Jeannie Out of the Bottle - Barbara Eden [59]
Vinton Hayworth, who played General Schaeffer, only came into I Dream of Jeannie for the last two seasons. Nevertheless, he was a good actor; coincidentally, he was also Rita Hayworth’s uncle. With his deep and resonant voice, he was a well-known radio announcer in his day, and also made countless guest appearances in shows other than I Dream of Jeannie, including Perry Mason, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Munsters, and Gunsmoke.
Bill Daily was fun and funny in real life, as well as in his role of Roger Healey in I Dream of Jeannie. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, he grew up in Chicago and, like Larry, began his career in the military (though as a musician, not as an actor). After performing in nightclubs in the Chicago area, he got a spot performing comedy routines on TV.
Discovered by Steve Allen, he went on to land guest roles in Bewitched and The Farmer’s Daughter. Initially his role as Roger Healey on I Dream of Jeannie was projected to be a small one. But after Bill’s natural comic talent shone through, his part was expanded, and the multidimensional Major Roger Healey came into being.
All of us on I Dream of Jeannie welcomed any laughs we could drum up amid the grueling shooting schedule. And now and again we enjoyed excursions the cast and crew took in the name of PR. We went to visit Cape Canaveral after Buzz Aldrin’s rocket mission was scrubbed. I was photographed with Buzz, and then afterward all of the I Dream of Jeannie cast went on to Houston, where we saw the astronauts training to walk in outer space in a huge water tank. It was the nearest thing to being weightless on planet Earth. We were categorically warned to stay on the boardwalk overlooking the astronauts, no matter what.
“You do not get off the boardwalk, you do not go down below, you do not touch anything”—that was the rule.
We all obeyed, even Larry.
In another part of the facility, Gene Cernan was training in the moon module. Suddenly the distinguished astronaut shouted up at me, “Barbara, Barbara, come on down and see a mock-up of the capsule that’s gonna land on the moon. Soon.”
I hesitated.
“I can’t, Gene,” I said. “That’s strictly against the rules.”
A guard with us shook his head. “If Gene Cernan says you can go down, you can.”
So I went down and got into the capsule, and he said, “Here, Barbara, you take the controls and land.” I tried, but we “crashed.” I was vastly relieved that it wasn’t the real thing, but flying it was sure fun!
Given that Major Tony Nelson was an astronaut and, comedy or not, the show did keep the image of the astronauts and the space program at the forefront of the public’s consciousness, our links with NASA were strong. In June 1969, Cocoa Beach, Florida, celebrated Barbara Eden Day. All the local press and some national newspaper reporters and photographers were on hand.
Buzz Aldrin, who had guested on I Dream of Jeannie, showed up, and the photographers kept egging me on to kiss him. I planted a big kiss on his cheek, but that wasn’t enough for the press, and not for Buzz, either. He grabbed me, declared, “I can do better than that,” and kissed me right on the mouth. I wasn’t prepared for that and was stunned, but everyone watching gave a big cheer.
A former fighter pilot and the first man to break the sound barrier, Chuck Yeager was also in an episode of I Dream of Jeannie (“Bigger than a Bread Box and Better than a Genie”), but for some obscure reason, his appearance in the show was not credited.
Such was Larry’s respect for astronauts that he didn’t act up during either Buzz’s or Chuck’s guest spot. He was also quietly respectful