Talk:Barbara Eden

Biography assessment rating comment
WikiProject Biography Assessment Drive

This article is nearly a B-rating - it needs citations and/or references.

The article may be improved by following the WikiProject Biography 11 easy steps to producing at least a B article. -- Yamara 03:33, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

Master of Disaster
...I removed the unnecessary cite demand next to the "Master of Disaster" appelation for Irwin Allen. Irwin was referred to this during his film career in the 70's by most film critics of the era, and asking for a cite for this is like asking for a cite for "The Bambino" for Babe Ruth or "Tricky Dick" for Richard M. Nixon. 66.90.151.114 17:51, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

Makes sense having found similar erroneous actual citations in this and corresponding articles JFKenn (talk) 18:28, 23 July 2020 (UTC)

Major Nelson - or Captain
I'm fairly certain, if memory serves, that Tony Nelson was originally a Captain. I will try and research this.rich 23:53, 10 January 2007 (UTC)
 * As I recall (from watching the show when it originally aired) he was a Captain at the very beginning, but got promoted.CharmsDad (talk) 15:35, 4 June 2014 (UTC)

This article is terrible
This is one of the worst written articles I've ever seen on Wiki. Honestly, it seems like a 6th grader wrote it. Not only that, it strays completely from having a NPOV ("delightful seasons"?) It should be scrapped. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.89.0.15 (talk) 22:46, 27 August 2008 (UTC)

Date of High School Graduation
If the 1949 date is accurate, she would have been just under 15, assuming a June graduation. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.6.24.157 (talk) 04:24, 6 January 2010 (UTC)

I know she went to Polytechnic High and was a freshman when my dad was a senior in 1949. I've seen the yearbook. She was listed as Barbara Huffman. She must have moved to Lincoln High later on. googuse (talk) 03:01, 10 April 2010 (UTC)
 * •The Lincoln HS website, Hall of Fame (1992 inductee), and ALHS online yearbook Senior photos all confirm that Barbara Huffman (now Eden) was in the Spring Class of 1949 (there is also a Fall Class of 1949). Cite has been added to the article, to put this to rest. &mdash; DennisDallas (talk) 20:49, 4 February 2012 (UTC)
 * The fact that she graduated in 1949 makes 1931 a more likely date of birth than 1934. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.196.94.134 (talk) 03:30, 26 August 2013 (UTC)
 * While I support he 1931 year of birth for other reasons, the High School Senior photos have no year, as far as I could tell, unless I overlooked something, which I don't think I did. Therefore it doesn't prove the year of birth. Quis separabit?  01:58, 25 February 2014 (UTC)

Birthdate is in Error
I looked at her cited birth certificate. The right margin is chopped off. It's unclear whether it's 1931 or 1934.

Most reputable sources list her birthday as August 23, 1934.

Furthermore, The Daily Mail article cited by the article listed her as being 78 this year. Where did the extra three years come from? LizFL (talk) 09:45, 24 August 2013 (UTC)

If you look at the date the certificate was filed, it says August 26, 1931. Her age on the 1940 Census record is 8. This points to her year of birth as being 1931. Bobby H. Heffley (talk) 00:35, 26 August 2013 (UTC)


 * We have a birth certificate saying 1931 (Allegedly ... the right margin is torn off), census records saying 1932, and reliable sources saying 1934. Which one is correct? — Preceding unsigned comment added by LizFL (talk • contribs) 20:00, 26 August 2013 (UTC)
 * @LizFL -- the filing date at the bottom says August 26, 1931. Quis separabit?  03:46, 19 October 2016 (UTC)


 * With all due respect, Barbara has always told the media that she was born in 1934 (as the Daily Mail and biography.com entries attest). Even if her birth certificate and census records are technically public records, I'm not comfortable with the idea of contradicting a living celebrity over something as personal as their birthday. LizFL (talk) 20:24, 26 August 2013 (UTC)


 * Well, the census record (see here) would only indicate 1932 because the 1930 and 1940 censuses, the only available censuses which would have her on them, were taken in April and her birthday is in August. You are supposed to tell them your age at your last birthday. It's 1931, but although I have edited other actress' ages, I held off because I was afraid of the tsunami of hatred which would have overwhelmed me. Aside from the verifications above, Intelius gives her age as 82 (as of today) and the year (if you pay the onetime fee to check), as 1931. (No Intelius isn't perfect, but nothing is.) In January 1951, she was enrolled in a local beauty pageant (which amazingly she lost), which would have made her 16 at the time, and she graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School, San Francisco in 1949. Quis separabit?  21:27, 24 February 2014 (UTC)


 * With all due respect, we should realize that women tend to lie about their age. Bobby H. Heffley (talk) 21:51, 1 September 2013 (UTC)
 * P.S.: @Bobby H. Heffley -- Sir, you are so right, especially actresses, although a lot don't, and even some men do. I always say women lie about their age and men lie about their height. Quis separabit?  21:59, 18 October 2016 (UTC)

Assessment comment
Substituted at 08:57, 29 April 2016 (UTC)

Television and film roles
This section (although probably correct) has hardly any references, this is a BLP article. Clamis without in-line references will soon be removed. Mlpearc ( open channel ) 15:13, 26 July 2016 (UTC)

Early years section, corrupted text?
Eden was born 1915–1986) and Hubert Henry Morehead (1911–1974).[2] This makes no sense.

2600:1700:B9C1:20C0:317C:9D4E:B477:4B8 (talk) 00:12, 23 June 2020 (UTC)David

Lead
I just wanted to speak here about the lead (or preface) to hopefully discuss it with JFKenn. I want to clarify that I am the person who wrote the lead for this article. Previously it was very short and only mentioned I Dream of Jeannie. After I'd expanded it, I saw that you altered the end of it - fair enough, it reads better now. After all, the page does not belong to me and Wikipedia's ethos is communal improvement. However, I personally felt "2 season" was unnecessary. I've never seen any lead on Wikipedia describe a series with that wording and that it ran for two seasons doesn't strike me as notable in its own right. In addition to this, I feel that "two-season" would be a more conventional rendering. I should've added an edit summary, my apologies, but I do feel that it is innappropriate to then call my edit vandalism. Somebody else's idea of an improvement does not constitute vandalism. Is it not what Wikipedia is about? I am a little bewildered by the responses I received. I don't consider my subsequent edit and its summary an attack on yourself or indeed "completely innappropriate". I'd just like to hear your thoughts on my rationale about the wording. It's not a hill I'm willing to die on. I just want to understand what's going on here.Humbledaisy (talk) 19:51, 7 June 2022 (UTC)


 * Read your response in its entirety to be sure. The problem, it seems, lies with the Wikipedia database not the users themselves who may have different opinions on the development of an article. The system should require users to give reasons for the edit without the ability to bypass that screen and leave it empty. The system asks a question and if it goes unanswered, it may leave some users perplexed. Then it appears like "vandalism" occurred which has been all too common here on this page and others. Vandalism is a very commonly used way to describe missing or altered text. That (word) is the way the automatic bots or Admins describe unexplained alterations to the text. You can blame Wikipedia for that, not me. Wikipedia is also asking users on this page to improve the preface. It is just that the sentence becomes obviously weak when the number 2 is removed. I had wrote near the end of the preface out along the lines of "made-for-tv" then, "made for television" to improve it. Additional edit(s) also did make it sound like a better sentence. Much of what appears throughout on this particular Wikipedia page on Eden was written by me. I agree that changing "2 season" to "two-season" would be better. If you want to use that phrase change, go ahead. I numbered it "2" because of its common usage, in my opinion, though it does not meet the strict criteria or definition for style and usage. I might try to make the suggestion to Wikipedia to change article alteration procedure for -- reason of the change -- as required to save people from coming to a misunderstanding. JFKenn (talk) 23:03, 7 June 2022 (UTC)

I feel that perhaps a reminder of WP:OWN would be pertinent based on your response and your edit summaries. I have heard a lot about your authorship and little rationale. I still don't feel mentioning how many seasons it ran for is relevant or useful for a lead, but I'm happy to change it to "two-season" as this is consistent with the limited use of the phrase I've been able to find in media. Humbledaisy (talk) 19:52, 10 June 2022 (UTC)

Source
Use this source: https://people.com/tv/barbara-eden-life-in-pictures/ -- Ssilvers (talk) 22:25, 11 April 2024 (UTC)

"Lead too short" template necessary?
The article has been expanded (and also the lead section has as well) since the template was added in December 2021. Is this still necessary? I see regular editing to this article, and figured that there's a reason it hasn't been removed. Berry (talk) 14:50, 17 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Agree, removed. -  FlightTime  ( open channel ) 14:57, 17 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Disagree and reinstated. An article of this length (and C-class due either to grade inflation or decay) should have a much more substantial Lead, like three paragraphs, give or take, that give the highlights of her whole life and career.  See WP:LEAD.  This article is very poorly referenced, which is the first thing that should be attended to by anyone who wishes to improve it. -- Ssilvers (talk) 20:30, 17 April 2024 (UTC)
 * I think this lead counts as an improvement. But why start a new discussion on the “Lead” when there is already a Talk section here concerning that. My only real critique, however, is that the tail end of the lead now has a misplaced comma when read, it says “…, of the same name.” No comma should be there. As indicated, I believe the work done represents an improvement. JFKenn (talk) 22:48, 17 April 2024 (UTC)
 * I started this thread because the latest one about the lead is a year old, and it wasn't about the template, so my conclusion was that no meaningful discussion would have been made there. I was only wondering if there was a reason the template was still there, as I haven't been editing this article. Berry (talk) 03:30, 18 April 2024 (UTC)

Sure, removed stray comma. Reinstated Too short tag for the reason stated above. -- Ssilvers (talk) 02:28, 18 April 2024 (UTC)


 * Now I've expanded the lead per WP:LEAD. -- Ssilvers (talk) 03:12, 18 April 2024 (UTC)

Benjamin Franklin
The article says she is a descendant of Benjamin Franklin. While this is true, her Benjamin is a completely different person from the well-known famous Benjamin Franklin, from whom she is not descended. This should be corrected. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 107.139.38.148 (talk) 03:07, 18 April 2024 (UTC)