Way before Christina Aguilera, America was fascinated with a different “Jeannie” in a Bottle.  The cartoon introduction to this fantasy sitcom is nothing short of childhood glee for me. And everybody surely knows the Jeannie theme song earworm which has been sampled DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince and also by in a Tom’s Diner mix.  Remember this?

“I Dream of Jeannie” was shown constantly on re-runs when I was a kid, and I was fascinated by this beautiful Jeannie that lived in a glamorous bottle. She always managed to wreak some comic havoc when she left her enchanted domicile and brought her magic powers to the real world.  Much to Major Nelson’s dismay.  Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman were a great team!  I’ll give you the scoop separately about meeting Barbara and my Larry Hagman autographs. 

For now, I want to present this fantastic shot from “Jeannie” autographed by both Eden and Hagman.  Oh – and this coin bottle that I found at a garage sale YEARS ago, which is not the official Jeannie bottle but damn, it sure looks similar to me! 

I also want to give a shout out to and share my autograph of Hayden Rourke, who played the baffled and often flummoxed Colonel Bellows throughout the run of “I Dream of Jeannie”.  Interesting tidbit which Barbara Eden revealed in her biography is that Hayden Rourke was “unashamedly gay” and lived openly with his partner.  

Also shown here is a signed resume of sorts of Bill Daily.  A great comic actor who was not only the crucial comic sidekick in “I Dream of Jeannie”, but also fun to watch on “Match Game” and “The Bob Newhart Show”.  A genial and reliable comedic character actor. 

My parting thoughts on this great TV show are how much I loved the episodes when Eden donned a brown wig to play her evil sister – copying their competition “Bewitched” where Elizabeth Montgomery put on a black wig to play her evil cousin, Serena.  So campy.  

And finally, there’s Phil Spector.  He was featured in an episode of “I Dream of Jeannie” as (what else?) a record producer.  But why???  Boy, do we have a lot to unpack about that guy! And I’ve got luggage full of Spector stories …