Barbara Eden Recalls Lion Sitting In Her Lap, Smashing A Camera, On ‘I Dream of Jeannie’ Set

Barbara Eden, whose Hollywood career has spanned more than 60 years, is best known for her on-screen character of Jeannie in the television series I Dream of Jeannie. Recently, at the Christmas Con event held in Kansas City, the actress shared a nostalgic anecdote in an interview with PEOPLE about her experience working with a lion on the set of the series.

Eden fondly recalled the special relationship and affection that existed between her and the magnificent beast during the filming of the series in contrast to the connection co-star Larry Hagman had with the wildcat.

Barbara Eden shares her experience with a lion

During the course of the discussion, the 91-year-old disclosed that I Dream Of Jeannie was not the first project in which she had encountered the wildcat. “I had done a couple of films and worked with lions,” Eden admitted. “The trainer always tells you, you go over, you make friends with the lion because male lions are not aggressive. It’s the female you have to look out for. And they’re always well-fed. They don’t want to eat you. They want to play with you.”

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Eden further revealed that she was advised to get familiar with the lions, but maintained a height of carefulness. She was told by the trainer to let the lions “smell your hand like a puppy, but always be ready to jump away because they could break your leg, you know, if they rolled over for a tummy rub.”

Barbara Eden says Larry Hagman did not bond with the lion

The actress revealed that prior to filming a scene with Larry Hagman, she had wanted to get acquainted with the lion. “I went over to Larry in his dressing room. I said, ‘Larry, we have to go make friends with the lion,'” Eden related. “And he said, ‘What? I’m not making friends with any blankety-blank lion!’ And he walked away. I go, ‘Okay.'”

Eden explained that while she was rehearsing with the lion, the animal became ferocious upon sighting Hagman. “They’d put a bowl of raw meat right here by my thigh, and he’d eat the meat, and he’d look around. He’s very happy, very happy. Then they brought in Larry,” she detailed. “The lion was brought in and he ate the meat, looked around, looked at me, looked at Larry, and, ‘ROAR!'” Larry, I wanna tell you, he was off the set. Not only was he off the set, the cameraman, the whole crew. They broke the camera. And I had an 800-pound lion in my lap, purring. They purr, just like kitty-cats!”