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Barbara Eden has nothing but positive things to say about Elvis Presley.
I Dream of Jeannie Star, 94, tells people that she enjoyed working with the late King of Brock and Roll in the 1960 Western film Flaming Star.
The actress especially hit Presley’s acting talent, saying, “I remember how good he was. He was a respectable actor. This is the part that requires good acting, and he did it, boy.”
“Everything was a beautiful piece,” she adds.
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However, Eden points out that when the film was first released, he “didn’t make any money.” This is because fans were upset that Presley had no singing role. So there’s her in the production, and the “Burning Love” singer recorded a new scene involving him in “The Guitar and I Fly Around the Table.”
“I was supposed to dance,” the actress joked.
“I don’t think people recognized or appreciated him as a great actor and a lovely, lovely guy,” Eden says.
She also shares Presley invited her father and another friend to “they’ll play guitar and sing between shots.”
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“I loved working with him,” she adds.
The Star of Flame, based on the 1958 book, is based on the Lance of Flame by Claire Haffiker, followed Presley as Pacer Burton. Eden plays Roslyn Pierce, the girlfriend of Pacer’s brother.
Presley made his feature film debut with Love Me Tender in 1956, starring in over 30 other films. He passed away on August 16, 1977 at the age of 42 at the Graceland home in Memphis, Tennessee.
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Eden continued to appear on her side in several films throughout the 1960s. It included, for example, Swingin’Athing, Voyage of the Sea of the Sea, and Boss Bottle. The actress also played the honorable character on the sitcom, dreaming of Jeannie’s dreams for five seasons from 1965 to 1970.
She recreated her role in 1985’s I Dream of Jeannie… 15 years later, I Still Dream of Jeannie, a sequel from 1991.
Eden spoke about his experience working with Presley at the 2022 Christmas Con Panel. Meanwhile, she said, “Elvis was a joy. He didn’t get a girl and he passed away.
“I think it was the only film he did that he got really good reviews for his acting and that he didn’t sing a song,” the actress added. “His fans hated it, but critics loved it and he was a joy to work with.”
Eden, who was married to Michael Ansala while filming the fiery star, joked that he didn’t have a romance with Elvis, calling Presley, 25 at the time a ‘gentleman’.
The actress divorced Ansala in 1974 and then married Charles Donald Feggart in 1977, but the pair split five years later. She has been married to John Echoltz since 1991.
