The Rise and Fall of Joey Heatherton: What happened to her?

 

Who is Joey Heatherton?

American former actress, dancer and singer Davenie Johanna ‘Joey’ Heatherton was born in Rockville Centre, New York State USA, on 14 September 1944, making Virgo her zodiac sign. She appeared in 28 movies and TV series prior to retiring from acting in 1990, while she’s perhaps still remembered best for playing Milton’s Mother in the 1990 musical comedy movie “Cry-Baby”, written and directed by John Waters, and which starred Johnny Depp, Ricki Lake and Amy Locane; set in Baltimore in the 1950s, the film follows a bad boy who’s fallen for a good girl, while her boyfriend now wants to harm him.

Joey’s been staying away from the media’s attention since the ‘90s, and is today leading an apparently peaceful life at her home in Rockville Centre.

Education and early life

Joey and her brother Dick were raised in Rockville Centre, Nassau County by their mother Davenie who was a dancer, and father Ray Heatherton who was a famous Broadway actor, and was perhaps known best for starring in the children’s TV show “The Merry Mailman”; Dick was a successful disc jockey.

Joey was six when she began taking ballet lessons at Dixon McAfee School of Dance, while she eventually transitioned to modern jazz dance.

She became interested in acting mostly thanks to her father, as she often watched him perform in theatre plays; she was 15 when she made her debut TV series appearance, playing Karen Emerson in the 1960 episode “Three Sides” of the critically acclaimed crime adventure “Route 66” – Joey didn’t have other roles until she matriculated from Saint Agnes Academy in 1963. She hasn’t attended college.

Roles in TV series

Joey played Gloria Blaine in the 1963 episode “A Distant Fury” of the western “The Virginian”, while the same year saw her appear in the episode “To Break a Camel’s Back” of the drama “Mr. Novak” and the episode “Some Weeks Are All Mondays” of the crime drama “Arrest and Trial”.

In 1964, Joey appeared in an episode of three TV series: the adventure crime comedy “Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre”, the drama “Channing” and another drama “Breaking Point”. She portrayed Katie in two episodes (1966) of the popular action adventure comedy “I Spy”, which starred Robert Culp, Bill Cosby and Kenneth Tobey, and follows two intelligence agents who’ve gone undercover as a professional tennis player and his coach; the series aired from 1965 through 1968 and won five of its 28 award nominations. The remainder of the ‘60s saw Joey make a guest appearance in the musical comedy “The Jerry Lewis Show”, the action crime adventure “It Takes a Thief” and the musical comedy “The Jackie Gleason Show”.

The year 1970 saw her play Tippy in the episode “Love and the Hitchhiker” of the romantic comedy “Love, American Style” and Betty Lou in an episode of the comedy “Pat Paulsen’s Half a Comedy Hour”, and her only other TV series role in the ‘70s was portraying Waitress in a 1974 episode of the comedy “The New Candid Camera”, created by Allen Fun, who also starred in it, alongside Joey and John Bartholomew Tucker; it’s a weekly hidden camera show.

Joey had only one more TV series role prior to retiring, appearing in the 1981 episode “Night at the Awards” of the family comedy “Laverne & Shirley”.

Roles in movies

Joey’s debut film role was playing Laura Mae Brown in the 1963 crime drama “Twilight of Honor”, directed by Boris Sagal, and which starred Richard Chamberlain, Nick Adams and Claude Rains. It follows a young defense lawyer who’s been assigned a murder case which cannot be won, and the film was nominated for three awards, including two Oscars for Best Art Direction – Set Decoration, Black and White and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Nick Adams).

Joey’s following roles were in the 1964 drama “Where Love Has Gone”, the 1965 mystery thriller “My Blood Runs Cold” and the 1968 drama “Of Mice and Men”, and the year 1969 saw her play the lead character Lisa in the drama “The Ballad of Andy Crocker”, which George McCowan directed, and which also starred Lee Majors and Jimmy Dean; it follows a Vietnam veteran who’s returned from war only to find out that his small business is failing, and that his girlfriend’s been forced into marrying another man.

Joey’s film roles in the ‘70s were in the 1972 crime thriller “Bluebeard”, the 1973 musical “Old Faithful”, and the 1977 comedy “The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington”.

The ‘80s saw her appear in only a single movie: the 1986 comedy “The Perils of P. K.”, which follows a former film star who’s now working at a Las Vegas nightclub as a stripper.

Joey’s only other film role prior to retiring was in the above mentioned “Cry-Baby”, but she made a brief comeback in 2002, when cast to play Serta Spokesperson in the fantasy comedy “Reflections of Evil”, written and directed by Damon Packard, who also starred in it, alongside Nicole Vanderhoff and Beverly Miller. It follows Julie who died from a drug overdose as a teenager in the 1970s, and is now searching as a ghost for her brother Bob who’s about to die from sucrose intolerance; the film won a 2003 Fantasia Ground-Breaker Award.

Other works

Joey sang songs in nine TV series and movies, including in the series “Klimbim” (1973), “The Sonny and Cher Show” (1976) and “Die Gimmicks” (1979).

Some of her final talk-show appearances were in “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” in 1977, “Bonkers!” in 1979 and “Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon” in 1982.

Joey posed nude for the magazine “Playboy” in 1997.

Awards and nominations

Joey was nominated for six awards: a 1964 Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer – Female, for her performance in “Twilight of Honor”, two Golden Laurel Awards for Top Female New Face in 1964 and 1966, and three Photoplay Awards for Favorite Variety Star in 1976, 1977 and 1978.

Love life and marriage

Joey rarely spoke about her love life in public, but it remains widely known that she was a married woman. She and American former professional Football Player Thomas Lance Rentzel married in a private ceremony on 12 April 1969, attended by not more than 150 people. Only a year later, Thomas was arrested for exposing himself to a 10-year-old girl, was given a suspended sentence and had to undergo psychiatric treatment. Joey filed for divorce in September 1971, and many of her fans believe that she never really recovered from the shock of Thomas’ actions.

She dated Jerry Fisher in the ‘80s, when he was also her manager; Joey was arrested for assaulting Jerry on 30 August 1986, as she used a steak knife to stab him in the hand, and was also charged with misdemeanor drug possession, as the police found less than a gram of cocaine in her purse. Jerry eventually dropped the assault charges, while the drug possession charge was also dropped.

Joey seems to be unattached as of May 2023, and was once married to Thomas Lance Rentzel.

Atomic-era sex-kitten-gone-berserk, Playboy playmate and kitsch icon Joey Heatherton (born 14 Sept 1944) turns 73 today #joeyheatherton pic.twitter.com/fbL80x2kbh

— Graham Russell (@bitter69uk) September 14, 2017

Interesting facts and hobbies

Joey was arrested on 8 July 1985, after she pulled the hair of a clerk at the US Passport Office in New York City; she came to the office to apply for a passport, and became angry when she wasn’t allowed to skip the line. She was arrested in the same month for not paying a $5,000 hotel bill, while the year 1986 saw her arrested for income-tax evasion.

Joey’s singing career lasted for only a couple of years in the first half of the ‘70s, and her only successful song was her cover of Ferlin Husky’s “Gone”.

Jill Sobule’s 2004 song “Joey” is about her.

She’s mentioned in three episodes of the critically acclaimed crime mystery series “Monk”: “Mr. Monk and the Badge”, “Mr. Monk Joins a Cult” and “Mr. Monk and the Panic Room”.

Joey’s favorite actress is the late Marilyn Monroe, and some of her favorite movies include “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”, “Some Like It Hot” and “The Seven Year Itch”.

Height, eyes and wealth

Joey’s age is 78. Her hair’s blonde and eyes are blue, she’s 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall and weighs around 135lbs (61kgs).

Joey’s net worth’s been estimated at over $6 million, as of May 2023.