When Jeannie Meets Agent 99: Barbara Eden And Barbara Feldon Discuss Their Amazing Roles On TV

Jun 27, 2019 by apost team

There are two iconic Barbaras that appeared in important TV shows in the 1960s, and they recently got together to speak about their experiences of that era: Barbara Eden played the ineffable Jeannie in “I Dream of Jeannie,” and Barbara Feldon played the incredible Agent 99 in the show “Get Smart.”

They octogenarians came together for Australia’s Supanova pop culture exhibition in Sydney and got to chat with Robert Moran of the Sydney Morning Herald first. The old pals reflected on the changes they’ve seen in television, their work together, and the joy of acting.

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Feldon, who played 99, the strong, sophisticated “Get Smart” secret agent also has an independent streak in her own nature. Since appearing on the show, she gave up acting and wrote a book about being single and living alone.

Feldon reflected on the times she was on the show and said, “For every woman's role, there were three more men's roles. And we just accepted that." She reveals she wasn’t the biggest fan of being an actress, and only liked modeling for the traveling component. 

Eden, on the other hand, had caught the acting bug and is still appearing in roles today at the age of 87. Her bubbly personality was a good match for the character of Jeannie, and she still loves the character as well as the show’s fans.

"But I enjoy the camaraderie. And the fans are wonderful; they're paying you back for all the hard work you did," Eden said in the video. "I love the fact they still love Jeannie. I didn't expect her to be around this long, but she's easy to live with. She's okay."

Felden and Eden also apparently acted in the movie “Let’s Switch!” in 1975 and they hilariously couldn’t recall anything about it. They had no idea what the plot or cast was, but they remember talking to each other on set.

Who’s your favorite Barbara? Is it the flighty Jeannie or grounded Agent 99? Let us know which show you liked more too, we can’t wait to hear.