Charles Donald Fegert was an American newspaper advertising executive whose career was rooted in Chicago’s publishing business. Historical records place him in senior positions connected with the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Daily News, and their parent company, Field Enterprises. Outside the newspaper industry, he became best known as the second husband of actress Barbara Eden, star of I Dream of Jeannie. The couple married in 1977, when Fegert was already an established media executive, and divorced several years later. Contemporary newspaper coverage provides a clearer picture of his professional life than many later celebrity biographies do.
Charles Donald Fegert Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Charles Donald Fegert |
| Profession | Newspaper advertising and publishing executive |
| Main industry | Advertising, marketing and newspaper management |
| Associated newspapers | Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Daily News |
| Corporate connection | Field Enterprises |
| Known for outside business | Second husband of actress Barbara Eden |
| Marriage to Barbara Eden | September 3, 1977 |
| Divorce | Recorded by established biographical sources in 1983 |
| Death | 2002, as listed in public genealogy indexes |
Fegert’s marriage date and Eden’s later 1983 divorce are recorded by Biography.com and Encyclopedia.com. Public genealogy indexes place Fegert’s death in 2002, although surviving authoritative biographical material about his final years is sparse.
Who Was Charles Donald Fegert?
Charles Donald Fegert worked on the commercial side of journalism rather than in reporting or editorial work. His area was newspaper advertising—a major part of the business model of metropolitan newspapers during the 20th century.
One particularly strong record of his career appears in the U.S. Congressional Record. On February 9, 1972, Representative George E. Danielson referred to Charles Fegert as the advertising manager of both the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Daily News. Danielson was discussing the newspapers’ decision to reject certain offensive advertising and specifically credited Fegert and publisher Marshall Field for the policy.
That contemporary government record is important because it establishes Fegert’s profession several years before his marriage to Barbara Eden brought his name into entertainment coverage.
His Career at the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Daily News
Fegert’s documented career shows a progression from advertising management into senior executive leadership.
By 1976, a letter reproduced in a Mike Royko column in the Chicago Sun-Times addressed Fegert as a vice president. The letter, written by Frank Sinatra during a dispute with Royko, copied both publisher Marshall Field and “Mr. Charles Fegert, Vice President,” confirming Fegert’s senior status within the organization at that time.
His responsibilities were also described in contemporary photographs and newspaper reports. A UPI/Bettmann photograph taken on September 1, 1977, showed Fegert with his fiancée Barbara Eden in his Chicago office and identified him as a marketing executive for the Chicago Sun-Times.
Associated Press coverage published shortly after their wedding gave him another senior title: vice president of Field Enterprises, the company that published both the Sun-Times and Daily News.
By March 1980, The Washington Post was referring to Charles Fegert as executive vice president of the Chicago Sun-Times. The newspaper used the same title again in coverage from 1981.
Charles Fegert Career and Life Timeline
| Year | Documented event |
|---|---|
| 1972 | Identified as advertising manager of the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Daily News |
| 1976 | Identified as a vice president in Chicago Sun-Times material |
| 1977 | Described as a Sun-Times marketing executive and Field Enterprises vice president |
| September 3, 1977 | Married actress Barbara Eden |
| 1980 | Identified by The Washington Post as executive vice president of the Chicago Sun-Times |
| 1981 | Again described as Sun-Times executive vice president |
| 1983 | Divorce from Barbara Eden recorded by established biographical sources |
| 2002 | Death year listed in public genealogy records |
Charles Donald Fegert and Barbara Eden
Fegert’s name entered national entertainment coverage through his relationship with Barbara Eden, who had become one of American television’s most recognizable actresses through I Dream of Jeannie, broadcast from 1965 to 1970.
A Bettmann Archive photograph dated September 1, 1977, shows Eden and Fegert shortly before their wedding. Its original caption states that the couple planned to marry in a garden ceremony in suburban Long Grove, Illinois, on September 3.
Biography.com confirms that Eden married Charles Donald Fegert on September 3, 1977. He was her second husband, following her earlier marriage to actor Michael Ansara.
The relationship also occasionally placed Fegert in Washington and entertainment social coverage. In a 1980 report about the annual Gridiron dinner, The Washington Post described Eden as the wife of Chicago Sun-Times executive vice president Charles Fegert. The paper identified him the same way again the following year.
Why Did Barbara Eden and Charles Fegert Divorce?
The most detailed published account of the marriage comes from Barbara Eden herself rather than from independent court or investigative records.
Eden discussed her second marriage in her 2011 memoir, Jeannie Out of the Bottle, written with Wendy Leigh. Penguin Random House’s official description of the book characterizes Eden’s second husband as verbally abusive and affected by drug addiction. Those descriptions represent Eden’s account of the relationship and should be understood as her personal testimony rather than an independent finding about Fegert.
Sources differ slightly when describing when the relationship effectively ended. Some accounts describe the couple as separating in 1982, while Biography.com and Encyclopedia.com record the divorce in 1983. The clearest wording is that the marriage broke down after roughly five years and the legal divorce is recorded in 1983.
Eden later married real-estate developer Jon Eicholtz in 1991.
Was Charles Donald Fegert an Actor?
No. Charles Donald Fegert did not build a career in acting or entertainment.
His connection to Hollywood came through Barbara Eden. His own professional record places him in advertising, marketing and executive management within Chicago’s newspaper industry. The Congressional Record, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Associated Press and The Washington Post all document business positions associated with newspapers or Field Enterprises.
That distinction matters because celebrity biographies sometimes reduce Fegert to Eden’s former husband, even though he had reached senior levels in the newspaper business before their marriage.
What Is Known About Charles Fegert’s Death?
Public genealogy records list Charles D. Fegert as having died in 2002. One commonly indexed record gives September 25, 2002, and an age of 71, while Ancestry also places his death in 2002 in Chicago. Because the available records are genealogical rather than a detailed contemporary obituary, claims about a specific cause of death should not be treated as established fact.
There is also no sound basis for many precise net-worth figures attached to Fegert on modern biography websites. His senior executive career indicates professional success, but that does not provide enough evidence to calculate his personal fortune.
Charles Donald Fegert’s Place in Chicago Media History
The strongest part of Fegert’s surviving biography is his newspaper career.
His documented titles trace a significant climb through the commercial side of Chicago publishing: advertising manager in 1972, vice president by the middle of the decade, marketing executive and Field Enterprises vice president in 1977, and executive vice president of the Chicago Sun-Times by 1980.
Advertising executives rarely became household names, even when their work was essential to newspaper economics. Fegert belonged to that business side of the industry, working behind publications read by large metropolitan audiences.
His marriage to Barbara Eden made him recognizable far beyond Chicago, but contemporary records show that he already possessed an independent professional identity before the wedding.
FAQs About Charles Donald Fegert
Who was Charles Donald Fegert?
Charles Donald Fegert was an American newspaper advertising and publishing executive associated with the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Daily News and Field Enterprises. He later became widely known as Barbara Eden’s second husband.
What did Charles Fegert do for a living?
He worked in newspaper advertising, marketing and management. In 1972 he was identified as advertising manager for both the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Daily News, and by 1980 he was being described as executive vice president of the Sun-Times.
When did Charles Donald Fegert marry Barbara Eden?
Fegert and Eden married on September 3, 1977, in the Chicago area.
When did Barbara Eden and Charles Fegert divorce?
Biography.com and Encyclopedia.com record the divorce in 1983, although some accounts describe the couple as separating or ending their relationship in 1982.
Did Charles Fegert and Barbara Eden have children together?
Established biographies of Eden do not list any children from her marriage to Fegert. Eden’s son Matthew Ansara was from her first marriage to actor Michael Ansara.
When did Charles Donald Fegert die?
Public genealogy indexes place his death in 2002. A widely reproduced record lists September 25, 2002, although a reliably documented cause of death is not available in the sources reviewed.
Conclusion
Charles Donald Fegert is often introduced through his marriage to Barbara Eden, but his own career was firmly established in Chicago newspaper publishing. Contemporary sources document his rise from advertising management to senior executive positions at the Chicago Sun-Times and within Field Enterprises. His 1977 marriage placed him in celebrity coverage, while Eden’s later memoir provided the main first-person account of their difficult relationship. Separating those personal recollections from contemporary employment records gives a more accurate picture of who Charles Fegert was.
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