Big Beautiful Balls and Barbara

Heavens. Miss Barbara Jean Morehead, better known as Barbara Eden, star of 1960s classic series I Dream Of Jeannie, blows out 95 candles on her cake today!

I Dream of Jeannie

Although it is her appearance as said genie for which we remember her most, among Miss Eden's other notable achievements she starred alongside Walter Pidgeon and Joan Fontaine in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, with Tony Randall in the cult movie 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, in numerous US made-for-TV thrillers and mini-series, on stage as the star of Kander and Ebb's Woman Of The Year, and reunited with her Jeannie co-star Larry Hagman in Dallas in 1990. She reunited with Mr Hagman again on stage in the play Love Letters in 2006 - and, remarkably, just last year she starred once again in a production of that play in Los Angeles, opposite Hal Linden.

There's no stopping her, it seems!

On my last day of freedom before the horrible prospect of going back to work tomorrow looms, and after another fruitful day in the sunshine in the extensive gardens here at Dolores Delargo Towers, pottering, watering and feeding our pots, I'm in need of some light relief.

So how about Miss Eden herself, way back in 1968, singing about big balls..? That'll do nicely:

Barbara Eden - Big, Beautiful Ball

Love it!

The Quadfather

Sharing the day with a whole raft of famous names including Keanu Reeves, Marge Champion, Salma Hayek, Lennox Lewis, Billy Preston, Moira Stuart, footballer Joey Barton, Daniel arap Moi, PM Sir Keir Starmer, Jimmy Connors, Victor Spinetti, Francis Matthews, Bill Shankly, Mark Harmon, the ill-fated astronaut Christa McAuliffe and - erm - Google Chrome, we have a centenary to celebrate - that of Mr Hugo Montenegro!

Who? I hear you ask...

Well, he got to #1 in the UK charts for three weeks in 1968 - holding off strong challengers including Eloise by Barry Ryan and This Old Heart of Mine by the Isley Brothers - with this:

Hugo Montenegro and His Orchestra - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly [Ennio Morricone]

Although he did score some films in his own right, he really made his name in the estimable company of the likes of Ron Goodwin, Henry Mancini, LeRoy Holmes, Stanley Black et al, whose orchestrated "easy listening" compilations of film music became extremely popular in the 60s and 70s. He was nicknamed "The Quadfather" in the early 1970s as a pioneering composer for quadrasonic recording, and was renowned as an early pioneer of musical arrangements using the Moog synthesizer.

There is one composition by Mr Montenegro, however, for which he really is best known - this!

I Dream of Jeannie

All hail, Hugo Mario Montenegro (2nd September 1925 – 6th February 1981)

Jeannie and her fabulous balls

Happy 77th birthday today to Miss Barbara Jean Morehead, better known as Barbara Eden, star of 1960s classic series I Dream Of Jeannie.

I Dream of Jeannie

Although it is her appearance as said genie for which we remember her most, among Miss Eden's other notable achievements she starred alongside Walter Pidgeon and Joan Fontaine in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, with Tony Randall in the cult movie 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, in numerous US made-for-TV thrillers and mini-series, on stage as the star of Kander and Ebb's Woman Of The Year, and reunited with her Jeannie co-star Larry Hagman in Dallas in 1990 (and again on stage in the play Love Letters in 2006). She continues to make stage and singing appearances to this day.

Here she sings about big balls...

Barbara Eden - Big, Beautiful Ball

Not yet retired, and proudly bearing what appears to be a new head (thanks to fairly obvious amounts of plastic surgery), Miss Eden published her memoir Jeannie Out of the Bottle in April 2011.

Barbara Eden official website