'60s sitcom darling Barbara Eden, who rose to fame on I Dream of Jeannie, opened up about her reported feud with Bewitched actress Elizabeth Montgomery while speaking with Fox News Digital. Barbara starred on her show from 1965 to 1970 as the titular Jeannie, a 2,000-year-old genie who meets and falls in love with astronaut Tony Nelson (played by Larry Hagman). She garnered two Golden Globe nominations for her performance and worked on the same lot as Elizabeth while she starred as a witch-turned-housewife.
The blonde beauty played Samantha Stephens from 1964 to 1972 alongside Dick York (and later Dick Sargeant), and nabbed five Emmy nominations and four Golden Globe nods throughout her time on the show. Rumors of a feud between Barbara and Elizabeth ran rampant at the time, yet the former refuted this claim in her interview.
"I enjoyed being with her," Barbara recalled. "We did not have a lot of time to talk or be girlfriends. Remember, we would be in the makeup department in the morning, getting ready for our scenes. We had to get to work. But she was always pleasant." This was not the first time that Barbara shared insight into their relationship.
The actress explained in a 2013 interview for the Bewitched 60th Anniversary Special, an independent production helmed by filmmaker Daniel Henares, that their so-called "rivalry" was a mere invention. "I'd see her every morning. We were both pregnant together, we both had our babies around the same time," she said, adding that they "chatted a lot" and that "if there was any perceived rivalry, it was the producers' invention".
Sally Field, who starred in Gidget and The Flying Nun during the '60s, revealed on The Rosie O'Donnell Show in 1996 that while Barbara and Elizabeth had their occasional differences, they never feuded. "It was a big room where everyone came every morning at their call, which was usually six in the morning, and you got made up with everybody," she said.
© Silver Screen Collection"Barbara Eden was endlessly singing, and I remember Elizabeth Montgomery [saying], 'She doesn't shut up!'" Elizabeth passed away in 1995 after experiencing flu-like symptoms while filming Deadline for Murder: From the Files of Edna Buchanan. After brushing off said symptoms, she finally went to see a doctor and was told that she had colon cancer that had metastasised to her liver. She died eight weeks later, aged 62.
© Getty ImagesAs for Barbara, the mother of one turned 94 years old in August, and continues to be an advocate for those dealing with substance abuse after her only son passed away from an overdose in 2001. Following a storied career, Barbara now spends her days staying fit and spending time with her husband, Jon Eicholtz. She explained to Fox News in 2024 that she stays in shape by doing light workouts.
© Getty Images for Make-A-Wish Gre"I used to work out all the time. I used to do spinning classes and then do weights with a trainer," she said. "[But] when COVID hit, that ended my heavy workouts. Now I have a stationary bicycle and I lift five pounds. I use very lightweight weights, but they're good for your bones."
