Set in sunny Florida, “I Dream of Jeannie” was set in Cocoa Beach and Tony was supposed to be an astronaut from NASA. The show had all the astronauts working in Florida which they made work for the series, but it was not actually based on truth. At the time, NASA had moved their astronauts from Florida to Texas. So if Tony really did work at NASA, he would have been in Houston with the rest of them, training at the Manned Spacecraft Center.
Luckily, factual inaccuracies were typically overlooked since it was just a fictional TV show, and not supposed to be based on any sort of reality.
Historic TV Prop
Barbara Eden, of course, got to keep the famous original bottle that was used as a prop on “I Dream of Jeannie.” It was of course where she lived, so it seemed only fair that she got to keep it! She kept this precious memento in her bank vault for many years.
Jeannie’s bottle was widely known as one of the most popular props in all of television history, so it was no surprise that Barbara ended up donating it. She gave the bottle to the Smithsonian Institution which is in Washington, D.C. It remains there and remains ever so popular!
Behind Closed Doors?
Due to the extremely strict censorship rules on television during this time, Jeannie had to be seen leaving the bedroom any time she entered the bedroom with Tony during the series. Yes, even if she was going to be leaving in smoke!
During the time “I Dream of Jeannie” was airing on television, most television shows would show two twin beds in the bedroom of any couples, even if they were married! It was very common for married couples never to be shown as sharing a bed in those times! Just another scandalous aspect of “I Dream of Jeannie!”
Florida Shows Love To Jeannie
While the show may have been filmed in California, the mayor of Cocoa Beach Florida, where the show was said to take place, was sure a big fan of Jeannie! In 1996, Barbara went to speak at Space Days at the Kennedy Space Center 27 years after the series ended.
During this event, Joe Morgan, the mayor of Cocoa Beach Florida, gave Barbara a street sign that said: “I Dream of Jeannie Lane.” The sign was more than just a sweet gesture. The street sign was actually put up on a road off of Florida State A1A. It is a real place!
Costume Malfunctions
Jeannie was widely famous for her scandalous costumes on the show “I Dream of Jeannie.” Eden was always destroying her awesome costumes. Not on purpose of course! She just happened to be a very physical actress. She was always getting her heels caught in her costumes which led to them ripping. Anytime a costume was ripped, of course, it had to be replaced immediately.
The costume designers absolutely had their hands full with work on her constantly changing costumes. Because so many got ruined, unfortunately when the show was canceled they barely had any left as mementos of the show.