Elvis and Me : Academy Award fete celebrity guest Barbara Eden takes the genie out of the Oscar bottle.
Elvis and Me
Academy Award fete celebrity guest Barbara Eden takes the genie out of the Oscar bottle.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
I Dream of Jeannie’s navel-showing Barbara Eden is alive and well and will be spending Sunday night as the celebrity guest at the Monterey Film Commission’s 20th annual Oscar Gala fundraiser in Pebble Beach.
The 75-year-old blonde icon, who’s been a voting member of the Academy for nearly 30 years, says she always watches every nominated film. Though Eden’s never attended the show, she watches every year and has many favorite moments.
“The [one] that really made me giggle a lot was when Jack Palance did the pushups with one arm,” Eden says from her Los Angeles home.
Mostly known for her television career, Eden has been in close to 20 films over the years, including the 1960 western Flaming Star, opposite Elvis Presley. “My favorite memory of [Elvis] was how nice he was and how well-mannered,” she says. “On set, he and all his friends would be sitting in a circle and I’d come walking over and Elvis would stand up immediately and get me a chair.”
These days, Eden tours with the professional dance troupe “Ballroom with a Twist” as the mistress of ceremonies. She also travels to Carmel often, with her husband and labradoodle Djinn-Djinn, named after the dog on Jeannie.
“My husband named the dog, I didn’t,” Eden insists. “He’s overcome his name and he’s fine now.”
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