Rorke was not a stranger to the acting industry prior to landing his role on “I Dream Of Jeannie.” He got his start playing small roles on Broadway before transitioning to TV and film. Aside from “I Dream of Jeannie,” Rorke had roles in many films such as “Pillow Talk,” “Rope of Sand,” “An American in Paris,” and many more.
Rorke reprised his well-known role as Dr. Bellows in the 1985 “I Dream of Jeannie” TV movie. That would also be his final role. Sadly, William (Hayden) Rorke died in 1987 after a long battle with cancer. He was 76.
Jeannie’s Magical Gestures
When you think of the show “I Dream of Jeannie” obviously Jeannie is the first thing that comes to mind! You probably remember the most iconic move in TV history, too. That would be how the character Jeannie used her magical powers. You will probably remember this move as her nodding her head and blinking one time.
This was not always the case though, originally the gesture was a bit different. Jeannie would make a series of eye flutters while also folding her arms. Slightly different but still a major change! We can definitely say that the series would not have been the same if this gesture was changed.
Jeannie The Cartoon
Once “I Dream of Jeannie” was canceled, the network had to replace the show. They replaced it with a Hanna-Barbera cartoon called “Jeannie” which was, of course, very loosely based on the show “I Dream of Jeannie.”
The cartoon aired on television for over two years. The plot of the cartoon was quite different than that of the show. In the cartoon, a teenager who was a surfer finds Jeannie’s bottle. Jeannie begins to protect the teenager from people at the high school he went to. The cartoon was filled with a star-studded cast of voice actors such as Mark Hamill, Julie McWhirter, and Bob Hastings.
Everything Looks Better In Color
By the time the first season of “I Dream of Jeannie” finished, all of the other networks had already made their way into transitioning their shows for color television. It was time for the show to debut in color. This happened with the start of their second season.
They also finally decided on a theme song at the beginning of the second season. The theme song and the fact that the show was in color was not the only new thing starting with season 2. They were also debuting a new introduction for the show which was an animation created by Friz Freleng who was famous for his cartooning on Looney Tunes.
Hiding The Baby Bump
When you think of the show “I Dream of Jeannie” You automatically think of Jeannie’s little harem costume. While she was known for that signature outfit, you may not remember that Barbara Eden, who played the role of Jeannie, was actually completely clothed during the first 10 episodes of the show.
The reason why she was covered up for the first few episodes was that Barbara was pregnant! The writers decided to improvise. Instead of canceling the show altogether, they simply covered her up during those first few episodes. And thankfully they did so since the show became an instant classic.