Step aside, Aladdin! Barbara Eden, the woman who made the world dream of genies, is celebrating her 92nd birthday on August 23, and the nonagenarian looks fantastic!
Eden–who turned fans into shameless bottle shiners hoping for their own wish-granting blonde–is still adored almost 60 years since she first appeared on I Dream of Jeannie.
But, while she was able to strike a pose and make magic happen on screen, in real life, she was unable to save her son, who died of a heroin overdose in 2001.
Born in the Great Depression, Barbara Eden, 92 as of August 23, 2023, turned poverty into luxury when, in 1956, she started appearing in film (A Private’s Affair, Twelve Hours to Kill) and TV (The Jonny Carson Show, I love Lucy).
In 1960, she played to international audiences when she cast was alongside the “King of Rock and Roll,” Elvis Presley in the western, Flaming Star.
And then, in 1965, the stunning blonde played Jeannie, a beautiful genie that was set free by astronaut and US Air Force Captain, Tony Nelson.
Eden captured the hearts of fans with her impressive portrayal of the magical creature that she played for the five-season run of the fantasy sitcom I Dream of Jeannie, with Larry Hagman playing her love interest, Nelson.
The same year she was reaching super stardom as Jeannie, Eden and her husband, actor Michael Ansara (known for his starring in role in the 60s series Broken Arrow) had a son, Matthew Ansara, who was born August 29, 1965.
When Matthew was nine, his parents ended their 15-year marriage, a strike that Eden, who married two more times, says sent her son on the wrong path, towards drugs.
The Harper Valley PTA star explained that she first noticed Matthew was in trouble in 1984, when at 19, he moved in with his father after she remarried. Returning after she divorced a second time, Eden said he was sleeping a lot and lied about being enrolled in college.
“Matthew never told Mike and me that he was using heroin—he didn’t want to hurt us. But we figured it out because he had been acting sluggish, losing weight, staying out all night. I insisted that he enter a rehab center, and I let him come back home when he came out a month later.”
The star of The Stepford Children continued, “But he started using again. The professionals told us that if your child is using drugs, he has become the drug: He is no longer your child, and he no longer has a home with you. So, I locked him out when he was 20, which was the hardest thing I ever had to do.”
Matthew, who started using drugs when he was only 10, spent the next 12 years in and out of rehab, his parents connecting to help him through.
“When he visited us, sometimes he’d laugh and say, ‘Here I am, better lock up everything.’ But when he was sober, he’d tell us, ‘I’m so sorry. I love you more than anyone in the world,’” Eden said of her son, who often stole their property when he visited.
Barbara Eden, US actress, in costume in a publicity portrait for the US television series, ‘I Dream of Jeannie’, circa 1967. The sitcom starred Eden as ‘Jeannie’. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)
During a brief remission when he was 27, Matthew married and studied creative writing at UCLA, but “the cycle began again,” and his wife left.
Recalling when things turned for the worse, Eden said she confronted her son, and “he got angry, threw things and stomped out.” Finding Matthew after a months-long search, Eden learned he’d spent most of the time living on the streets.
“One day, soon after they separated, he called me, sounding half dead, and said, ‘Mom, I’m sick.’ Mike’s wife and another friend drove with me to a bad part of Venice, Calif., and we found him in his apartment, unconscious from an overdose.”
Describing his living conditions as “filthy,” Eden continued. “He weighed 200 lbs., but we three women got him up and to the car and took him to the hospital, which saved his life.”
At 29 he was diagnosed with clinical depression and was on medication, that didn’t help.
When he was 31, Matthew was clean again and following the path of his parents, he had a starring role in the 2001 film To Protect and Serve, and a supporting role in Con Games, that was released posthumously the same year.
In September that year, he had plans to wed a “wonderful girl.”
“One day he told me, ‘Life is great, Mom. I can’t believe I spent so many years not being awake to how green the trees are.’” Eden said.
Barbara Eden son cause of death
Soon after that conversation, on June 26 at 3 a.m. Eden was jolted from her sleep when a phone call came through about her son,
Six hours before the call, police found 35-year-old Matthew, an amateur bodybuilder, slumped over the steering wheel of his truck, where cops also pulled vials of anabolic steroids that he used to bulk up for competitions.
Autopsy results showed that Matthew’s cause of death was accidental drug overdose.
“Then he was dead. He had shot up with a dose of unusually pure heroin, and it was too much for his heart,” Eden said. “Even when he was getting in shape, he did it like an addict—obsessively. He was unable to do anything in moderation.”
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Mourning the death of her only child, the author and singer, married to Jon Eicholtz since 1991, is still looking for answers.
“Matthew took it horribly. He wanted his mommy and daddy to stay together. If I had to do it over, I would have waited until he was older. But then I remind myself that so many kids from divorced homes don’t become addicts.” She continued, “He won a lot of battles. But he lost his personal war.”
The senior Ansara, who at 91 died in 2013 from complications related to Alzheimer’s, is buried next to his son at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles.
As for Eden, who retired Jeannie’s pink harem suit, she can be seen on TV shows like Worst Cooks in America: Celebrity Edition and the 2019 film My Adventures with Santa, where she plays Mrs. Claus. Her last stage production was 2019’s Love Letters.
First, we’d like to wish the beautiful Barbara Eden a very happy birthday!
Next, we cannot imagine a parent’s pain of losing a child and we are so sorry for her loss. If someone you know is struggling with addictions, please contact your local alcohol or drug abuse hotline–it could save their life.
Please share this story and let’s give Eden some warm wishes and the love she deserves!
Update on the Pope’s health after he reportedly informed aides he ‘won’t make it this time
According to people close to the veteran, Pope Francis was admitted to the hospital last week for the same illness that caused him to become ill in 2023, but this time he doesn’t think he’ll be as fortunate. The 88-year-old was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Friday last week (February 14) with bronchitis, a respiratory infection, and was later diagnosed with pneumonia in both of his lungs.
“Pneumonia is inflammation and fluid in your lungs caused by a bacterial, viral, or fungal infection,” according to the Cleveland Clinic. In addition to making breathing difficult, it can result in fever and coughing up crimson, green, or yellow mucus.
Additionally, it states that “if left untreated, especially if you have an underlying health condition,” pneumonia can be fatal. Thankfully, it is recognised that baby is breathing on his own despite the diagnosis.
Politico said that the head of the Catholic Church has been “suffering from intense pain and has privately expressed certainty he won’t make it this time,” according to two persons who were supposedly aware of the situation.
However, a third source reportedly told the US-based website that Francis, who was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina’s Flores neighbourhood, is only following “doctor’s orders.”
On Wednesday, Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni paid the Pope a visit and emphasised that he was healthy enough to joke about. “I’m glad to have found him responsive and attentive.
As usual, we made jokes. “He still has a good sense of humour,” she clarified. Today, February 21, the Vatican released a statement that said, “The night went well, and this morning Pope Francis got up and had breakfast.”
The Vatican maintained on Wednesday that the Pope was recovering, despite reports from people close to him suggesting otherwise. They added: “The blood tests, evaluated by the medical staff, show a slight improvement, particularly in inflammatory indices.” “Pope Francis has had a restful night and this morning, got out of bed and had breakfast in an armchair,” the Vatican wrote on Thursday, February 20.
Pope Francis greets people at the end of the weekly general audience on February 12 – just two days before he was admitted to hospital (FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images)
Francis was admitted to Gemelli Hospital in March 2023 with acute bronchitis, so this is not the first time he has been hospitalised with a respiratory ailment.
“I am still alive,” he declared to the public after being released from the hospital.
Twelve years ago, in March 2013, Pope Francis was chosen, making him the first pope from the Southern Hemisphere and the first non-European elected in almost 1,300 years.
Optical illusions have always intrigued us, capturing our attention and leaving us with many unanswered questions.
Rather than just using flashy tricks, these fascinating images take us on a deep, thoughtful journey, showing us the complexities of how we see things.
Our special optical illusions will make you rethink everything you know about yourself. They might give you more insight into your life.
What grabs your attention immediately?
This picture is interesting because it shows how you see both the world and yourself. If you see a duck first, it means you’re outgoing, enjoy being around people, think quickly, and handle stress well.
If you see a rabbit first, it means you believe slow and steady wins the race. You prefer to think things through carefully before making a decision.
When you want something done right, you follow the proper steps. You are more introverted than most people. Like me, you prefer a few close friends over many acquaintances.
Do you see the faces or the vase?
This picture trick was created by a Danish psychologist to show how people see their strengths and weaknesses. If you see two faces first, you’re good at noticing small details and understand many different jobs.
But if you noticed the vase first, you’re someone who focuses on the overall picture and might miss small things.
Do you see an old man or a young woman?
At first, you might see one of two images. If you see the big-nosed older man looking down, you’re someone who pays close attention to details. Sometimes, though, you might overthink things because you’re very sensitive and understand others’ needs well.
But if you see the woman turning the other way, you’re more spontaneous and like to do things quickly. Your optimism helps you stay in control of your adventurous side.
Do you see an older or younger woman?
Who you see first in this picture might give away your age. If you see the young woman turning away, you’re probably still young. But if you notice the older woman, you might be older yourself. This was studied and published in the academic journal Scholarly Reports.
Heart surgeon shares four types of foods you should ‘always avoid’ as they ‘poison’ your body
When it comes to our health, there are plenty of things that we should consider. However, a well-balanced diet is one of the most important factors.
Heart surgeon Dr. Jeremy London, who’s very famous on TikTok with his valuable advice he shares with his followers, shared a video in which he highlighted four foods that are dangerous for our body.
Fast Food
As expected, he places fast food on the top of the list of foods that need to be avoided.
Dr. London labels fast food as “edible food product,” emphasizing the fact that they lack important nutritional value.
A 2017 article published by the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine notes that fast foods are high in calories and low in nutrients. They are loaded with various synthetic ingredients, chemicals, extra corn syrup, sugar, artificial sweeteners, salt, and coloring agents. All these can affect our health in a negative way.
Soft Drinks
Dr. London, who has almost 400,000 followers on his TikTok account, refers to soft drinks as to “liquid death.”
These drinks are full of sugars and their consumption can easily lead to obesity and diabetes.
The same goes for the diet sodas, which are expected to be a healthier option but are actually disrupting our metabolism and increasing the hunger.
The surgeon’s opinion about soft drinks is backed up by a number of research conducted over the years. A particular one, from the UCLA Health, highlights that even a single can of soda per day can increase the risk of developing type II diabetes.
Milk Products
Further, the heart surgeon lists milk products as type of foods that poison our bodies.
Humans are the only mammals who consume milk beyond infancy and consume the milk of other species.
Milk products are full of saturated fat, whose consumption is linked to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s.
The website of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine states that “Studies have also linked dairy to an increased risk of breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers.”
Dr. London advises that we either limit or avoid milk products altogether.
Alcohol
According to Dr. London, alcohol is “absolutely toxic to every cell in our bodies.
“Even moderate or occasional use is in fact detrimental,” he says. “So if we are working so hard to optimize our health, the least you could do is stop actively poisoning your body.”
Instead, we should focus on diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables, and consume minimally processed foods such as beans and wholegrains.
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