Get out of here, Aladdin! On August 23, Barbara Eden—the woman who gave the world hope for genies—celebrates her 92nd birthday, and the nonagenarian looks amazing!
Nearly 60 years after her debut on I Dream of Jeannie, Eden continues to be adored for transforming her followers into frank bottle shiners who aspired to be their own wish-granting blonde.
In real life, however, she was unable to save her son, who passed away in 2001 from a drug overdose, despite her ability to strike a pose and perform magic on screen.
Born during the Great Depression, Barbara Eden (92 as of August 23, 2023) transformed poverty into luxury when she began making appearances on television (The Jonny Carson Show, I Love Lucy) and in movies (A Private’s Affair, Twelve Hours to Kill) in 1956.
She performed for audiences throughout the world in 1960 when she costarred with Elvis Presley, the “King of Rock and Roll,” in the western Flaming Star.
The gorgeous blonde then portrayed Jeannie, a lovely genie released by US Air Force Captain and astronaut Tony Nelson in 1965.
Fans were captivated by Eden’s remarkable performance as the mythical creature she portrayed during the five-season run of the fantasy sitcom I Dream of Jeannie. Larry Hagman played her romantic interest, Nelson.
Eden and her husband, actor Michael Ansara (who starred in the 1960s television series Broken Arrow), welcomed a son, Matthew Ansara, on August 29, 1965, the same year she was becoming a household name as Jeannie.
The 15-year marriage between Matthew’s parents ended when he was nine years old. Eden, who has since gotten married again, claims that this set her son on the wrong track and led him to turn to drugs.
When Matthew moved in with his father at the age of 19 when she remarried in 1984, the Harper Valley PTA actor revealed that she realized he was having problems. Eden claimed to be sleeping a lot and to have lied about attending college when he returned after she got divorced a second time.
Because he didn’t want to harm Mike and me, Matthew kept his heroin use a secret from us. But since he had been acting lethargic, losing weight, and going out late, we were able to figure it out. I made him go to a rehab facility, and when he returned home a month later, I allowed him to return home.
“But he started using again,” the Stepford Children star went on. According to the experts, if your child is abusing drugs, he has turned into the drug and is no longer your child or living with you. The toughest thing I have ever had to do was to shut him out when he was 20.
With the support of his parents, Matthew, who began using drugs at the age of ten, spent the next twelve years in and out of treatment.
Occasionally, when he came to visit us, he would chuckle and remark, “Here I am, better lock up everything.” However, he would apologize profusely to us when he was sober. Regarding her son, who frequently stole their belongings when he was there, Eden remarked, “I love you more than anyone in the world.”
Actress Barbara Eden, about 1967, dressed up in costume for the American television series “I Dream of Jeannie.” Eden played the role of “Jeannie” in the sitcom. (Image courtesy of Getty Images/Silver Screen Collection) )
When Matthew was 27, he married and enrolled at UCLA to study creative writing after a brief recovery. However, “the cycle began again,” and his wife fled.
Eden said how she addressed her son as things became worse, and “he got angry, threw things, and stomped out.” After months of searching, Eden finally found Matthew and discovered that he had been living on the streets for the most part.
He contacted me one day shortly after they split up, sounding almost lifeless, and said, ‘Mom, I’m sick.’ Mike was found unconscious from an overdose at his apartment after his wife and another friend took me to a dangerous area of Venice, California.
Eden went on to call his living quarters “filthy.” “Even though he weighed 200 pounds, the three of us women managed to get him up, drove him to the hospital, and ultimately saved his life.”
His medication didn’t help when he was diagnosed with clinical depression at the age of 29.
Matthew was back on track and following in his parents’ footsteps when he was 31. He starred in the 2001 movie To Protect and Serve and had a supporting part in the legendary Con Games that same year.
He intended to marry a “wonderful girl” in September of that year.
“Life is great, Mom,” he said to me one day. It’s unbelievable that I was unaware of how green the trees were for so long. “Eden said.”
Cause of death for Barbara Eden’s son
Shortly after that chat, on June 26 at 3 a.m., Eden was startled out of her slumber by a phone call regarding her son.
Police discovered amateur bodybuilder Matthew, 35, slouched over his truck’s steering wheel six hours prior to the call. They also retrieved bottles of anabolic drugs that he used to gain muscle for competitions.
According to the results of the autopsy, Matthew accidentally overdosed on drugs and died.
Then he passed away. Eden stated, “He had taken a dose of exceptionally pure heroin, and it was too much for his heart.” Even while he was working out, he did it compulsively, like an addict. He was incapable of exercising restraint.
Shutterstock
The musician and author, who has been married to Jon Eicholtz since 1991, is still searching for answers while grieving the loss of her only child.
Matthew handled it quite badly. He wished for his parents to remain together. I would have waited till he was older if I had to do it over. However, I immediately remind myself that a large number of children from divorced families do not develop addictions. “He won a lot of battles,” she added. However, he lost his personal conflict.
The elderly Ansara, who passed away in 2013 at the age of 91 due to Alzheimer’s-related issues, is interred beside his son at Los Angeles’ Forest Lawn Memorial Park.
As for Eden, who retired Jeannie’s pink harem costume, she may be seen playing Mrs. Claus in the 2019 movie My Adventures with Santa and on television shows like Worst Cooks in America: Celebrity Edition. 2019’s Love Letters was her final stage play.
First of all, a very happy birthday to the stunning Barbara Eden!
Next, we are deeply sorry for her loss and cannot fathom the anguish a parent would feel upon losing a kid. Contacting your local alcohol or drug abuse hotline could save the life of someone you know who is battling addiction.
Let’s offer Eden the love and well wishes she deserves by sharing this story!
