Dark Behind-The-Scenes Stories About 'I Dream Of Jeannie'
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Dark Behind-The-Scenes Stories About 'I Dream Of Jeannie'

Donn Saylor
Updated July 3, 2024 428.2K views 14 items

When it comes to classic TV guilty pleasures, I Dream of Jeannie often makes the list. Starring Barbara Eden as the title character and Larry Hagman as astronaut Major Tony Nelson, who's both in love with and exasperated by Jeannie, the show was a delightfully silly and campy romp from the moment it debuted in 1965.

In the show's pilot episode, Major Nelson returns from a spaceflight and lands on a deserted South Pacific isle where he discovers an unusual bottle. When he rubs it, out pops Jeannie, who proceeds to plant a kiss square on his lips. Thus begins Jeannie and Major Nelson's culture-clash adventures and wacky road to romance.

With its Technicolor sets, flashy pastel wardrobes, and Jeannie's out-there backstory as a 2,000-year-old, blonde-haired, all-American genie supposedly from the Middle East, the show proved to be a frothy indulgence. But while Jeannie was all fun and games to viewers' eyes, life behind the sitcom scenes was much different. Behind-the-scenes I Dream of Jeannie stories show the darker side of the showbiz veil.

  • Larry Hagman Reportedly Hated Being On The Show
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    Larry Hagman Reportedly Hated Being On The Show

    Larry Hagman allegedly despised being on I Dream of Jeannie and made sure everyone knew it. He learned early on that his character, Major Nelson, was neither the star nor the most interesting part. As showrunner Sidney Sheldon explained years later:

    Suddenly, Larry found himself in a show with a beautiful, half-naked girl and there was no way that it would be his show. I tried everything, but it was always only Jeannie the public was interested in, and through five seasons, he became frustrated and very angry.

    Hagman was purportedly so miserable that he often unloaded his ire on the cast and crew. While filming a guest spot on the show, Sammy Davis Jr. had asked Barbara Eden, "How do you work with this guy, Barbara? He's a total assh*le."

  • Jeannie's Bottle Was A Refashioned Jim Beam Bottle
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    Jeannie's Bottle Was A Refashioned Jim Beam Bottle

    Jeannie's exotic-looking bottle was a revamped Jim Beam bottle. It was initially a limited-edition Christmas decanter made of "fine, smoked crystal" and contained Beam's Choice premium whiskey. The show's prop masters gave the bottle an elaborate makeover.

    In 2017, it sold at auction for over $34,000.

  • The Crew Got Back At Larry Hagman On At Least One Occasion
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    The Crew Got Back At Larry Hagman On At Least One Occasion

    A hardworking team of people can only tolerate so much abuse from an actor whose behavior is allegedly akin to a combination of a tyrant and a petulant child. The Jeannie crew might have exacted a bit of revenge on Larry Hagman at least once. When the actor demanded a cup of tea, the crew obliged and brought it to him.

    But before they did, they supposedly filled it with salt. Hagman spat out the tea in disgust.

  • Barbara Eden Once Became Trapped In Jeannie's Bottle
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    Barbara Eden Once Became Trapped In Jeannie's Bottle

    Over the seasons, countless viewers surely imagined how it would feel to live in Jeannie's jewel-encrusted, cushion-strewn bottle. But Barbara Eden reportedly had to spend a little too much time in those close quarters.

    During one episode's shoot, the director called for a lunch break, and the cast and crew left the set - leaving Eden trapped in her oversized bottle. She started yelling for help, and the crew eventually returned to retrieve her. But to add insult to injury, they purportedly recorded her cries and used them in the show.

  • Network Censors Worked Overtime On 'Jeannie'
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    Network Censors Worked Overtime On 'Jeannie'

    NBC censors focused on stifling any hint of impropriety between Jeannie and Major Nelson. They never allowed viewers to see Jeannie in Major Nelson's bedroom without the bedroom door left open. Even when Jeannie disappeared in a puff of pink smoke, the network censors insisted that viewers should see the pink smoke leaving the room.

    In addition, the producers could never show Jeannie's legs, even though she wore see-through harem pants. They had a thick fabric lining to cover Barbara Eden's legs.

  • Larry Hagman Supposedly Terrorized Nuns Who Came To See The Show
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    Larry Hagman Supposedly Terrorized Nuns Who Came To See The Show

    Jeannie's soundstage was adjacent to the soundstage for The Flying Nun, which filmed concurrently. One day, a group of elderly nuns came to see The Flying Nun, and someone invited them over to the Jeannie set. 

    When Larry Hagman caught sight of the visitors, he reportedly grabbed an ax from a prop man, swung it around his head, and started screaming profanities. He even purportedly started chopping away at some nearby cables until the crew removed him from the set, and someone had to escort out the terrified nuns.

  • Larry Hagman Was Allegedly Often Drunk And High At Work
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    Larry Hagman Was Allegedly Often Drunk And High At Work

    Because of Larry Hagman's apparent job dissatisfaction, NBC executives encouraged him to see a therapist. The therapist suggested that Hagman smoke pot and drop acid to help him relax on set. So he did - and added champagne into the mix.

    Hagman later talked openly about his struggles with addiction, but during Jeannie, he was in the throes of it. According to Barbara Eden:

    Instead of being nervous, on edge, and confrontational, he started every day at the studio drinking vast quantities of champagne, and in between scenes, he sequestered himself in his dressing room, smoking pot and downing yet more champagne, all in the interests of maintaining a calm serenity.

  • Barbara Eden Befriended A Lion That Appeared On The Show
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    Barbara Eden Befriended A Lion That Appeared On The Show

    Barbara Eden had experience working with lions. During her pre-Jeannie years, while making movies at Fox, Eden appeared with lions in more than one film.

    When a 900-pound lion starred in a Jeannie episode, Eden skillfully befriended the animal, and soon had it purring in her lap. She tried to advise Larry Hagman on how to approach the lion: 

    You have to stand very still and let the lion smell you. Then, when he's finished doing that, you should lean forward very, very gingerly and stroke him as gently as you can. That way, he'll get to know you and everything will be fine.

    Hagman's reply? According to Eden: "Dream on, Barbara. I'm not making friends with any f*cking lion!"

  • Barbara Eden's Navel Was Scandalous
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    Barbara Eden's Navel Was Scandalous

    Jeannie's outfit was revealing by 1960s standards, and the network censors endeavored to keep Barbara Eden strategically covered. Their one major issue? Her navel. Eden recalled: 

    Executives at NBC got very frightened. George [Schlatter, Jeannie's producer] said he had never seen so many suits sitting around a table in his life discussing someone's anatomy. 

  • The Show Often Competed With 'Bewitched'
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    The Show Often Competed With 'Bewitched'

    Jeannie and Bewitched were on the air at the same time, so viewers had a bounty of magical characters and fantastical storylines to watch. But there was at least some competition between the two shows, according to Steve Cox in his book Dreaming of Jeannie: TV's Prime Time in a Bottle:

    Sure there are similarities and shared traits between [them], but the latter can hardly be labeled a ripoff of the former. Undoubtedly during production, there was a mild competition between the Bewitched camp and the Jeannie group. But they learned to work the same neighborhood and ended up playing host to many of the same guest stars, utilizing the same sets, writers, and designers...

    Who cares if one show inspires another? If it weren't for The Honeymooners, we wouldn't have The Flintstones.

  • NBC Reportedly Didn't Have A Lot Of Faith In 'Jeannie'
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    NBC Reportedly Didn't Have A Lot Of Faith In 'Jeannie'

    To some, the premise of I Dream of Jeannie is farfetched. For this reason, NBC supposedly didn't think it would survive. The producers filmed the first season in black and white, mainly because NBC allegedly became convinced it would fail and didn't want to fork over the extra cash for color film.

    But when the show turned into a huge hit, the network changed its tune, and viewers were able to watch Jeannie in living color.

  • Larry Hagman Might Have Vomited And Peed On The Set
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    Larry Hagman Might Have Vomited And Peed On The Set

    While on the show, Larry Hagman made his displeasure known. If he didn't like a script, he would reportedly voice his objections by throwing up all over the set. On one occasion, he disliked a certain script so much that he supposedly urinated on everything within range, including the furniture.

    Barbara Eden took it all in stride. In her memoir, she reflected on Hagman's antics: "Larry's dramatics escalated, and... could [have] most likely become the basis of a terrific comedy series themselves."

  • The Actors Might Have Not Wanted Jeannie And Major Nelson To Get Married
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    The Actors Might Have Not Wanted Jeannie And Major Nelson To Get Married

    Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman allegedly thought the marriage of their characters was a bad idea. Other TV shows had floundered when the romantic or sexual tension vanished from the central plot after the main characters got married.

    Eden was blunt about her thoughts on the pairing:

    It ruined the show. [Jeannie] wasn't human. She was an entity... She thought she was human; he knew she wasn't... [The marriage] broke credibility.

  • Larry Hagman Supposedly Found Out About The Show's Cancellation From A Security Guard
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    Larry Hagman Supposedly Found Out About The Show's Cancellation From A Security Guard

    Once the Jeannie-Major Nelson wedding happened, the show went downhill, and NBC canceled it. The network reportedly didn't inform the stars beforehand.

    As the story goes, after returning from a vacation abroad, Larry Hagman found out about the show's cancelation when he went to the set to retrieve something from his dressing room. His agent was also unaware of the cancelation, so it was a security guard who allegedly broke the news to Hagman.

    "Wow, that's real Hollywood," Hagman later said of the situation.