'I Dream of Jeannie' star Barbara Eden never saw herself as a sex symbol despite iconic costume

"I Dream of Jeannie," which is celebrating its 60th anniversary, tells the tale of astronaut Major Tony Nelson (Larry Hagman), who finds a magic bottle with a genie (Eden) inside. The two go on to fall in love and build a life together.

The beloved sitcom premiered on Sept. 18, 1965, catapulting Eden to superstardom.

"I never thought of [Jeannie] as sexual," she explained. "She was lovable because she was so honest and forthright and obviously devoted to her master. And she was learning. I enjoyed playing that part of it. She was learning everything about this time. She was 2,000 years old, which people seem to forget."

"She was an entity - she wasn't a real woman," Eden shared. "She was female, of course, but an entity, not a human. And that's your comedy right there. She felt she could be human, and of course, he knew she wasn't."

"Mike Connolly [a columnist for The Hollywood Reporter] would come down to the set," Eden recalled. "He would tease me about how I didn't have a belly button because it never showed. Well, it did, because I'd raise my arms and do all kinds of physical things, and of course, my belly button would peek out. 

"But he enjoyed teasing me. He would poke me in the middle and say, 'I don't believe you have one!' And then he started to write about it. And then guys all across the United States began to write about it."

"I thought it was funny, but strange," she chuckled. "Suddenly, the standards and practices, or whatever they called it in the film industry, realized I had a belly button. Even the studio realized I had a belly button! But before that, no problem."

Eden pointed out that no one at the studio initially decided to cover her navel until the buzz about her so-called disappearing act spread like wildfire.

"They then said I had to have the waist come up high," she said. "But not only that, I wore dancer's pantyhose, which are pretty thick, plus a pair of underwear over that, and then the chiffon. And then there was silk inside. It was so funny. All I could do was laugh at the whole thing. And men would come down to the set just to stare at my belly. It was a lot of foolishness, but fun."

Eden gave input on one thing about her midriff-baring costume.

Looking back, Eden still has fond memories of bringing the show to life alongside Hagman, who died in 2012 at age 81.

"So, Larry came to me while I was working at Universal," she said. "We were in my dressing room, and we did the first scene of the pilot together there. In that scene, [Jeannie] just loves him and gives him big hugs. And of course, I played the part. It wasn't Barbara, it was Jeannie doing this. Well, several months later, Larry told me, 'You scared me! I didn't know what you were doing.'"

For Eden, magic was in the making.

"I noticed our chemistry during the pilot, the first time I ever worked with him," she said. "I realized right away that it was going to work. He was so good, and I was pretty good myself. But we were on the same radio frequency, or whatever you want to call it. We understood each other as the characters. We understood each other. We enjoyed it."

"He was a super sweet and kind man," Eden continued. "He was a little different from the rest of us. He marched to his own drum, which was fun because it was always pretty interesting. I loved him."

"I enjoyed being with her," said Eden. "We did not have a lot of time to talk or be girlfriends. Remember, we would be in the makeup department in the morning, getting ready for our scenes. We had to get to work. But she was always pleasant."

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"Back then, I didn't think about being famous," she reflected. "I was just working. I didn't have time to sit back and say, 'I made it.' I just didn't. You can't do that when you're working hard."

Eden hasn't thought about what she would like to do next. She's too busy staying active.

"I hope to accomplish whatever is thrown at me," she laughed. "I look forward to the next challenge."