Joey Heatherton Profile
Joey Heatherton (Davenie Johanna Heatherton) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. She was a sex symbol of the 1960s and 1970s, best known for her many television appearances during that time, particularly as a frequent variety show performer, although she also appeared in acting roles.
Joey Heatherton Career
Heatherton performed on USO tours for over a decade presented by Bob Hope. She starred in several feature films including The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington (1977) and My Blood Runs Cold (1965). She attended Saint Agnes Academy, a Catholic grade and high school.

She began studying ballet at the age of six, including four years of study under George Balanchine, and went on to study modern jazz dance, voice, and dramatics. She began her career as a child actress. Her first appearance on television was on her father’s show, The Merry Mailman, a popular children’s show in New York.
In 1959, when Heatherton was 15 years old, she became a member of the ensemble and an understudy in the original Broadway production of The Sound of Music, and received her first sustained national exposure that same year as a semi-regular on The Perry Como Show, playing an exuberant teenager with a perpetual crush on Perry Como. Heatherton released her first single that year, entitled “That’s How It Goes”/ “I’ll Be Seeing You”, but failed to have a hit with it, or with the three additional singles, she released over the next few years.
In 1960, Heatherton had her first television role as a dramatic actress when she guest-starred as a wealthy, spoiled teen on an early episode of Route 66. During the early 1960s, she was frequently cast as a troubled teenager due to her “sexy-kid look”. In the mid-1960s, Heatherton began to gain attention for her sensual dancing on television, which some viewers considered shocking and some critics derided as “sleazy eroticism”. In 1964, Heatherton appeared on The Tonight Show, where she coached Johnny Carson on the finer points of dancing “The Frug.”
In January 1965, she received major publicity following her guest appearances on the premiere episode of the teen dance show Hullabaloo. Heatherton was also featured on several more episodes of the show, and released “Hullabaloo”, a song that she had performed on the show, on Coral Records.
Quick Facts About Joey Heatherton
Age | 77 years old as of 2021 |
Nationality | American |
Spouse | Lance Rentzel |
Net Worth | $5 million dollars |
Joey Heatherton Age / How Old Is Joey Heatherton?
She was born on September 14, 1944, in Rockville Centre, New York, United States. She is 77 years old as of 2021. Heatherton celebrates her birthday on the 14th of September of every year.
Joey Heatherton Height
Heatherton stands at an approximate height of 5 feet 5 inches.
Joey Heatherton Family
She is the daughter of Ray Heatherton, who was a Broadway star (Babes in Arms) and television pioneer, and her mother who is also called Davie was a dancer who met Ray Heatherton when both were performing in Babes in Arms. She has a brother named Dick born on October 19, 1943, who later became a disc jockey.
Joey Heatherton Husband
She was married to Lance Rentzel, a Dallas Cowboys wide receiver, in New York City in April 1969. In November 1970, her then-husband Rentzel was arrested for exposing himself to a 10-year-old girl. He pleaded guilty to the charge and promised to undergo psychiatric treatment and was given a suspended sentence. Heatherton filed for divorce in September 1971 which was finalized the following year.
Joey Heatherton Measurements
Weight: 59 kg (130 lbs). Height: 5′ 5″ (1.65 m). Body Measurements: 34-20-32 (at age 20 in 1965) Breast Size: 34 inches Waist Size: 20 inches Hips Size: 32 inches Bra Size/Cup Size: 34B Feet/Shoe Size: 7 (US) Dress Size: 6 (US)
Joey Heatherton Arrested
In July 1985, Heatherton was arrested and charged with theft of services for refusing to pay a $4,906 bill from a hotel and spa in Long Island where she stayed in 1984. She pleaded not guilty to the charge. On July 8, 1985, Heatherton was arrested and charged with interfering with a government agent’s duties and disturbing the peace after she allegedly slapped and pulled the hair of a clerk at Manhattan’s U.S. Passport Agency office. In September 1986, she was acquitted of both charges. On August 30, 1986, Heatherton was arrested for assault after she stabbed Jerry Fisher, her former boyfriend, and ex-manager, in the hand with a steak knife during an argument in Hillcrest, Rockland County, New York. Jerry Fisher was later treated at a local hospital and released.
He later dropped the charge of assault against Heatherton. After her arrest, Heatherton told police who she was, but they did not believe her, she then handed one of the officers her purse to verify her identity. While looking through Heatherton’s purse, the officer found a foil packet with less than a gram of cocaine, and Heatherton was charged with assault and misdemeanor drug possession. In October 1987, a court ruled that the search was unconstitutional as Heatherton was not advised that she could refuse a purse search. As a result, the misdemeanor of drug possession was dropped.
Joey Heatherton’s Net Worth
She has an estimated net worth of $5 million dollars which she has earned through her acting, singing, and dancing career.
Is Joey Heatherton Still Alive?
Heatherton is still alive and is 76 years old as of 2020.
Joey Heatherton Album
- The Joey Heatherton Album – 1972
- Lo Mejor de Los 70’s – 2014
- Ellas Cantan – 2011
- Vintage 70’s – 2014
- Ibiza Hippie – 2014
- The Best Woman Jazz – 2014
- Ellas Cantan Jazz – 2011
- Woman in Pop – 2014
Joey Heatherton Songs
- Gone
- When You Call Me Baby
- The Road I Took to You
- The Hullabaloo
- Growing Up Is Learning to Say Goodbye
- But He’s Not Mine
- You’re the One for Me
- Live and Learn
- That’s How It Goes
- Shake-A-Hand
- It’s Not Easy
- I’m Sorry
- God Only Knows
- Crazy
- Right or Wrong
- My Blood Runs Cold
- Say Hello
- Someone to Watch Over Me
- Tomorrow Is Another Day
- Till There Was You
- I’ll Be Seeing You
- When You Call Me Baby featuring Joey Heatherton
- Live and Learn featuring Joey Heatherton
Joey Heatherton Movies
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
1960 | Route 66 | Karen Emerson | Episode: “Three Sides” |
1962 to 1963 | The Doctors and the Nurses | Janet Clark | 2 episodes |
Ellen Denby | |||
1963 | The Virginian | Gloria Blaine | 1 episode |
1963 | Twilight of Honor | Laura Mae Brown | Feature film (Alternative title: The Charge is Murder) |
1963 | Mr. Novak | Holly Metcalfe | Episode: “To Break a Camel’s Back” |
1963 | Arrest and Trial | Edith | Episode: “Some Weeks Are All Mondays” |
1964 | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Cress | Episode: “Runaway” |
1964 | Channing | Episode: “The Trouble with Girls” | |
1964 | Breaking Point | Dory Costain | Episode: “I, the Dancer” |
1964 | Where Love Has Gone | Danielle Valerie Miller | Feature film |
1965 | My Blood Runs Cold | Julie Merriday | Feature film |
1966 | I Spy | Katie | 2 episodes |
1968 | Of Mice and Men | Curley’s Wife | Television movie |
1969 | It Takes a Thief | Dodie DuBois | 2 episodes “A Matter of Grey Matter” |
1969 | The Jackie Gleason Show | Emily Gogolak | Episode: “The Honeymooners: Happiness Is a Rich Uncle” |
1969 | The Ballad of Andy Crocker | Lisa | Television movie |
1970 | Love, American Style | Tippy | Segment: “Love and the Hitchhiker” |
1971 | The Powder Room | Television movie | |
1972 | Bluebeard | Anne | Feature film |
1973 | Old Faithful | Herself | Television movie |
1976 | Doug Henning’s World of Magic 2 | Herself | Television special |
1977 | The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington | Xaviera Hollander | Feature film |
1981 | Laverne & Shirley | Herself | Episode: “Night at the Awards” |
1986 | The Perils of P.K. | Feature film | |
1990 | Cry-Baby | Milton’s mother | Feature film |
2002 | Reflections of Evil | Serta Spokeswoman | Feature film |
Joey Heatherton Awards
Year | Award | Category | Title of work |
1964 | Golden Laurel Award | Top Female New Face | |
1966 | Golden Laurel Award | New Faces, Female | |
1964 | Golden Globe Awards | Most Promising Newcomer – Female | Twilight of Honor |