Long Island, New York-born Joey Heatherton was christened Davenie Johanna Heatherton in 1944. She was the daughter of vaudevillain, song and dance man, Ray Heatherton, who died of Alzheimer's disease in 1997. Joey began her career as a child actress and later appeared on The Perry Como Show as a regular. She graduated to forgettable roles in not very good movies, and returned to singing. Perry Como (born Pierino Ronald Como, May 18, 1912 - May 12, 2001) was an United States crooner during the last half of the 20th century. ...

She gained a modicum of respectability and success as a singer, and toured with Bob Hope's USO shows, and pitched RC Cola and Serta mattresses on TV. Leslie Townes Hope KBE (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003), best known as Bob Hope, was a famous entertainer, having appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, on radio and television, movies and in army concerts. ... Sertã is a municipality in central Portugal. ...

However, she began to demonstrate some psychological problems, as when her then-husband was arrested for indecent exposure in front of a young girl in 1971. She found herself out of vogue and unemployed. In 1975 she had a brief summer TV series with her father called Joey and Dad, but she had become addicted to drugs, which seriously impacted her brain functions, as well as killed off her once stunning looks. Her last acting role to date was in a small role in a John Waters (filmmaker) movie. Photo of John Waters by Robert Birnbaum John Waters (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker. ...

It was reported at the time that she behaved erratically at her father's funeral Mass in 1997 at St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Center, Long Island, where she was born.

It is to be hoped that she is getting some of the help she needs so desperately.