntwoman-bounty hunter Jody Banks, Thomas was adored by men who saw her as a sex symbol—a label about which she acknowledges she feels conflicted.
Thomas told People that there was “obligatory condescension that goes with that.” “The blonde bimbo is a stereotype that you fit into. But I was simply enjoying myself at the moment.
Regretfully, she was enjoying herself excessively when using drugs, a tendency that predates her portrayal of Jody Banks.
Her history with drugs began in the sixth grade, when she began abusing narcotics to keep her grades at the top. “I was taking acid and getting straight As,” Thomas declared. I simply believed it to be mind-blowing.
Her drug use changed as her mentality matured from that of a child to an adult.
Thomas began taking cocaine while she was a student at UCLA, and her drug use worsened in 1981, a year after she started filming The Fall Guy.
Additionally, the 5-foot-7 Thomas developed an obsession with weight and began taking Lasix, a diuretic that may produce extreme sleepiness, feeling as though she had to live up to her reputation as a sex symbol.
She took additional cocaine to give her an energy boost in order to combat the sluggishness.
“At first, I was still getting used to the medicine. I thought I was receiving a good deal on my purchase. She asserted that she had never used cocaine on site and that it had allowed her to work through the night. It is not permitted to use cocaine on sets. It’s no longer clubby to carry it out. It’s merely a personal torment.
A person close to the performer told People that her drug usage was hurting her career, despite her statements to the contrary. According to the source, “word was out on Heather.” “People were aware of her issue.”
Between takes, Thomas’s weight plummeted from 125 to 105 pounds and he was fast asleep. Thomas said, “I was in a minicoma sometimes.”
Subsequently, she fainted in front of Majors, who subsequently contacted her manager and her mother.
Her mother, Gladdy Ryder, a former special education teacher, showed up on the set of The Fall Guy to tell her daughter that her father was in the hospital after the series finale concluded.
The writer of “Trophies” hurried to St. John’s Hospital, where she was welcomed by relatives and friends who were prepared to have her admitted into the three-week drug program.
Thomas remarked of that day, “It was a big relief to me.” She also mentioned that she had pneumonia, scarred lungs, and swollen kidneys when she checked into detox. “I wanted to get off the roller coaster I’d been on.” I most likely would have continued on my merry way till I lost my job or passed away if my family hadn’t stepped in.
“The doctors said I should have died three years ago,” she continued.
Thomas, who was dedicated to her recovery, surrounded herself with people who shared her values and would help her achieve her drug-free objectives. That’s when Allan Rosenthal, a co-founder of Cocaine Anonymous, and 28-year-old Thomas first met. She later got married to him and filed for divorce in September 1986.
She was hit by a car while crossing the street that same month, severely injuring both of her legs.
Following her detox, divorce, and surgery to heal severe damage to one leg, Thomas resumed her career, albeit in minor roles in TV shows. She also starred in movies including the 1987 movie Cyclone and the 1990 Canadian movie Red Blooded American Girl, which starred Christopher Plummer.
After putting her past behind her, Thomas made a fresh start in the 1990s. In an effort to further her career, she married entertainment attorney Skip Brittenham in 1992. In June 2000, Thomas gave birth to her only biological child, India Rose, while also assuming the role of stepmother to his two daughters, Kristina and Shauna.
“I decided to give it up and write for a while,” she told Reuters, “because I had about 45 restraining orders out, and I was on everything from a toilet seat cover to an ashtray—and I was in love, and [then] had two little girls.”
With a primary focus on writing, the actress from Zapped! claimed that frequent privacy violations by stalkers drove her away from acting, rather than a lack of roles.
“I was being really harassed. One day, I witnessed a person use a knife to scale the fence. That was it; I had these two small kids who needed to be raised so badly. However, I believe that now that I am older, people won’t annoy me as much.
In addition, Thomas is currently an activist, having previously served on the boards of the Amazon Conservation Team and the Rape Foundation.
Declaring oneself a feminist—a deceptive term for a former gender symbol—Thomas elucidated the significance of both.
“When I was younger, I followed people’s instructions, but as I grew older, I refused to compromise.” I desired independence and control. This got me a house and the recognition I needed to open doors. Having people see your body is not inherently bad. I don’t believe I deceived myself. Being a feminist, in my opinion, does not entail body shame, the woman stated.
Although it’s really unfortunate that Heather Thomas was unable to return to the acting world, we’re glad she received the support she required and is now embarking on a lifelong healing process.
We really enjoyed watching her as Jody Banks in The Fall Guy with the Six Million Dollar Man Lee Majors, one of the many amazing shows from the 1980s!
What you have to say about Thomas and her recuperation would be greatly appreciated!
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