Jeannie Out of the Bottle - Barbara Eden [48]
BY THE FALL of 1964, the only tension in my marriage to Michael was our failure to have children together. Then one day in the fall, when I was in the middle of filming a guest shot in an episode of Slattery’s People, in which I was playing the first love interest Richard Crenna had on the show, I suddenly felt extremely nauseous.
I had a love scene to film with Richard, but I felt like I was coming down with the flu, and was now faced with a real dilemma. I had a quick internal debate with myself about whether to kiss Richard or not, thinking, Poor man, if I kiss him, he’s bound to get the flu from me. But if I tell the director and refuse to do the scene, they’ll have to stop shooting, which will cost the producers a great deal of money. Plus the rest of the cast and crew will have to stop working as well.
Hoping against hope that Richard, a healthy-looking specimen of a man, was in possession of a strong immune system, I held my breath and kissed him as best I could.
Over the next few days, I felt as if I were a zombie. I was tired and listless. I dosed myself with all sorts of remedies, but when everything failed, I went to see my doctor.
“This being-on-the-verge-of-having-the-flu-but-not-having-it is for the birds,” I said plaintively. “I just want to stop it in its tracks or have it and get it over with. Couldn’t you give me a shot of something that will bring it out of me right away?”
My doctor looked at me, perturbed. “I think I’ll give you some tests, Barbara,” he said finally.
Alarm bells rang in my head. “Tests?” I said.
“Pregnancy,” the doctor said.
“Pregnancy? We’ve been trying to get pregnant for seven years! There’s not a snowball’s chance of me being pregnant after all that time,” I said when I’d stopped laughing.
Ignoring my laughter, the doctor did indeed give me a pregnancy test, and following that he tested me for other serious illnesses as well. Afterward, I went home and slept for what seemed like months.
Two days later, Michael and I were delighted when we got the news that NBC had picked up the I Dream of Jeannie pilot and had committed to Screen Gems making twenty-two episodes. We were just in the middle of a celebratory kiss when the phone rang again. My heart sank. It was all a mistake, I thought. Now that the series was a reality, Sidney had changed his mind and picked Gina Lollobrigida to play Jeannie instead!
Michael took the call. My fear turned to confusion as I watched him listen, then light up like a million-watt electric bulb.
“We’re pregnant! We finally did it, honey!” he shouted.
We were overjoyed and clapped our hands like a pair of excited children.
Then, after the first flush of euphoria began to subside somewhat, we began to plan exactly how I would break the news of my pregnancy to Sidney, so that he could replace me in the show as quickly as possible.
We didn’t for one second bemoan the bad timing of me getting a part in a new series and not being able to accept it because I was pregnant. After all, we’d been trying to conceive a child for almost seven years, and nothing was more important to us than that.
Besides, the concept of I Dream of Jeannie seemed flimsy, to say the least, and no one knew if the series would run for more than the initial twenty-two episodes that had been commissioned by the network.
But I liked and respected Sidney and knew it was imperative I tell him right away that I was no longer going to be his Jeannie, so that he could begin holding auditions for my replacement.
I plucked up my courage and called him at home. He answered the telephone after just one ring.
“Glad you caught me, Barbara. We were just going out to dinner,” he said.
I took a deep breath. “Sidney, I need to see you right away. I’ve got something to tell you,” I said.
“Tell me now,” he said, a hint of impatience creeping into his voice.
“I can’t, Sidney. I just can’t,” I said.
He must have sensed my urgency, because he agreed to see me at his host’s house before dinner began.