"What's New Poodle Dog?"
An Interview with Bill Daily
The man behind bumbling Major/ wannabe-playboy Roger Healey, and flaky Howard Borden talks about his days on "I Dream of Jeannie", "Newhart" and today.
Note: this text was copied from I Dream of Jeannie online. I was in the process
of correcting a few spelling errors to the page when that site disappeared. When the site
returns, this page will go away and I will restore the link to IDOJ online. This is in no
way an attempt to plagiarize the work of Patterson Lundquist. .
Good morning.
Bill Daily: Good morning.
Where were you born?
*I was born in Des Moines, Iowa. In 1928.
How did you happen to get the role of Major Healey?
*I was on the Steve Allen show, the announcer, writer, performer. His Hugh Downes, Ed McMahon. And he actually discovered me and brought me out there. And I did a piece of material that was mostly my stand up and the director saw me and hired me to play an adopted father on Bewitched. So I did a Bewitched and Sidney Sheldon, the famous writer now, he was the executive producer and writer. He asked me to come over and read for Jeannie. So I did while I was still on the Steve Allen Show. So I really owe it all to Steve Allen. Steve had actually seen me do a stand-up in Cleveland on the Mike Douglas Show and Steve liked me and hired me to come out and do a couple of shows. And he liked me and hired me as a regular.Other than going down an adopting my first son that was probably the second greatest moment in my life. And to have him hire you and do that little laugh it was really beyond a dream.
What was a typical week like during your years of Jeannie?
Barbara Eden and Bill Daily
*Jeannie was very easy, because Larry (Larry Hagman) liked to rehearse unlike Bob Newhart. And we only worked three days and did all those tricks and all that magic . We got really good at that freezing stuff (When Jeannie would ever blink the actors would have to freeze and stay perfectly still until everything was ready and the set or what ever changed was ready) Larry was very bright and great to work with. And everyone was highly professional except me, I mean I was new at it. I was sorta learning as I went along. It was my first time at sticking to a script. On Mike Douglas for years in Cleveland I did mostly improv and I was winging it. So sticking to the script was really a nightmare for me. And they weren't always good scripts. They were average scripts. So with Larry we would make it up as we went along. So when the guys would say "light it" (set the lighting for the set for filming) and when they were lighting it for two hours Larry would set the room. Set up the chairs and go over it about forty or fifty times. An our energy levels were up and I knew what I was doing more than on Newhart. And that was a good way to work. With Newhart he's a stand up comic and it worked better for him not to rehearse he liked to do it just about once. Which was tough for me, and I'm not that quick of a study. That Howard (Howard Borden) character was really nervous that was me really out there being nervous. I was trying to figure out what's my next line where's my mark. Because we didn't rehearse at all and we went through it once and that was it.
You were a total riot on Jeannie. Did your experience on Jeannie help you with the character Howard Borden from the Bob Newhart Show?
*Well they called me from the office and the creator I guess was a fan of mine from Jeannie. He told me that the character kinda had jet-lag and was three days behind. And I said well that's me in real life and so I can do that one. So I excepted it and then Grant Tinker who was the President of MTM asked me to come down the hall, and he wanted me to do a star in a pilot. Which was a spin-off of Mary Tyler Moore. I said yeah but I want to do Newhart he's not only a friend I've known him for years. So he said this is my company and you'll do this. So I did that and it didn't sell. And when he called me he said I have good news and bad news. The bad news is your series didn't sell. The good news is the network wants to put you on The Bob Newhart Show. So it worked out for me.
Did you ever have a favorite special effect from Jeannie?
*Well when you're doing those special effects, they're a nightmare. Because you have to freeze while she (Jeannie) changes. You have to stand there until they change the set or she blinks the set, or blinks coffee. And I normally don't watch my self so I don't see those things. At least when you do Newhart you have a live audience you know if it's funny or if it doesn't work. But on Jeannie you have no idea. 'Cause half the scenes you're not in. Or they shoot Larry and you're not there so you don't know if they work or not.
That sounds really complicated, it look easy on the screen.
*Well it was easy when we did it and when we got it down we really got good at it. And Larry is highly intelligent, a very bright guy.
What was your favorite Jeannie episode?
*Umm, let me see. God we used to do forty of them a year now they only do twenty. I don't know I really can't remember. I just loved them all. I liked working with them and working that way. They way Larry work's and it was all fun. Since I did it so many times, I knew my lines and I knew the material and I knew what was going on so it was easy once we did it. Unlike Newhart going out in front of a live audience almost cold. I just recently did the talk show Rolanda (check your local listings) and I mentioned that everybody's favorite including Marcia Wallace "Carol" on The Bob Newhart Show, her favorite and everyone's favorite is me holding up the wall! Its Newheart's favorite he uses it in his comedy routine. (laughs) The funny thing when you do these shows some of them treat us like we're has-been's. Like when I did the Rolanda show, she's a lovely lady but she treated us like we're has- beens. And what a lot of people don't realize is we're all working. I mean Marcia Wallace from Newhart does one of the voices on The Simpson's (check local listings) I mean we're all working. But Geraldo was wonderful when he ended the show he asked 'by the way, what are you doing now?' On my last talk show Rolanda I had the funniest opening line, and it died, it just died. She was treating us like we were all old. I mean of course were old you know. I mean I must admit I look pretty good. And I'm happy about being old.(laughter) They had the gal from The Honeymooner's who played Art Carnie's wife. They had Nichelle Nicoles who played "Uhura" on Star Trek. They had Al Lewis who played "Grampa" on The Munsters. And my first line when I came out was "I'm so glad to see everyone, 'cause I thought we're all dead" (laughs) I thought that was a great line, but everyone gave me a dirty look. I'm like well if you can't make fun of yourself what the heck's the problem? That was on my mind because I did it recently. I just wondered why she never asked one person 'what are you doing now'.
Do you do any personal performances, or project's that fans and the general public could go and see you in?
*Well I have been on the road for about a year in that Canadian thing, Stage West in Toronto, Edmonton. I do a lot of theater work there. I really wouldn't mind doing a TV series, but not in Los Angeles. I don't want to go back out there. I have probably done about thirty of them and some of them have flunked and some haven't gone from pilot status. You know come to think about it I've never done a pilot that didn't sell-Oh yes I did sorry. (laughs) What am I saying?! How easily we forget those! Right? (laughs)
On that subject, how is your community theater doing?
*Oh, wonderful, sensational. It's a wonderful theater. I direct as many as I want, it ties you up an awful lot . Because they can take up to two or three months at a time. And I'll probably do a couple next year. I do them if I like the scripts, I didn't do any this year because I didn't like the scripts and I have been pretty busy.
They are planing on a big screen version of "I Dream of Jeannie" and they have mentioned that they might ask Alicia Silverstone to play the role of "Jeannie". And Barbara Eden has stated that rather than playing Jeannie's mother she would like to play her wicked aunt. Have you spoken to them about making a cameo?
Barbara Eden, Larry Hagman & Bill Daily
*No but that's a great idea. These days though in California you have to read for everything now. I mean everyone has to now, it's the most outrageous thing I have ever heard.(A common step to auditioning for a part in acting. You read a selection of lines made for the character you are auditioning for) So I had spoken to my agent and he died when I told him this I said, 'I have good news, and bad news.' And he goes 'What's the good news" and I said 'Well the good news is they want me to a cameo on "I Dream of Jeannie" playing Major Healey.' So he goes 'Well what's the bad news, I have to read for it!' (laughter) I was pretty proud of myself. I really liked that 'read for Major Healey'. (laughter)
What are your comment's and hopes for the movie?
*Well I know they will be able to do it a lot better than we did, because we only had three or four days. They will probably have three or four months, and with all the special effects now, I mean it should be brilliant. I mean, all we had was a little studio, a bottle, and some smoke. So with the new technologies of special effects it ought to be dynamite. They should be able to do some pretty spectacular stunts. I mean we did pretty well with three days and a little studio.
A lot of "Jeannie" fan's have been hoping that they will reproduce the house the way it was in the series.
*Well that's an easy one because it's still there. All those houses are still the same on the Columbia lot.
A lot of "Jeannie" fan's who are really intrigued with her bottle are dying to know if they will duplicate Barbara's original bottle, they are just hoping everything will be true to the original series.
*Oh they should. They should use everything. And do it exactly the way it was originally. That was a beautiful outfit, and nobody looked more beautiful than Barbara in it. They are going to have to go along ways to get that look she had. I mean she was gorgeous. And what people don't realize is we got all the jokes. Larry had to have so much energy to be the pivot man, who didn't get any jokes. He had tremendous energy, and kept the whole thing going. It's guys like him that don't get the credit because they don't get the jokes. And with out them there is no show, the show wouldn't work. And Larry had the energy to make it work. They are going to find a high energy guy, Tom Hanks would be great. But I don't think he would do it.
Have you kept in touch with Ms. Eden?
*Oh yeah I see Barbara all the time. We recently did Geraldo together. Well we didn't do Geraldo, we did the show. (laughter)
That's one thing I always admired is the sense of humor you always seem to carry wherever you are. On television and everything. It really makes a person feel good because it lets you see that they incorporate their good nature and qualities into every character they portray. It's always nice to see someone who isn't resentful toward how they are remembered.
Barbara Eden and Bill Daily from Episode # 82 "My Master the Ghostbreaker"
*Oh! How can you be? I mean that made me how can you do that? I mean I go into restaurants and I get a good table, people stop me on the street and say 'I love your work' I mean it's outrageous. How can you be resentful? It's no doubt you get pegged in that role. It wasn't hard to get a job after "I Dream of Jeannie" because "Howard" from The Bob Newhart Show was kind of a open several dimension character. He wasn't that strong, he was just kind of a guy. And after I came out of "Howard" nobody wanted me. The character was so strong that it scared everybody. In "Jeannie" I was just a regular guy. They thought 'Oh yeah, he can play anything' But with Howard oh boy you get typecast and it's hard to get out of it. But you know what I noticed about so many great actors, being a great actor, being good on a talk shown , and quick on your feet are two different things. You can be a wonderful actor but a terrible bore in person, and vise-versa. You can be a great person and a terrible actor. (laughter) So one has really nothing to do with the other.
Do you keep in touch with Mr. Hagman?
*No, I'd like to but Larry was always in that wealthy crowd, his mother was Mary Martin, he was living down at the beach, he was always with the Hollywood crowd. I was never in that crowd. I'm so glad he came out of this liver thing.
It's been reported and proved that Barbara Eden has an original "Jeannie" bottle, and we have been wondering if you have a bottle?
*Yeah, I had one but I gave it away. We did a commercial in town here and I used it and gave it away. I had one of the originals.
It has also been noted that yet another "Jeannie" television movie is in the works have you heard of any developments?
*A Jeannie TV movie? With Barbara? No, but I'd like that 'cause I'll always get a part in those. She's a lovely gal. I always like working with her. One thing that has been pretty bad, I don't know who is at the base of it but the scripts were always so awful. I mean it's tough to write around Larry, if you don't have Larry it's like not having Barbara. It would be great to work with them again. But the thing is the first time I didn't know Larry wasn't gonna be there until I was in wardrobe. And I saw Wayne Rogers. I saw him and he's always been boring, even in M.A.S.H. We didn't even talk to each other. We had one line in the whole movie. The second one was the most ridiculous script ever. On opening day we were sitting around the table and I said 'everybody I don't wanna say anything, but Larry is supposed to be lost in space somewhere, he was lost in episode we did. And Jeannie always blinked herself in. They all looked like a painting. They all looked like "Who in the heck is this jerk?" I mean they were so upset. But they went ahead and did this script, it was so stupid. But I had a good time doing it. And Barbara is always lovely. So it was a good time, made some good money, I just couldn't believe the script. I can't figure out where they get them?! (laughter)
Back during "Jeannie" it was noted that you were writer along side Don Richman for the episode "Jeannie the Match Maker" What was your involvement in that episode?
*Boy, you've really done your homework. I was the writer, Don Richman was a brilliant writer. He was a brilliant writer.
Finally one hundred years from now how would you like to be remembered?
*A hundred years from now? I'll still be around. (laughter) I just hope I'll look better than I do now. (laughter) no actually, a hundred years from now. How would I like to be remembered? They will probably still be playing "Jeannie" (laughter) Still be Nick at Nite. (laughter) All though "Jeannie" was a better rerun show, I think that I would like to be remembered by Newhart. It was classier. I feel I have another series still in me and I would do one if it wasn't in Hollywood.
Well thank you so much for your time and it was a joy speaking to you.
*You're welcome! See ya later!
Special thanks to Mr. Daily for his time and wonderful insights!