She spent five seasons living amid pink and gold plush pillows inside a magic bottle on TV's I Dream of Jeannie, but Barbara Eden is a San Francisco girl at heart. She returns to the city she once called home on Sunday, July 10, for I Dream of Barbara Eden, a gala tribute event at the Castro Theatre.
When asked what she remembers most about growing up in San Francisco, a flood of memories comes back to her. "I remember the fog horns. The fog was very comforting," she says. Eden attended Redding Grammar School on Polk, and learned to roller-skate on the hills while living on Bush.
Although she was crowned Miss San Francisco in 1951, her first award came much earlier. "I won first prize in a Halloween contest on Polk Street dressed as Bo Peep," she says. "I was five."
Eden attended Sunday school at Grace Cathedral (where she would marry her current husband, Jon Eicholtz, in 1991). "My parents would wait across the street in the park for me with my coveralls, so I could change clothes and play in the sand pile."
She began singing with local dance bands at age 14 for $10 a night. Years later she headlined in Las Vegas, then returned home to play the Fairmount Venetian Room in the 1970s. "I couldn't believe that I had once played in the park across the street," she says. "I followed Peggy Lee into the Fairmount and I couldn't believe it, since I used to go see her sing there."
At age 20, Eden set out for Hollywood and lived with an aunt and uncle near Pasadena. She didn't have one big break so much as a lot of little ones, from guest spots on TV shows to a seven-year contract with Fox and supporting roles in film.
But the magical role for which she's best-known came as a surprise. "I was a working actress, and I heard they were casting the role," she says. "They were testing Miss Greece, Miss Italy, Miss Syria, Miss Israel - all tall, dark women. When my agent told me they wanted to see me, I said, 'Do they know what I look like?'"
After tea with the show's creator Sidney Sheldon, Eden got the part. I Dream of Jeannie was an instant hit, bringing her international fame - and a life-long friendship with her co-star Larry Hagman. The two have performed on stage together and just returned from a promotional tour in Australia.
The show ran from 1965 to 1970, and created a swirl of controversy - over Eden's belly-button. "NBC decided they couldn't show it," she says. Although she played a magical genie, "I was living in a house, unmarried, with a man - it was a modesty thing. George Schlatter, who produced Laugh-In, wanted to premiere my navel on his show, but the NBC suits refused."
This past April, Eden released her memoir, Jeannie Out of the Bottle, in which she recounts the details of two failed marriages (to actor Michael Ansara and to Charles Donald Fegert) and her emotional breakdown after losing her only son, Matthew Ansara, to drugs.
"I never thought my life was that interesting, or anybody's business, so it took a long time for me to write it. It was extremely difficult for me emotionally, and reading it aloud over two-and-a-half days while recording the audio book was like re-living it."
Promoting the book has occupied all of her time since its release, but the response from fans has been gratifying. "There have been a lot of surprising reactions. A lot of people didn't know that my son died from drugs - and a lot of other actors have opened up to me about their experiences with drugs."
Having played an ageless genie, the ageless Eden (she's 76, but who's counting?) says she's looking forward to returning to the city where she grew up. "I'm happy to be home."
I Dream of Barbara Eden, Sun., July 10 at 8 p.m., Castro Theatre, SF, includes an on-stage interview, career highlight reel, Jeannie look-alike contest, special musical guests and autograph book-signing with Barbara Eden.
Tickets: $20-35 at www.ticketfly.com/event/43973 or call (415) 863-0611. Special Sunday Noon matinee: 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, featuring an appearance by Eden.