Barbara Eden Schooled Elvis Presley On Love As He Was Courting A Young Priscilla

Aug 18, 2022 by apost team

Barbara Eden has only fond memories of working with Elvis Presley in the 1960s and revealed that he had not only asked her for love advice but revealed he was a little lovestruck by a young girl named Priscilla whom he had met in Germany.

Eden was no stranger to showbusiness when she starred opposite Presley in “Flaming Star.” The Tuscon, Arizona native, born Barbara Jean Morehead, spent most of her childhood in San Francisco. At an early age, Eden found her love for performing. Eden sang in the church choir and competed in beauty pageants as a child. 

The rising star's big break came in 1955 when she scored a reoccurring role as a sketch performer on “The Johnny Carson Show.” Years later, Eden made her official television debut when she played the young and beautiful socialite Diana Jordan in “I Love Lucy.” In the years following, Eden appeared in several films and television sitcoms. 

In 1965, Eden eventually landed the role of the genie in the charming 1970s TV show “I Dream of Jeannie.” In the role that cemented her career in Hollywood and her best-known work to date, Eden played Jeannie, a 2,000-year-old genie who falls in love with an astronaut named Anthony Nelson, played by Larry Hagman. The series ran for five seasons, from 1965 to 1970. 

In the years that followed, she appeared in stage productions of “The Odd Couple” and “Love Letters,” as well as the musicals “Gentlemen, Prefer Blondes” and “The Sound of Music,” among others. Her incredibly diverse portfolio of work that spanned over six decades did not go unnoticed – Eden received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1988. 

Read on to find out what Eden divulged about Presley’s behind-the-scenes behavior on the set of “Flaming Star.”

Beloved as the “King of Rock and Roll,” Elvis Presley was a pivotal figure in the music industry and, to this day, is still recognized as one of the greatest performers of all time. 

Although Presley passed at the age of 42 on Aug. 16, 1977, his musical legacy lives on. But that’s not all he was. He was also an actor, starring in a total of 33 films, including “Jailhouse Rock,” “Blue Hawaii,” “King Creole,” “Viva Las Vegas” and, of course, “Flaming Star.” 

Before taking on the role of Pacer Burton in “Flaming Star,” Presley had been drafted into the army in March 1958. After basic training, he was deployed to Germany on Oct. 1, 1958. 

Cupid’s arrow struck a year later during a party that Presley hosted in Bad Nauheim, Germany. Priscilla Beaulieu – as she was known then – was a doll-faced 14-year-old angel who caught his eye.

On Mar. 2, 1960, Presley returned to the U.S. While he could leave the army behind, he could not leave Priscilla behind. He kept in touch with her, and after a more than seven-year courtship, the two were married on May 1, 1967. 

But before marriage was a certainty, Presley had misgivings about love and turned to Eden for advice.

According to PEOPLE, Eden shared with Christmas Con panelists in August 2022, including Jackée Harry, that working alongside Presley had been “a delight,” adding in the film, “he didn’t get the girl and he died – and he was fabulous! He was so wonderful. I think it was the only film he did that he got really good reviews for his acting and he didn't sing a song. … His fans hated it, but the critics loved it, and he was a joy to work with.”

apost.com

Eden recalled that even though Presley was “a gentleman,” she “didn’t have a romance with Elvis like most of his leading ladies did.”

“I’d come on the set and he’d get me a chair. Actors don’t do that. You can sit on the floor, they don’t care. And in between shots, when they were fixing the lights and everything, he’d get his guitar out and he’d sing. Wonderfully, he’d sing. … And we used to talk. We talked a lot,” she recalled.

Among their topic of conversation was their love lives. At the time, Eden was married to actor Michael Ansara, famous for his role as Cochise in “Broken Arrow.” 

“He said, ‘How do you have a marriage in Hollywood? How do you do this will all the stuff going on?’” Eden recounted. “And I said, ‘You know, for us, it’s our job. This is how we make money. That’s it.’ He said, ‘Well, I met this girl in Germany.’ And he said, ‘I’m not too sure, she’s awfully young.’ But he didn’t tell me how young! Yeah, 14 years old. And I said, ‘Well, you know, if the two of you are a team, you’ll be fine.’”

“Little did I know,” Eden added with a chuckle before describing watching Presley perform live. “All those guitars! Elvis was fabulous. He was just wonderful. And I remember him that way, not the later years. Because he was beautiful and a lovely man.”

Harry then quipped, “I’d have jumped him. I’d have jumped Elvis.”

“You wouldn’t if you had Cochise for a husband,” Eden shot back.

Eden later met Priscilla in person and was able to bring her memories full circle. We’re sure it must have been an interesting conversation!

What do you think of Barbara Eden’s description of a young Elvis Presley? Are you a fan of either of the two Hollywood legends? Let us know, and pass this on to all the fans of the King of Rock and Roll you know.