Date: 1976
Manufacturer: Remco
Accessories: lounge, treasure chest, side table, seat, vanity with mirror, elevator, back drop and floor mat.
This doll and playset is very special to me and as you will see in the photos below, I kept it in perfect condition.
The first show I ever recall being absolutely obsessed with, was "I Dream of Jeannie". I was only three and it was in rerun every weekday evening around 5:30pm. I remember a lot from that time, but I especially remember this because it was one night when I was under foot in the kitchen that my mother sat me in my livingroom chair, grabbed the TV guide, flipped the channel and said, "Sit here and watch it!". I was very angry that she yelled at me. Whatever this show was looked boring. A bunch of men in suits. Why would I want to watch that?
But then....... then......... suddenly and without warning........ "PING!" there she was! A beautiful girl in a funny costume and something in me snapped. I was GLUED to the TV. From then on, I lived for the show! I would stand in the mirror folding my arms and blinking, trying to make something happen. After realizing I will never be a genie, I decided to settle for being a bellydancer because at least I would get to wear the costume. And, about 15 years later, that's just what I was doing professionally! No joke.
It was on one particular episode of the show that Jeannie conjures up a doll of herself so her Master could give it to a sad little girl. When I saw that I screamed, "Maaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!" and my mother flew to the TV thinking something was wrong. I was so excited about this doll! Taking it seriously (for once), she actually did call around and apparently, somebody at FAO Schwartz told her they didn't make it anymore. She had to come tell me that they stopped making the doll and the reason I saw it on the show was because I was watching the show a few years later. My answer to this was? "Well, they're going to make one again so I better put it on my list for Santa".
That was in 1970. Only six years later, (but what felt like an eternity to me), Remco put out this Jeannie playset and doll and I got it from Santa! Gee, I was right. How'd I know at age three that "they" would make one again? Well, its not scientific, but they say we Aquarians are always years ahead of our time. That was the first time I'd predicted something like that, and I've been doing stuff like that ever since. Needless to say that I do believe in astrology.
When I got the playset, I was so happy. The picture on the box, was of the cartoon Jeannie who appeared on a Saturday morning cartoon in 1973. She was not blonde Jeannie, as we know Jeannie, and her master is a teen-ager named Cory, voiced by Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker himself). This Jeannie is very cool, however. She has red hair and uses her ponytail to conduct her magic, rather than blinking.
Why the show came out in 1973 and the playset three years later (after it was off the air and forgotten) is anybody's guess. The Remco set was confusing because the Jeannie on the outer box was the redhead cartoon Jeannie, but in the box was the Barbara Eden doll. I don't think anyone has figured this out yet. Plus, the bottle itself is shaped like the cartoon Jeannie's bottle. Not Barbara Eden's. You can see all this on Youtube if you look for the Jeannie cartoon.
The doll I saw on the TV show, as it turns out, was made by a company called "Libby" and was made in 1966. In its original box, its value is over $400. However, having now seen one in person since the days of longing for it as a little girl, I was disappointed. The show doesn't give us a good view of the doll. Its basically just a child like a Crissy doll, in a Jeannie costume. It looks nothing like Barbara Eden. Still, if I had received one back then, I'm sure I'd have loved her to death and played with her often.
As it was, I pretended that my Sweet 16 Barbie was Jeannie. The face did resemble Barbara Eden and she was blonde.
When I received this set in December of 1976, I cut the picture of cartoon Jeannie out from the box and put it on the bull it en board in my room. This made sense since the box was so big and would be stored on a shelf in the basement. I wanted to look at that picture often, so I cut it out. That's why the pictures of the set below do not have her and there's a big hole! However, I found it and will include them below the playset photos.
Also, I will be adding a whole section on I Dream of Jeannie to this site sometime this year. Look for it maybe this summer (2009) or fall.
Comments to follow each of these photos.
For more information on the Jeannie doll by Remco and her fashions, check out this GREAT website that features many different 6" fashion dolls, including a whole page on Jeannie and another whole page on Jeannie's hard to find fashions! http://www.whos-that-doll.com
Feel free to join us on the ohmydolls Yahoo group if you'd like to talk about Jeannie dolls or any dolls, or share more info. Our group is 100% spam free and VERY quiet: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/oh_my_dolls
A view of the bottle playset fully opened and set up. Jeannie came with two pairs of pink shoes. They're in the treasure chest. I should have taken a picture of the open chest, but I was in a rush and had to get the bottle back into storage before I left the area. The doll is not with the set. At the moment she's coming out of the Jim Beam bottle a few feet from me! I will try to add pictures of it opened when ever I get time to take more photos.
This doll is much prettier to me than the 1966 Libby doll. Worth the wait, I'd say. And she fits some of Dawn doll's shoes and clothes! I love her sofa bed. Its much like the one on the cartoon Jeannie show from 1973.
Jeannie at her vanity mirror.
Neither Barbara Eden, nor redhead Jeannie, needed an elevator! But Jeannie's closet doubles as an elevator in this playset.
Jeannie peers out from the opening of the bottle, just like on the show.
Cool sticker on the outside of the bottle!
Here's where I cut out the picture of redhead Jeannie from the box. I have it though. Its on the table I am sitting at now. I'm looking right at it.
The side of the bottle box is cool, too. I love the drawings. As a kid, I used to love to look at these pictures. I love the pink and blue color combination.
A closer look at the Jeannie doll. Interestingly, there was another doll released the same year wearing a dark blue/pale blue costume. The doll is said to have a slightly smaller head and wire posing legs like a Tutti doll or a Flatsy doll or Gumby. I've never seen that doll in person. I will try to get pictures of her though.
Yet another discrepancy! The picture shows Jeannie with long sleeves. I like that look, but where did they get that from? Even in the first season, Jeannie's sleeves were never long and flouncy. Very cool pictures, though.
Wow! And yet another discrepancy! Wow! There's just no consistency. Now she's blonde and has a headpiece of some kind. Cartoon Jeannie never did. Love the earrings! I thank my friend Delfina for finding these plates in a thrift store back in the early 90's. Good find. I keep them in the box with the bottle so they don't get lost.
I will try to get a more clear photo or a scan soon. This was taken in a rush and is a bit blurry. Anyway, you can see what I cut from the box.