If one believes in magic, anything is possible. Perhaps that's why a TV show about a blond genie in a pink costume was such a hit. The genie was Barbara Eden, who was born right here in Tucson.
Her age was apparently a bit of a mystery. In a story in the Star in 1966, she was listed as "about 31," but in 1973, she was 35. We should all age this slowly.
She was born in Tucson Aug. 23, 1931.
From the Arizona Daily Star, Feb. 21, 1966:
Television Star
Genie Jeannie Is Ex-Tucsonan
When the male lead of Television's "I Dream of Jeannie" rubbed a magic bottle he found on a desert island, a Tucson girl appeared.
The genie (or Jeannie) who weekly drives Larry Hagman slightly insane with her angelic adoration and impish innocence was born Barbara Jean Moorhead, in Tucson, about 31 years ago. When she was three years old, she was taken to San Francisco by her mother, who had divorced her first husband and married Harrison Huffman.
At the age of 15, Barbara Jean Huffman made her first stage appearance  as a singer. The first appearance flopped, for when the young girl stood up to sing, only a squeak came out. She sat out the rest of the show.
But the incident didn't stop her, and she sang with bands for about the next three years.
Her parents, she said, were aghast at her decision to go into show business, "but they let me make my own mistakes."
She used the profits of her singing to study music and theater, changed her name to Barbara Eden, and soon began enjoying success.
As a singer, she appeared 14 times on the old "Johnny Carson Show." Then, while appearing in "The Voice of the Turtle" at Laguna Playhouse, she was spotted by director Mark Robson.
He signed her up for 20th Century - Fox, which put her into the syndicated TV series "How to Marry a Millionaire."
Since then Barbara Eden hs appeared in 12 movies and numerous television shows, as well as her current popular series.
The subject of Hagman's attentions on "I Dream of Jeannie," Barbara Eden actually is Mrs. Michael Ansara, wife of the actor and painter.
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She filed for divorce from Ansara in 1973.
