When Larry Hagman died, his obituaries praised his conniving Texas oil magnate J.R. Ewing of
Dallas (1978-1991, plus a 2012 remake). But I rarely watched
Dallas. I remembered him from one of the "I've got a secret" sitcoms of the 1960s,
I Dream of Jeannie (1967-70).
I didn't watch that a lot, either. Most gay kids preferred
Bewitched. The premise seemed too much like a
Playboy fantasy: astronaut Tony Nelson (Larry Hagman) finds a bottle washed up on a beach, opens it, and out pops a genie -- nameless, so he calls her Jeannie (Barbara Eden). She calls him Master. She wears a belly-dancing costume that leaves little to the imagination, and is willing to do anything he wants.
Anything.
To his credit, Tony doesn't take advantage of the situation. Like Darren of
Bewitched, he wants to take care of himself, and he forbids Jeannie from using her magic (she, of course, disobeys him). His best friend Roger (Bill Daily) is less scrupulous -- he can think of
lots of things to wish for.
Neither makes the slightest attempt to compromise the lady's virtue, but no doubt that is exactly what was on the minds of millions of straight male viewers.
Every "I've got a secret" sitcom has a Gladys Kravitz to suspect the secret, peer through windows, and snoop around. On
Jeannie, it was base psychiatrist Dr. Bellows (Hayden Rorke), who was gay-vague: no wife, and no reason for his obsession with the strange goings-ons in the Nelson household, except for a desire to see more of the hunky astronaut.
According to Barbara Eden's autobiography, Rorke (here with gay icon Judy Garland) was "unashamedly gay" in real life, and "a prince" who often invited cast members to dinner parties at his home.
After
Jeannie, Larry Hagman went on to
Dallas, of course, and Barbara Eden chose roles involving gutsy, go-getting women to prove that she wasn't just a belly-dancing sex object.
She reprised her Jeannie character twice:
I Dream of Jeannie: 15 Years Later (1985) substituted Wayne Rogers of
M*A*S*H for Larry Hagman, who was busy with
Dallas. In order to save Tony's life, Jeannie has to sacrifice her relationship with him -- and he must forget that he ever knew her.
In
I Still Dream of Jeannie (1991), the events of the previous movie never occurred, but Tony was absent (Larry Hagman was still busy). Jeannie has to find a new temporary master, and meanwhile saves her kidnapped son, Anthony Jr.
There was one episode of IDoJ that should really belong in this section. Bob Denver (Gilligan's Island) played a genie (I think he was a friend of Jeannie) and there were two instances where it was very clear that Bob wanted Major Nelson all for himself, and not just for his astronomical expertise!! I don't remember the specifics of the dialogue, but when it was suggested that Tony take a shower or something, Bob's genie character said something like "Ooh, I'd like to sit and watch" meaning he wanted to be in that shower with him. All Tony did was say "bite your tongue" and that was all, not looking the least bit shocked by this genie's confession. There was another thing he said to Tony prior to this, but I don't remember it verbatim, only that it was a hint that Bob's character was in love with Major Nelson. If I ever see this episode again I'll update my response.
ReplyDeleteActually, Dr. Bellows was married. His wife, Amanda (played by Emmaline Henry, appeared in nearly 40 episodes.
ReplyDeleteThe actor was gay, not the character
DeleteThis was one of my favorite fantasy sitcoms. Young Larry Hagman was very cute. One can imagine a gay remake in which the genie is man
ReplyDeleteI watch it as a kid, but found it odd that Tony was always trying to avoid any physical relationship with the almost naked Jeannie. His best friend and neighbour Roger who seemed to live a swinging single lifestyle would often come to visit Jeannie and enter through the side door while Tony was out, yet never layed a hand on the almost naked Jeannie. If I watched this as an adult, I would have believed that both Tony and Roger were hiding the fact that they were both gay, and Tony would get Roger to come manage Jeannie when he was unable to handle her. This would have been the original Will and Grace style comedy.
ReplyDeleteSex outside of marriage was forbidden on tv in the 1960s, so Tony couldn't just grab. I believe that also he wanted to help Jeannie become a "liberated woman." Like "Bewitched," "I Dream of Jeannie" centers the clash between the 1950s model of female subservience and the 1960s "women can do anything." But in "Bewitched," Darren was the voice of conservative: "No wife of mine is going to use her special abilities." In "I Dream of Jeannie," it was Jeannie.
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