‘I Dream of Jeannie’s’ Barbara Eden on the Time She Scared Larry Hagman to Death (Exclusive)

Barbara Eden was just 15 years old when she made the decision to forgo traditional schooling and pursue a career in show business, using her vocals as the launching pad for what would turn into a career that’s still going strong after nearly 80 years.

“I never had a high school girlhood. I never had a best friend, I didn’t go to dances, I didn’t go steady. I didn’t date until I was 16 1/2. I was always Miss Self-Improvement,” she told TV Guide Magazine in 1966. “I learned about makeup, hairstyles, clothes, all the externals. I poured myself into my studies. Along the way I developed the personal philosophy I still believe in — there is always tomorrow, but don’t louse up today for tomorrow.”

And that she wouldn’t. Eden became an accomplished star quickly, performing on The Johnny Carson Show and starring in the 1957 TV adaptation of How to Marry a Millionaire. She also had numerous films on her resumé, including starring opposite Elvis Presley in 1960’s Flaming Star, before she landed the part of the sweet and charming Jeannie in the beloved I Dream of Jeannie (1965-70).