WEBVTT - I Choose…To Dream of Barbara Eden 0:00:01.639 --> 0:00:09.039 You're listening to I Choose Me with Jenny Garland. Welcome 0:00:09.080 --> 0:00:11.600 back to I Choose Me. We have been having the 0:00:11.600 --> 0:00:15.280 best conversation today. We're going to continue that. I have 0:00:15.440 --> 0:00:19.280 Barbara Eden on the pod, and she has so much 0:00:19.560 --> 0:00:23.480 wisdom to share with us. So here's part two of 0:00:23.480 --> 0:00:28.360 our conversation. It's absolutely incredible. But I Dream of Jeanie 0:00:28.520 --> 0:00:34.680 is having its sixtieth year anniversary. This is insane. It 0:00:34.760 --> 0:00:37.560 is such an incredible honor to be on a beloved 0:00:37.760 --> 0:00:40.600 television show like that that stands the test of time. 0:00:40.720 --> 0:00:44.040 I can kind of relate with my ten year run 0:00:44.080 --> 0:00:46.240 on Beverly Hills nine o two one zero and people 0:00:46.320 --> 0:00:49.800 being so invested in that character that you played. I 0:00:49.840 --> 0:00:52.440 know you loved that role and you loved that show, 0:00:53.200 --> 0:00:56.000 but did you ever go through periods after the show 0:00:56.040 --> 0:00:59.800 when you sort of wanted to disconnect or this is 0:00:59.840 --> 0:01:02.080 so see it from that character or that show just 0:01:02.080 --> 0:01:04.080 just kind of show. Look, I'm not just that I 0:01:04.120 --> 0:01:05.720 can do other things. 0:01:06.160 --> 0:01:10.680 Never, never, No, because I was doing other things. I 0:01:10.680 --> 0:01:14.000 think even when I worked with you, I was doing 0:01:14.080 --> 0:01:15.400 something other. 0:01:15.600 --> 0:01:15.800 Yeah. 0:01:15.880 --> 0:01:21.000 No, I I oddly enough because I understand people who 0:01:21.840 --> 0:01:26.039 or that, but I really didn't. I wasn't thinking about 0:01:26.120 --> 0:01:32.840 Genie because I was doing film work. I was in Vegas, 0:01:33.120 --> 0:01:39.480 I was singing. It's only it's been quite recently that 0:01:39.600 --> 0:01:43.280 I realized, you know, she's right there there she is, 0:01:43.959 --> 0:01:49.040 you know, yeah, and I'm I think she's great, she's wonderful. 0:01:49.120 --> 0:01:53.400 She's not me, but she's I love it, and it 0:01:53.600 --> 0:01:59.280 does make make me feel really really good that people 0:01:59.400 --> 0:02:04.320 appreciate what I did, that they're still looking at it. 0:02:04.400 --> 0:02:15.120 And god, I it's it's almost like magic, okay, to 0:02:15.120 --> 0:02:19.520 to get fan mail from Russia, and you know how 0:02:19.560 --> 0:02:23.200 they do that. They they because they can't mail letters 0:02:23.360 --> 0:02:28.160 to the United States, so they send it through Poland, 0:02:29.080 --> 0:02:32.919 and I mean all over Europe. It's in France, it's 0:02:32.919 --> 0:02:38.200 in the UK, it's in Italy, it's in China. How 0:02:38.240 --> 0:02:41.360 do they do that? I mean, I you know, you 0:02:41.400 --> 0:02:50.240 speak Chinese now a little bit, but yeah, but how 0:02:50.240 --> 0:02:53.600 do they get that mail out? It's just it's I 0:02:53.639 --> 0:02:57.399 love it. Germany, lots of Germany, lots of South America. 0:03:00.120 --> 0:03:05.920 Isn't it amazing how things have changed, how we're so global? 0:03:07.720 --> 0:03:14.800 And that's that makes me feel good, you know, you know, 0:03:15.200 --> 0:03:18.959 I'm getting a little teary eyed, because, like I said 0:03:19.000 --> 0:03:22.080 to you earlier, I've modeled myself after you and your 0:03:22.120 --> 0:03:24.200 professionalism and your spirit. 0:03:24.880 --> 0:03:31.680 And I can see, I can see the gratitude. I 0:03:31.680 --> 0:03:36.840 can see that you lead with gratitude, and that is 0:03:36.840 --> 0:03:40.320 why you are still here while you are so still 0:03:40.360 --> 0:03:47.240 so beautiful, and you're just like you're you radiate gratitude, 0:03:47.320 --> 0:03:50.760 and I think that's a huge key to life. 0:03:50.960 --> 0:03:57.560 Well, I agree, yes, yeah, gratitude is important to recognize 0:03:58.120 --> 0:04:03.480 how lucky you are. Yeah, lucky. But I'll get back 0:04:03.520 --> 0:04:06.240 to that. We're all a connected thing because I really 0:04:06.440 --> 0:04:11.040 truly believe in it. You can find that spirit and 0:04:11.120 --> 0:04:16.839 almost everyone around you, and that's wonderful. That's a great 0:04:16.839 --> 0:04:17.520 thing to live with. 0:04:20.000 --> 0:04:22.000 I know, I picked a good idol to look up to. 0:04:22.360 --> 0:04:26.480 I mean, you're just blowing my mind. You brought the 0:04:26.560 --> 0:04:29.479 character of Genie to life. You took her off that 0:04:29.560 --> 0:04:32.080 paper and you made her come to life. And she 0:04:32.279 --> 0:04:38.039 had that infamous costume, which also turned you into a 0:04:38.080 --> 0:04:42.440 sex symbol. I'm telling you you were a sex symbol. 0:04:42.800 --> 0:04:44.440 I want to know what that was like. Did you 0:04:44.440 --> 0:04:46.560 ever feel objectified back then? 0:04:46.839 --> 0:04:47.039 No? 0:04:47.640 --> 0:04:49.799 Oh, my gosh, you are amazing. 0:04:50.000 --> 0:04:57.320 No, I didn't, Well, come on, it's a classic theme, 0:04:58.080 --> 0:05:01.600 the genie in the bottle, Yeah, and the magic and 0:05:02.080 --> 0:05:07.440 it's uh and fun to do. I just adored doing her. No, 0:05:07.600 --> 0:05:11.159 I never did feel that although a lot of people 0:05:11.240 --> 0:05:14.280 made fun of my belly button and lack of. 0:05:14.680 --> 0:05:17.680 You know, everybody wondered, does she have a belly button? 0:05:17.760 --> 0:05:21.320 Yeah? We love it. The uh it's the guy at 0:05:21.360 --> 0:05:26.360 the Mike Connolly at the Hollywood Reporter, who wrote an 0:05:26.480 --> 0:05:30.880 article and he came down on the set to talk 0:05:30.920 --> 0:05:33.720 to both Hilary and to me, and then he looked 0:05:33.720 --> 0:05:36.400 at me and he said, where's your belly button? And 0:05:36.440 --> 0:05:40.800 I said it's there. He said, I don't say it. 0:05:40.960 --> 0:05:44.760 I said, nickel a peek, you know I was. 0:05:45.200 --> 0:05:48.400 I went, yeah, you gotta charge more. Yeah, now I 0:05:48.400 --> 0:05:48.880 could do it. 0:05:49.640 --> 0:05:51.760 So he kept coming down on the set and every 0:05:51.760 --> 0:05:56.320 time I'd walk by like that and tummy my gosh. 0:05:56.360 --> 0:05:59.760 But he wrote about it, and then the stringers across 0:05:59.800 --> 0:06:03.440 the country picked it up, and I thought to myself, 0:06:03.720 --> 0:06:08.760 you know, there are actresses that are known for much 0:06:08.839 --> 0:06:14.880 better body parts than the belly button, you know, but 0:06:14.920 --> 0:06:17.479 I'll take it. Why not? Why not? 0:06:18.320 --> 0:06:23.400 Did you ever struggle with body image being with your 0:06:23.400 --> 0:06:26.000 body or how you felt in your body being that 0:06:26.080 --> 0:06:29.640 you were. You know, you were in such beautiful, cute 0:06:29.680 --> 0:06:33.719 little outfits all the time, and looking a certain way 0:06:33.839 --> 0:06:38.640 was really important. Did you ever feel those challenges when 0:06:38.640 --> 0:06:41.280 it came to your body image. 0:06:41.480 --> 0:06:45.440 I don't know how to answer that, because I wasn't. 0:06:46.279 --> 0:06:50.599 You know, I still still we wonder about what we 0:06:50.600 --> 0:06:56.080 wear and how it fits and yeah that, But honestly, 0:06:57.360 --> 0:07:03.760 when most actors start working or acting or were in 0:07:03.800 --> 0:07:08.240 the lights, you know, you forget about those things. You 0:07:08.440 --> 0:07:11.520 just be the person you're being and be comfortable in them. 0:07:12.120 --> 0:07:19.360 I don't know, no, I haven't ever since that when 0:07:19.840 --> 0:07:23.720 my first interview you know that, Yeah, that showed me 0:07:23.800 --> 0:07:27.400 his daughter that broke you in. Yeah, yeah, I know 0:07:27.960 --> 0:07:32.240 that made me think, made me think and centered me. 0:07:33.360 --> 0:07:36.600 You know, I was thinking. I've had a lot of, 0:07:36.920 --> 0:07:40.720 you know, insecurities. I think growing up in the nineties 0:07:40.800 --> 0:07:44.720 being on TV. Yeah, it's a really competitive era. Yeah, 0:07:44.920 --> 0:07:49.680 to be a female on television, and things seem to 0:07:49.760 --> 0:07:52.720 have been so different for you in the in the 0:07:52.760 --> 0:07:58.040 sixties and the seventies, Like you didn't have those It 0:07:58.080 --> 0:08:02.120 doesn't sound like you were ever crippled by your insecurities 0:08:02.920 --> 0:08:07.720 or they didn't hold you back, and that's so admirable. 0:08:10.760 --> 0:08:17.240 Well, thank you. I don't know. When you're talking, I'm thinking, hmm, 0:08:18.040 --> 0:08:22.000 was I insecure? Did I do? There were times perhaps 0:08:22.000 --> 0:08:26.360 when I thought I wasn't quite up to the part 0:08:26.400 --> 0:08:32.360 I was playing, But I've never I don't know. I 0:08:32.400 --> 0:08:36.640 don't think about being insecure. I just don't think about it. Now. 0:08:36.880 --> 0:08:40.640 I may know then then then it wasn't. It wasn't 0:08:40.679 --> 0:08:46.040 on my agenda. What was there to be insecure about. 0:08:46.120 --> 0:08:50.160 I mean, you wanted to work, so you did your job. 0:08:50.880 --> 0:08:56.480 If you're talking about insecure clothing or such, no, you 0:08:56.559 --> 0:08:59.720 wear what they tell you to wear, and you have 0:08:59.800 --> 0:09:04.800 no power over that, and it's much better if you 0:09:04.840 --> 0:09:06.520 don't make a fuss. 0:09:07.160 --> 0:09:07.360 You know. 0:09:09.800 --> 0:09:13.040 As you are talking to me, I'm thinking about different 0:09:13.040 --> 0:09:21.719 shows I've done, you know, And one of them was, well, 0:09:21.760 --> 0:09:26.920 I with a very famous actress and everyone said, well, 0:09:26.960 --> 0:09:32.120 she's difficult. You know, she was the most wonderful thing 0:09:32.200 --> 0:09:38.040 to me. She actually came down and made my dress 0:09:38.040 --> 0:09:42.480 look better to be on the set. So so I 0:09:42.760 --> 0:09:46.840 you know, most people are are pretty good. They're they're 0:09:46.880 --> 0:09:51.839 good souls. No, I guess they wasn't. 0:09:52.480 --> 0:09:56.439 You said it was easier to not make a fuss 0:09:56.880 --> 0:09:58.880 about things like your wardrobe boards. 0:09:58.920 --> 0:09:59.760 It's not important. 0:10:00.040 --> 0:10:00.800 It's not important. 0:10:01.360 --> 0:10:05.160 Well, it's important that fits you and it fits the character. 0:10:06.480 --> 0:10:10.360 But you do it. That's why you're there. 0:10:10.400 --> 0:10:14.800 To act and let the costume designer address. 0:10:14.520 --> 0:10:16.640 You do their job and that's okay. 0:10:17.640 --> 0:10:20.080 You're very easy going. You have to kind of just 0:10:20.120 --> 0:10:22.880 be like Teflon and move through life like that. 0:10:23.880 --> 0:10:27.840 I guess. So I don't know. I mean, I don't 0:10:27.880 --> 0:10:32.760 mean that you don't have some input for it. For instance, 0:10:32.880 --> 0:10:36.360 tell me tell you a job on Genie. The first 0:10:36.440 --> 0:10:42.320 year of Genie, I was pregnant. What yes, I had 0:10:42.400 --> 0:10:46.760 gone Michael and I had tried to have a baby 0:10:46.760 --> 0:10:51.280 for so long. Finally I was pregnant. And I found 0:10:51.320 --> 0:10:55.600 out the same day that they told me that Genie 0:10:55.640 --> 0:10:59.920 was going to go on the air. So I called Sydney, 0:11:00.840 --> 0:11:04.120 the writer producer on the show, and said, I have 0:11:04.240 --> 0:11:06.120 to talk to you. I really have to talk to 0:11:06.120 --> 0:11:11.240 you in person. And he was having dinner at Buck 0:11:11.280 --> 0:11:14.040 Henry's house, who was a very well known writer at 0:11:14.040 --> 0:11:17.120 that time, and he said, well, come on down, we'll 0:11:17.160 --> 0:11:20.000 be at dinner. So I drove I lived up in 0:11:20.000 --> 0:11:23.600 the hills, came down to his house, and I was 0:11:23.640 --> 0:11:27.199 so happy. You know, I was happy about the show too, 0:11:27.400 --> 0:11:29.680 but it was a good time for you. You're happy 0:11:29.720 --> 0:11:30.520 that I was pregnant. 0:11:30.640 --> 0:11:30.880 Yeah. 0:11:30.960 --> 0:11:33.880 So I sat down there with a big grin on 0:11:33.880 --> 0:11:38.760 my face. I said, you know, I'm pregnant. I can't 0:11:38.760 --> 0:11:43.160 do your show. I don't know. I couldn't keep the 0:11:43.200 --> 0:11:50.080 smile off my face. He said what I said. I 0:11:50.200 --> 0:11:53.319 just had to let you know so you could recast it, 0:11:54.000 --> 0:11:58.000 you know, he said, just just stop. He said, I'll 0:11:58.040 --> 0:11:59.840 talk to you in a couple of days. We'll see 0:11:59.840 --> 0:12:03.360 if we can work this out. Okay, work this out. 0:12:05.120 --> 0:12:07.840 Because he had to write a lot of scripts. He 0:12:07.880 --> 0:12:13.440 wrote most of the scribs, and so Gene Nelson, who 0:12:13.480 --> 0:12:17.240 at that time was a well known actor director. I 0:12:17.280 --> 0:12:22.000 remember one time on this set, I came into work 0:12:22.559 --> 0:12:27.440 and there was a bikini on my Now, I know 0:12:27.679 --> 0:12:32.480 now girls flaunt their tummies, but at the time I 0:12:32.559 --> 0:12:36.560 wasn't flooding, you know. And I looked at it and 0:12:36.600 --> 0:12:42.720 I said, I can't wear that. And so the costumer 0:12:43.000 --> 0:12:45.680 went over and told Gene, no, she can't wear the 0:12:45.720 --> 0:12:48.960 bathing suit. And Gene, who happened to have been a 0:12:49.240 --> 0:12:52.240 very good friend of mine at the time, walked up 0:12:52.280 --> 0:12:55.840 to my dressing room and said, Barbara, Barbara, you're never 0:12:55.880 --> 0:12:58.880 a diva. He said, what won't you put on a 0:12:58.880 --> 0:13:04.880 bathing suit, said Jean, I am pregnant. He said, well, 0:13:04.960 --> 0:13:10.600 well that's right, Okay, I'll put it on, but not 0:13:10.760 --> 0:13:13.240 for the crew. You have to come in here and 0:13:13.280 --> 0:13:16.560 see it. So I put it on, and Jean came 0:13:16.600 --> 0:13:20.920 to the door anyway, Oh, oh, I see what you mean. 0:13:21.160 --> 0:13:22.080 I see what you mean. 0:13:22.920 --> 0:13:26.959 I mean, so you had to give him a visual. Yeah, 0:13:27.040 --> 0:13:27.800 that's hilarious. 0:13:27.960 --> 0:13:28.120 Yeah. 0:13:28.960 --> 0:13:33.560 And so what I did was they put me on 0:13:33.640 --> 0:13:36.920 a tire on my tummies. So then I got, you know, 0:13:37.000 --> 0:13:40.000 on to near the bathing It was a pool, like 0:13:40.920 --> 0:13:41.920 the set was a pool. 0:13:42.280 --> 0:13:42.360 Uh. 0:13:42.440 --> 0:13:45.240 And I was supposed to be on a floaty. No, 0:13:45.400 --> 0:13:49.040 it was a a the side of the pool, okay, 0:13:49.200 --> 0:13:51.120 the side of the pool. But they just put the 0:13:51.760 --> 0:13:54.120 a real tire, I mean, not a floating tire. 0:13:54.640 --> 0:13:56.600 Why what what why a real tire? 0:13:57.200 --> 0:14:00.760 Well they covered it up with towels. Why because it's 0:14:00.800 --> 0:14:02.720 a hole in the middle of my tummy fit. 0:14:06.760 --> 0:14:11.760 That is so funny mm hmmm. And it's so crazy. 0:14:11.960 --> 0:14:15.400 The parallels are that I keep finding for us, because 0:14:16.200 --> 0:14:20.080 I too had got a show that I was really 0:14:20.120 --> 0:14:23.160 excited about. It was a comedy, and it had been 0:14:23.240 --> 0:14:25.200 after my nine oh two and oh run doing so 0:14:25.320 --> 0:14:28.640 much drama, and I really wanted to transition into comedy. 0:14:29.280 --> 0:14:32.080 And I got a job on a show was called 0:14:32.080 --> 0:14:34.840 What I Like About You. It was nowhere near I 0:14:34.920 --> 0:14:37.320 Dream of Genie. We only lasted for four years, but 0:14:38.520 --> 0:14:42.560 I remember I did the pilot and then I got pregnant, 0:14:43.680 --> 0:14:48.000 and then I had to say, hey, guys, I'm pregnant. 0:14:48.600 --> 0:14:50.560 This is going to be a problem because the character 0:14:50.640 --> 0:14:54.360 is definitely not pregnant, nor should she be. Yeah, and 0:14:54.680 --> 0:14:57.520 we had to go to great lengths to hide that 0:14:57.960 --> 0:14:58.560 baby bump. 0:14:58.640 --> 0:15:03.280 Oh yeah. I had lots of material in front of me, right, 0:15:03.520 --> 0:15:06.520 Are you always holding something I was always holding, like 0:15:06.560 --> 0:15:09.400 a laundry basket or you though I didn't have to 0:15:09.440 --> 0:15:09.840 do that. 0:15:10.040 --> 0:15:12.640 I remember one scene I had to walk behind a 0:15:12.680 --> 0:15:15.720 clothing rack full of clothes just my head was above 0:15:15.760 --> 0:15:20.760 it and I was rolling it through the scene. Oh 0:15:20.800 --> 0:15:23.640 the things we do, Yeah, the things we do. 0:15:27.640 --> 0:15:31.600 Summer is this season of love Summer Loven, Here we come. 0:15:31.960 --> 0:15:34.520 If you're old enough to remember Summer loven, You're old 0:15:34.600 --> 0:15:37.720 enough to find an I Do Part two. Listen each 0:15:37.760 --> 0:15:40.280 week as our hosts make it their goal to find 0:15:40.280 --> 0:15:43.240 you the next true love of your life. Jenny Garth, 0:15:43.400 --> 0:15:48.440 Jana Kramer, Alexia Napola, Cheryl Burke, Jen Fessler, Kelly Ben Simone, 0:15:48.480 --> 0:15:51.800 Amy Robot and TJ. Holmes are dedicated to helping you 0:15:51.920 --> 0:15:55.080 fall in love again. It's time to make it hot, 0:15:55.120 --> 0:15:56.520 hot hot this summer. 0:15:56.880 --> 0:15:59.680 Listen to I Do Part two on the iHeartRadio app, 0:15:59.760 --> 0:16:09.520 app podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Okay, you're 0:16:09.560 --> 0:16:13.320 starring in a huge show, the most popular show. Your 0:16:13.400 --> 0:16:16.720 character's name is in the title. It's called The I 0:16:16.800 --> 0:16:17.680 Dream of Genie. 0:16:17.720 --> 0:16:19.160 That's you. Yeah. 0:16:20.480 --> 0:16:24.560 Pay Quality is something that we women have been battling 0:16:24.640 --> 0:16:28.680 for a long time. Oh, so you see where I'm 0:16:28.720 --> 0:16:32.080 going with this. I'm really curious back then, seeing as 0:16:32.120 --> 0:16:34.840 your name was in the title, were you being paid 0:16:34.840 --> 0:16:39.560 the same as your co star Larry Hagman at that time? 0:16:39.680 --> 0:16:42.080 Oh? I was probably being paid more. 0:16:42.480 --> 0:16:44.600 Ah, yes, Barbara. 0:16:46.040 --> 0:16:48.320 Because he wasn't known at all. 0:16:48.560 --> 0:16:52.120 Oh, I'm so happy to hear this, And I'll. 0:16:51.880 --> 0:16:54.080 Tell you a cute story now. That we're on the 0:16:54.120 --> 0:17:02.560 money thing. Larry was extremely intelligent and savvy, you know, 0:17:02.640 --> 0:17:06.399 Mary Martin was his mother. He knew showbiz, he knew 0:17:07.080 --> 0:17:11.120 what was going on. And he said, you know, he said, 0:17:11.119 --> 0:17:16.680 I'm keeping track of my overtime. I said, you are, yeah, 0:17:16.840 --> 0:17:19.320 he said I did. You really should, Barber, you should 0:17:19.400 --> 0:17:23.120 keep track of your overtime. I said, okay, so and 0:17:23.160 --> 0:17:28.240 we every you know, we've worked really hard. You got 0:17:28.240 --> 0:17:30.520 some id but well, I'd be up at six am 0:17:30.560 --> 0:17:34.440 to get all the body done and then and then 0:17:34.520 --> 0:17:38.080 we worked till seven or eight at nine, So I said, okay. 0:17:38.320 --> 0:17:42.240 So I wrote it all down beautifully, and Larry would 0:17:42.280 --> 0:17:43.960 come in and say, look at the check I got. 0:17:44.960 --> 0:17:50.560 You know, overtime. I didn't get a check. You know, 0:17:50.760 --> 0:17:54.960 I guess I didn't get a check. So I told 0:17:54.960 --> 0:17:59.080 my agent and he couldn't get anything out of it. 0:17:59.160 --> 0:18:04.840 Was Columbia's studios at the time, and so I had 0:18:04.840 --> 0:18:09.080 a friend who was an attorney, a dear friend, and 0:18:09.119 --> 0:18:11.040 his wife and his child and everything were in my 0:18:11.080 --> 0:18:15.920 friend and I said, you know, Joe, I'm not I 0:18:15.960 --> 0:18:18.480 don't know what to do about this. I've kept track 0:18:19.119 --> 0:18:25.119 and I don't think I'm getting my overtime, and he 0:18:26.160 --> 0:18:30.840 had a friend in the office, the attorney's Columbia, and 0:18:31.400 --> 0:18:35.080 he said, you know, she's very upset. I wasn't very upset. 0:18:35.080 --> 0:18:41.680 I was just curious what the heck and and so 0:18:41.720 --> 0:18:45.359 they wanted me to prove it. So I gave Joe 0:18:45.440 --> 0:18:48.480 my little book you know where I'm putting it down, 0:18:49.119 --> 0:18:52.360 and Joe came back laughing to me. He said, Okay, 0:18:52.440 --> 0:18:55.600 no problem, but they don't understand how you knew all 0:18:55.680 --> 0:19:00.879 that your numbers are exactly what they have. And I 0:19:01.000 --> 0:19:05.960 thought to myself, they admit that they were not making 0:19:06.000 --> 0:19:09.480 a mistake. They were doing something really wrong. 0:19:10.040 --> 0:19:14.119 You know, they were keeping a tally just like you did. Ye, 0:19:14.520 --> 0:19:15.639 Yet they didn't pay you. 0:19:15.680 --> 0:19:22.439 No, no, So I got a big check. Because it 0:19:22.560 --> 0:19:25.760 was several years. I just kept. 0:19:25.640 --> 0:19:29.479 Thinking, oh, this is so good. Yes, after what is it? 0:19:29.520 --> 0:19:30.680 After how many hours? 0:19:31.280 --> 0:19:32.240 Oh god, I don't know. 0:19:32.280 --> 0:19:37.120 I don't remember anymore. I don't remember, but I love 0:19:37.160 --> 0:19:39.600 it that Larry Hagman it suggested that you do that. 0:19:39.880 --> 0:19:42.480 Oh yeah, keep track of it. And then he kept 0:19:42.480 --> 0:19:46.359 showing the shecks was skinny. Yeah, I'm not getting a check. 0:19:49.800 --> 0:19:53.160 Oh gosh. The one of the one of the many 0:19:53.200 --> 0:19:56.800 reasons why I admire you. After I dream of Geenie, 0:19:56.880 --> 0:20:01.600 you didn't just rest on that legacy. You kept creating, 0:20:01.680 --> 0:20:06.879 You kept working, You kept reinventing yourself. Tell me about reinvention. 0:20:07.200 --> 0:20:09.400 I think we're all kind of doing it every day. 0:20:09.800 --> 0:20:13.159 We're always a work in progress. We can reinvent ourselves 0:20:13.680 --> 0:20:15.080 every day if we want to. 0:20:16.200 --> 0:20:17.480 Did you in what way? 0:20:18.119 --> 0:20:23.000 I just mean, like, say you had a bad day yesterday, 0:20:24.000 --> 0:20:28.119 you weren't your best self. Go to sleep, wake up 0:20:28.160 --> 0:20:30.679 the next morning and start again. Try again. It's a 0:20:30.720 --> 0:20:34.000 new day, and you can be what you if you 0:20:34.040 --> 0:20:38.000 can picture the woman, the person that you want to be, 0:20:38.760 --> 0:20:44.040 how you want to be known. And maybe you haven't 0:20:44.080 --> 0:20:48.879 always been that person. You're human, You make mistakes, things happen, 0:20:49.160 --> 0:20:51.560 but the next day is another chance to try again 0:20:53.560 --> 0:20:55.080 to be the person that you want to be. 0:20:56.840 --> 0:20:57.159 Well. 0:20:58.320 --> 0:21:02.920 I and even for acting, you know. 0:21:03.320 --> 0:21:07.240 I think acting helps you reinvent. But as far as 0:21:07.280 --> 0:21:12.960 you're the reality and when you're not on stage, I 0:21:13.000 --> 0:21:16.320 don't think i'd want to reinvent. I want to be myself. 0:21:16.640 --> 0:21:23.679 I want to be what I am. It's uh, that 0:21:23.720 --> 0:21:30.320 would be superficial. I think you know, I love my friends, 0:21:30.359 --> 0:21:38.879 I love my family, and if there is some person 0:21:38.920 --> 0:21:43.679 that doesn't love us, okay, go away, you know. But 0:21:45.240 --> 0:21:47.120 now I don't know. I don't know why you'd want 0:21:47.160 --> 0:21:49.159 to reinvent yourself. 0:21:49.320 --> 0:21:53.119 I guess I'm thinking more of like, for example, Madonna, 0:21:54.400 --> 0:21:57.520 from her first album to where she is today, She's 0:21:57.520 --> 0:22:01.440 gone through so many different versions of her look and 0:22:01.480 --> 0:22:06.040 her kind of what she led with. I guess that's 0:22:06.119 --> 0:22:07.679 kind of what I'm referring to. 0:22:07.720 --> 0:22:11.200 It's kind of fun. It is kind of fun. I mean, 0:22:11.240 --> 0:22:19.000 I think good for her. Yeah, you know, I don't know. 0:22:19.040 --> 0:22:20.320 But you see, I'm not on. 0:22:20.400 --> 0:22:25.359 The You're not a singer. I mean, like, you're not 0:22:25.400 --> 0:22:30.200 a pop star, so authenticity is very important to you 0:22:30.280 --> 0:22:33.480 and to your craft, but not me. 0:22:33.640 --> 0:22:41.159 It's the character I'm playing, you see, So I don't no, no, 0:22:41.840 --> 0:22:44.440 I like what I am. 0:22:44.520 --> 0:22:44.800 Yeah. 0:22:45.520 --> 0:22:47.800 Oh all the warts, I don't care. 0:22:47.920 --> 0:22:52.159 Yeah, all the parts, the good, the bad, ugly. Yeah. 0:22:52.240 --> 0:22:56.520 I think that's the key. Yeah, loving yourself. 0:22:57.720 --> 0:23:01.480 Just as you are, yeah, and loving people around you, 0:23:01.600 --> 0:23:06.400 loving people around you, recognizing that, yes, how lucky you are, well, 0:23:06.440 --> 0:23:08.400 how much alike you are? 0:23:08.960 --> 0:23:15.679 The connection? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I want to ask you 0:23:17.680 --> 0:23:24.800 about love and grief your life has been marked by 0:23:25.240 --> 0:23:29.280 profound experiences of love. You've been married three times, you 0:23:29.320 --> 0:23:34.600 had a beautiful son. Love is complicated. You had that 0:23:34.720 --> 0:23:37.400 heartbreaking loss of losing your son Matthew. 0:23:37.760 --> 0:23:38.680 Yeah. 0:23:38.720 --> 0:23:42.400 How did you choose to embrace life and your career 0:23:42.920 --> 0:23:47.639 while you were navigating those deep personal challenges in your 0:23:47.680 --> 0:23:48.280 real life? 0:23:48.359 --> 0:23:52.520 Well, my work helped me. It did help me. I 0:23:52.520 --> 0:23:59.720 guess everyone treats grief differently. Some people allow it to 0:23:59.760 --> 0:24:06.000 pull arized them, but I think you have to push 0:24:06.080 --> 0:24:12.399 through it. You'll never lose the grief. It'll always be there, 0:24:13.280 --> 0:24:17.680 especially when it's your child. I don't I know. I 0:24:18.440 --> 0:24:27.280 went out after he transitioned or passed. I went on 0:24:27.920 --> 0:24:34.680 tour with the Odd Couple and did a long tour. 0:24:35.760 --> 0:24:38.600 And during that time we went to the film and 0:24:38.640 --> 0:24:43.960 trying to think of the film's name, but oh god, 0:24:44.200 --> 0:24:49.879 I can't think of it. Very popular, wonderful movie. But 0:24:50.080 --> 0:24:55.720 little boys, a lot of little boys there. And I 0:24:55.880 --> 0:24:58.760 was sitting there with tears just coming down my cheeks. 0:24:59.200 --> 0:25:02.639 But things like that, you just work through it. You 0:25:02.720 --> 0:25:05.919 work through it, but you'll never forget. And you always 0:25:05.920 --> 0:25:10.800 have those feelings. You know, even now it's years ago, 0:25:10.920 --> 0:25:13.399 you know that. But I'll see a little boy and 0:25:13.440 --> 0:25:15.120 I just want to pick him up and hug him, 0:25:15.720 --> 0:25:16.000 you know. 0:25:17.280 --> 0:25:22.240 Yeah, my best friend Adele told me that grief, she's 0:25:22.280 --> 0:25:25.760 a therapist. She said that grief is like a rock, 0:25:25.840 --> 0:25:29.399 a stone in your pocket. Yeah, and it's always going 0:25:29.480 --> 0:25:31.840 to be there. Yeah, They're always going to carry it 0:25:31.840 --> 0:25:35.080 around with you. Yeah, but you don't have to focus 0:25:35.119 --> 0:25:36.920 on it. 0:25:36.920 --> 0:25:38.000 It's interesting. 0:25:38.119 --> 0:25:43.720 Yes, it's so hard to do though. I think when 0:25:43.760 --> 0:25:46.679 you said your work helped you through it, I think 0:25:47.680 --> 0:25:51.200 my personal inclination wouldn't be to not work and to 0:25:52.040 --> 0:25:55.720 sort of pul myself up in my despair and you know, 0:25:56.560 --> 0:26:00.480 be just I can't even imagine that. That's on iaginable 0:26:00.520 --> 0:26:04.480 what happened to you. And I'm so so sorry. Yeah, 0:26:04.960 --> 0:26:10.640 but I don't. You are such a strong lady. Sometimes 0:26:10.760 --> 0:26:13.280 sometimes yes, sometimes I am. 0:26:13.440 --> 0:26:14.199 Sometimes I'm not. 0:26:16.560 --> 0:26:21.879 Yeah, but I mean, just to know that you worked 0:26:21.880 --> 0:26:24.120 your way through it, you know, that's all you can do. 0:26:25.440 --> 0:26:28.679 You can't change it. You just have to learn to 0:26:28.720 --> 0:26:29.159 live with it. 0:26:30.920 --> 0:26:35.520 That's so hard to have your life, you know, that's all. 0:26:35.680 --> 0:26:39.600 Yeah. For the listeners out there that are carrying grief 0:26:40.080 --> 0:26:45.000 or they're grieving, they're navigating the complicated relationship. Perhaps, what 0:26:45.200 --> 0:26:51.800 would you say about choosing love for yourself and healing 0:26:51.960 --> 0:26:55.840 after loss. 0:26:57.080 --> 0:27:01.160 I don't know how to answer that. I think everyone 0:27:01.280 --> 0:27:04.880 has to choose their own path. Everyone has a way 0:27:04.960 --> 0:27:09.080 of dealing with their family, dealing with your emotions, dealing 0:27:09.080 --> 0:27:13.000 with you know, you have to find your own path 0:27:13.080 --> 0:27:20.480 and follow it, that's all. There's no law, there's no rule. Yeah, 0:27:21.680 --> 0:27:27.800