I Dream Of Jeannie Star Barbara Eden Unbottles Her Tragic Life in Memoir

[ansara1]

I Dream Of Jeannie' Star Barbara Eden Unbottles Her Tragic Life in Memoir
284 CommentsBy PopEater Staff Posted Jul 19th 2010 04:30PM
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Life isn't quite a fantasy for 'I Dream Of Jeannie' star Barbara Eden. Now 75, the actress is penning a tell-all memoir called 'Jeannie Out of the Bottle' that details her public and private tragedies that came with her Hollywood fame, The Hollywood Reporter confirms. The book will also include intimate details about her two failed marriage, how she survived an abusive cocaine-addicted husband and her "emotional breakdown" following the loss of her only son to drugs.

"Like Jeannie, I've been bottled up long enough -- it's time for me to pop the cork and talk about the amazing people I've been fortunate enough to meet along the way, and the highs and lows of my everyday living," Eden said in a statement.

A source tells the National Enquirer that she "longed for what she didn't have - a happy family life," and it will all finally be revealed in her memoir, which is due out next year.

Although Eden will mostly be remembered as a smiling, naive genie on the '60s sitcom 'I Dream Of Jeannie,' Eden's life has been a roller coaster. She was born in Tucson, Arizona, and her parents divorced when she was three. The Great Depression deeply affected her family, who were unable to afford many luxuries.

Her start in Hollywood came after she starred in a play with James Drury. Film director Mark Robson, who later directed her in the movie 'From The Terrace,' had come to the play and wanted her for 20th Century Fox studios. She went on to star in 'The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm and 'Swingin' Along.' Her last film for 20th Century Fox was 'The Yellow Canary' in 1963; she left due to budget cuts.

Her personal life was littered with several upsets as well. Eden has been married three times. She met actor Michael Ansara in October 1957, as part of a blind date arranged by her publicist. They married in 1958. But the marriage began to fall apart when Eden had difficulty conceiving and her first pregnancy in 1961 ended in miscarriage.

Her son Matthew Ansara was born Sunday, August 29, 1965, during the of the first season of 'I Dream of Jeannie.' In the book, Eden reveals Matthew started smoking pot at 10, then began shooting heroin. He eventually died on June 25, 2001 at age 35 from a drug overdose.

Her third pregnancy ended abruptly in 1971 when she delivered a stillborn baby six weeks before her due date. Ansara and Eden divorced in May 1974. At this point, Eden reveals she had "an emotional breakdown."

Eden was married to her second husband, Chicago Sun-Times executive Charles Donald Fegert, from September 1977 to 1983. She married her third and current husband, a Los Angeles real estate developer Jon Trusdale Eicholtz in 1991.

The book's title also implies the book will have its share of 'I Dream of Jeannie' stories and what it was like portraying a 2,000-year-old genie who shacks up with a Florida astronaut, played by actor Larry Hagman. Eden plans dish about her encounters with celebrities including Elvis Presley, Warren Beatty, Clint Eastwood, Marilyn Monroe and Lucille Ball, The Hollywood Reporter confirms.

While many of the books more juicy details haven't been revealed, Eden is nervous about the public's reaction. "Quite frankly, it scared the dickens out of me," Eden told The NY Times. "I was quite frightened of doing this. I've been asked several times, and it's daunting to talk about yourself. It gets to the soft spots inside you ... I'll just hold my nose and jump in."

[catlover79]

I look forward to reading it. Barbara Eden IS a survivor - and from everything I've heard, a real sweetheart. I hope and pray that it all gets better for her from here.