Barbara Eden is looking back on her time working with Elvis Presley and revealing a personal conversation the music icon once had with her.
The “I Dream of Jeannie” star, now 94, spoke with Entertainment Weekly about working alongside Presley in the 1960 Western “Flaming Star.”
During their time filming the movie, Eden said Presley became curious about her marriage to actor Michael Ansara and how the couple managed to maintain their relationship while working in the entertainment industry.
Eden Gave Advice to Elvis
“He asked me a lot about my marriage with Michael and how we did it, being in the industry, both of us,” Eden recalled.
Eden said she explained to Presley that she and Ansara viewed acting as their profession and understood the importance of separating their work from their personal lives.
“I said, ‘Look, this is our job. This is how we make a living … It is a job, acting.’ And you work on it,” she recalled.
At the time, Presley was apparently interested in a woman from overseas and was thinking about bringing her to the United States. Eden had previously shared the story during a 2023 interview with Fox News Digital.
“Elvis told me about this girl that he really liked a lot,” Eden recalled. “He said, ‘I want to know how you and your husband survive this business.’”
According to Eden, Presley eventually brought the woman he had been talking about to the United States. That woman was Priscilla Beaulieu, who would go on to become his wife.
Eden said she did not realize at the time how young Priscilla was. Years later, after meeting her, Eden said she shared the story with her.
“She was very young to me,” Eden said, adding that she later told Priscilla about her conversation with Presley. “She is a lovely woman, and I like her a lot.”
Eden’s own relationship with Ansara lasted for more than a decade. The couple married in 1958 and welcomed their son, Matthew, before divorcing in 1974.
Eden Loved Working With Elvis
While “Flaming Star” gave Eden and Presley an opportunity to work together, Eden said their professional relationship remained firmly rooted in their jobs. She also praised Presley for taking his acting career seriously.
“Wonderful work ethic. Wonderful,” Eden told EW. “He was doing his job, as was I, but he did it well.”
She remembered Presley as punctual and considerate on set, recalling that he would even make sure she had somewhere to sit.
“And I’d come on the set — if I came after him — he would go and get me a chair to sit in, which actors don’t do that, you know,” she said.
Eden also got the chance to see Presley perform live years after they worked together. During a break from her own Las Vegas show, she attended one of his concerts.
“It was thrilling, absolutely thrilling to see him work,” she recalled.
For Eden, the memories offer another glimpse into Presley beyond his status as a music superstar, including the questions he had about balancing fame, work and love.
