Emmaline Henry

Career

I Dream of Jeannie creator Sidney Sheldon mentioned in an interview that Henry was a good actress who was very easy to work with. She first appeared on Jeannie during the first season playing a different character named "Myrt". She made her first appearance as Amanda Bellows during the second season.

Henry began her career as a singer, appearing on local radio in her teens. She went to Hollywood in the early 1950s and found her way into the choruses of several musicals. Producers began noticing, however, that her comic skills were superior to her singing. She toured in musicals like Top Banana, and later appeared in the film version of the show. She succeeded Carol Channing in the play Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

Henry made her television debut in a 1955 episode of the ZIV production, I Led Three Lives. This was followed by appearances in another ZIV TV show, Highway Patrol. She appeared on The Red Skelton Show in 1961 and, subsequently, made guest appearances on various sitcoms, including The Farmer's Daughter, The Munsters and Petticoat Junction. Her first starring role was as John Astin's wife in I'm Dickens, He's Fenster. In 1964-65, She appeared as Mickey Rooney's wife, Nora, in the short-lived sitcom Mickey and a guest appearance on Bonanza (1969). She also made feature film appearances in Divorce American Style (1967), Rosemary's Baby (1968) and Harrad Summer (1974).

Following the cancellation of I Dream of Jeannie in 1970, Henry guest-starred on other sitcoms, including Love, American Style, and in the dramatic television mini-series Backstairs at the White House. In 1979, she was reportedly scheduled to become a regular cast member on Three's Company after having appeared in the recurring role of Chrissy's boss, J.C. Braddock. Her final appearance was on an episode of Eight Is Enough which aired just a few weeks before her death in October 1979.

Death

Emmaline Henry died of a brain tumor on October 8, 1979, at the age of 50. She was interred at the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.