30 Vintage Photos
A beautiful 2,000-year-old genie named ‘Jeannie’.
Barbara Eden played a genie named Jeannie on the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie and you have to wonder — how did they get away with this? Her midriff-baring outfit made her a sex symbol from the show’s first episode in 1965 but the outfit was strictly regulated. While Eden’s ribcage and cleavage were allowed to breathe free, NBC decided her navel should always be covered. The network brass mandated billowy harem pants in a further attempt to tone down Eden’s sex appeal, lest a woman appear with midsection and legs exposed. Eden even had to wear a one-piece suit in a scene filmed at the beach. Armchair theologists (perhaps after a few beers) have debated whether Adam and Eve had belly buttons. Did a TV genie named Jeannie have one? We will never know.
Barbara Eden played a genie named Jeannie on the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie and you have to wonder — how did they get away with this? Her midriff-baring outfit made her a sex symbol from the show’s first episode in 1965 but the outfit was strictly regulated. While Eden’s ribcage and cleavage were allowed to breathe free, NBC decided her navel should always be covered. The network brass mandated billowy harem pants in a further attempt to tone down Eden’s sex appeal, lest a woman appear with midsection and legs exposed. Eden even had to wear a one-piece suit in a scene filmed at the beach. Armchair theologists (perhaps after a few beers) have debated whether Adam and Eve had belly buttons. Did a TV genie named Jeannie have one? We will never know.
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