“Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair”
You may think that “I Dream of Jeannie” is a clever little play on words. However, that is not entirely the case! “I Dream of Jeannie” is actually part of a lyric from a song written in the 1800s. The song is called, “Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair” and it was by Stephen Foster.
While many people said that “I Dream of Jeannie” was just a copy of “Bewitched” They could not be farther from the truth. The show is actually based off pre-existing movies and songs. The line in the song that inspired the show “I Dream of Jeannie” was, “I Dream of Jeanie with the light brown hair.”
Forever Jeannie
Barbara Eden had so much pride for her role as Jeannie on “I Dream of Jeannie.” Many television stars would probably be frustrated with the fact that they are recognized for one specific role that they have played. But not Barbara! She has said that she loves being remembered for that role. It is like a little happy reminder every day of her time on such an iconic show.
One would definitely assume that she did love it as much as she said, seeing that she came back to reprise her iconic role in both of the made for TV movies!
William Rorke or Hayden Rorke?
Despite being such a successful show, “I Dream of Jeannie” had a very small cast compared to other shows going on at the time. The only regular characters on the series were Jeannie (of course!), Tony and Roger. The only other character that made multiple appearances throughout the show was the character of Dr. Bellows, played by William Rorke. Dr. Bellows, like Tony, worked at NASA. He played the psychiatrist there.
Not much can be found about William Rorke because he went by a different name! He used his mother’s maiden name, Hayden, as his stage name, becoming Hayden Rorke!
Phil Spector Actor Turned Murderer
Phil Spector had a small role on “I Dream of Jeannie.” He guest starred in an episode where Jeannie was trying to become a singer. Phil was a very famous music producer, so it was fitting that he played himself in this episode. During the episode, Jeannie and the cast refer to him as Phil Spector, but in the credits, his role is listed as ‘Steve Davis.” Pretty strange!
After his stint on “I Dream of Jeannie,” he was convicted of murdering an actress in his home. He is currently serving a 19-year prison sentence and will be eligible for parole when he is 88.
Cool As A Cucumber
We mentioned that Barbara Eden was quite the lion whisperer on set when they had the real lion with them. A funny little tidbit that happened during filming the episode was that at some point during the shoot, the lion made a huge roar. This Roar was so scary and so loud that every single person on set ran away.
Everyone was scared. That is, except Barbara. Everyone ran away thinking they were about to get eaten by a lion, but Barbara did not seem affected whatsoever. She just went up to the lion gave him a pet and talked to him softly. She was able to calm him down, and then they started filming again.