I Dream of Jeannie debuted on NBC TV, on Saturday, September 18th, 1965.
Jeannie's pink 1960s-era harem costume is now housed in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
Barbara Eden personally selected the pink/maroon color combination of Jeannie's harem outfit and the purple trim of her bottle.
Barbara Eden was the first blonde who auditioned for the role of Jeannie.
Sidney Sheldon didn't want a blonde to play Jeannie because he didn't want unfavorable comparisons to Bewitched.
In a few early color episodes, Jeannie wears a green harem outfit instead of her customary pink.
NBC wanted to film the first season in black and white because they didn't believe the show would last more than one season.
The fancy antique bottle which Jeannie called home was actually a decorative Jim Beam liquor decanter, which originally contained "Beam's Choice" Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey.
Jeannie 's bottle was decorated and painted with gold leaf by one of the show's art department employees.
While filming the first season, Barbara Eden was pregnant with her only son, Matthew Ansara. Her pregnancy was disguised by filming her in close-up or with a copious veil covering her front.
Larry Hagman could be so hard to work with that the producers seriously considered replacing him with Darren McGavin. They even wrote out a story with Tony losing Jeannie and McGavin finding her. However, studio executives liked Hagman much more than they did.
Jeannie's look-alike sister was created by writer, James S. Henerson. He also wrote for Bewitched and was fired from that show when they found out he was writing for I Dream of Jeannie at the same time.
Network executives and censors were unconcerned about her navel being seen until someone casually mentioned during the third season that it was occasionally visible when the waistband of her costume shifted. After that her navel was required to be covered.
In the episode I Dream of Jeannie: Mrs. Djinn Djinn (1970), you can catch a peek of Barbara Eden's navel, while it was banned.
Tony Nelson wears a blue Air Force uniform, and Roger Healy a green Army uniform, to symbolize their joint efforts in the Space Program.
The Nelson home still stands on the Warner Brothers Ranch in Burbank, CA, where it has a new role as the Ranch Operations office. Aside from minor cosmetic changes, the house remains almost exactly the same after nearly 50 years.
Michael Ansara, first husband of leading actress, Barbara Eden, guest-starred in three episodes and directed one episode.
Originally, Jeannie's power was activated by folding her arms followed by a series of eye flutters. This was soon replaced by nodding her head and blinking once.
Sidney Sheldon used the comedy movie, The Brass Bottle (1964) as a working model for the show. In the movie, Tony Randall unleashed a male genie, portrayed by Burl Ives. Randall's girlfriend in the movie was played by Barbara Eden.
Larry Hagman was a long-time alcoholic at the time and admitted that he was drunk in many of the episodes that aired on TV.
In season 2, Jeannie's bottle and harem costume, as well as the interior of the Nelson home, are completely renovated from the first season.
Anthony Nelson was in the Air Force and Roger Healey was in the Army. This accurately reflected the actual military experience of the actors.
According to Barbara Eden's autobiography, "Jeannie Out of the Bottle," Larry Hagman strongly disliked his character in most of Sidney Sheldon's scripts.
Located on the Columbia Pictures back lot - the "Columbia Ranch" - in Burbank the exterior facade used as the Bellows' house was also used as the Stephens' house in Bewitched.
Jeannie's extremely diabolical sister was officially named by NBC TV, as Jeannie II.
I Dream of Jeannie (first season in 1965) was the last television series to be broadcast in black and white on NBC.
When asked why the show went off the air, Barbara Eden replied that producers felt they had enough episodes for a syndication sale, and the show lost viewers when Tony and Jeannie got married.
Before taking the role of Amanda Bellows, Emmaline Henry appeared in an the episode "Is There an Extra Genie in the House" as a magician's assistant. The magician was played by Bernard Fox, "Dr. Bombay" from Bewitched.
In Season 2, sets from other famous shows are used as locations. The most recognizable locations are the house and office featured on ABC's Bewitched plus locations from The Partridge Family and The Monkees.
General Chuck Yeager, the first astronaut that broke the sound barrier, made a cameo appearance in one episode during opening season (episode: Bigger Than a Bread Box and Better Than a Genie).
In the middle of the first season, Tony and Roger were both promoted from the rank of captain to major.
When Tony is promoted from captain to major, he is wearing the wrong rank. He has silver clusters which are for a Lieutenant Colonel. In season two, the clusters changed color, from silver to gold which is a Major.
The interior of Jeannie's bottle is a set built on a sound stage. Barbara Eden had to climb an eight foot ladder to get into it.
During season one, Jeannie's mother was portrayed by Florence Sundstrom and Lurene Tuttle, in later episodes Barbara Eden took on the additional character role.
Robert Conrad tested for the role of Major Tony Nelson, and was seriously considered, as was Darren McGavin. Actors Gary Collins and Jack Warden screen tested together as Tony and Dr. Bellows.
Tony Nelson's Air Force decorations are: Airman's Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Outstanding Unit Ribbon, Korean Service Medal and the Air Force Longevity Service Ribbon.
Paul Lynde guest-starred in three episodes. Each time, he had a different character role.
All of the characters drive Pontiacs. The only exception is the General, who drove a Cadillac convertible in the series finale.
General Schaeffer's dog was named "Jupiter".
Songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King wrote a theme song titled "Jeannie", but the song was rejected before the series debuted on NBC.
During the first season, while in black and white, the smoke effect was usually a screen overlay of billowing smoke, sometimes combined with animation. Early color episodes used a purely animated smoke effect.
During the run of the show, they held a contest to see who could guess the correct date of Jennie's birthday. It's April 1st.
Barton MacLane, who portrayed General Peterson over 35 episodes from 1965 to 1969 died during the fourth season and was replaced by Vinton Hayworth who played General Schaeffer in 20 episodes from 1969 to 1970.
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Vinton Hayworth, who portrayed General Schaeffer during the last season also passed away during production. As the series had already been canceled, the commanding general role did not need to be recast a second time.
"I Dream of Jeannie" and "Bewitched" were considered rival shows during the 1960's and 1970's. I Dream of Jeannie cast member Bill Daily made his acting debut in a small role on "Bewitched".
Major Nelson's house had appeared in different forms on nearly every Columbia/Screen Gems sitcom up to that time. It had always been seen as a neighboring house on these occasions, finally taking center stage as the main house on I Dream of Jeannie.
