Randee Heller
Encyclopedia
Randy M. "Randee" Heller (born June 10, 1947) is an American
television
and film
actress. Her most notable roles were in the film The Karate Kid and one of its sequels, as Daniel Larusso's mother, and on the 1970s serial sitcom Soap
as Jodie Dallas
's roommate Alice, one of the first recurring lesbian
characters in television history. She also had a starring role as Carol in the 1979 made-for-TV movie, Can You Hear the Laughter? The Story of Freddie Prinze. Most recently she was seen in a recurring role on the series Mad Men
as Don Draper
's elderly secretary Ida Blankenship.
in such shows as Grease
," where she played Rizzo, and Godspell
". She moved from New York to California in 1978. Her groundbreaking role as Alice on the TV series Soap
received mixed reviews. The criticism was not for her acting but for the stereotyping of her character. The role played into a television tradition of making lesbian characters psychologically troubled. The Boston Herald
said that the characterization shows how "the networks have generally depicted lesbians either as suicidal losers or sexual predators." For example, it identifies Alice as "TV's first recurring lesbian character," noting that she "first tries to throw herself off a bridge, then falls for Jodie (Billy Crystal
), a confused gay man, and finally runs off."
of the Chicago Tribune
naming her absence from the second film as one of its greatest flaws: "Heller`s honest portrayal of a single parent trying to raise an adolescent was one of the genuine pleasures of the original film." Co-star Ralph Macchio
agreed, stating in one interview with Siskel,
In addition to the Karate Kid series, other films in which she appeared include Fast Break (1979), Bulworth
(1998), Monster-in-Law
(2005), and Crazylove (2005).
, Mad Men
, Nip/Tuck
, Judging Amy
, Felicity, the children's series Drake & Josh
, Fame
, and The White Shadow
, among many others. She had leading roles in three short-lived sitcoms, Second Chance
(1987), "Better Days (TV series)
," and Mama Malone (1984). Her TV-movie appearances include And Your Name is Jonah (1979). In 2000, Heller performed with Barbra Streisand
in her concert Timeless, which was broadcast over American television.
Heller had a recurring role in the fourth season (2010) of AMC's Mad Men
as Don Draper
's secretary, Miss Blankenship. The character generated a large fan following, including a popular Facebook page. For this role she received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. Also, Randee was a regular on the one-season program Husbands, Wives & Lovers
(1978).
. Her role in Cabaret was particularly well received, with one reviewer remarking that
She also played the role of Barbra Streisand
's mother in the stage performances of Streisand's Timeless concerts in 2000. Randee also had a guest appearance on an episode of ALF
, where she plays a kleptomaniac mother of one of Brian's friends. Randee was also the voice that says "Hey Rock, you're a bum" in the first Rocky
movie.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
actress. Her most notable roles were in the film The Karate Kid and one of its sequels, as Daniel Larusso's mother, and on the 1970s serial sitcom Soap
Soap (TV series)
Soap is an American sitcom that originally ran on ABC from 1977 to 1981.The show was created as a parody of daytime soap operas, presented as a weekly half-hour prime time comedy. Similar to a soap opera, the show's story was presented in a serial format and included melodramatic plot elements such...
as Jodie Dallas
Jodie Dallas
Jodie Dallas is a fictional character from the 1977 American situation comedy Soap. He was played by Billy Crystal. The son of central character Mary Campbell, Jodie works as a television commercial director. Jodie was among the first gay characters on American television...
's roommate Alice, one of the first recurring lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
characters in television history. She also had a starring role as Carol in the 1979 made-for-TV movie, Can You Hear the Laughter? The Story of Freddie Prinze. Most recently she was seen in a recurring role on the series Mad Men
Mad Men
Mad Men is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The series premiered on Sunday evenings on the American cable network AMC and are produced by Lionsgate Television. It premiered on July 19, 2007, and completed its fourth season on October 17, 2010. Each...
as Don Draper
Don Draper
Donald "Don" Draper is a fictional character and the protagonist of AMC's television series Mad Men. He is portrayed by 2008 Golden Globe winner Jon Hamm. Until the third season finale, Draper was Creative Director of Manhattan advertising firm Sterling Cooper...
's elderly secretary Ida Blankenship.
Early life and career
Heller was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in West Hempstead, on Long Island. Her mother was raised in Brooklyn and her grandparents were from Russia. She began her career in musicals on BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in such shows as Grease
Grease (musical)
Grease is a 1971 musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The musical is named for the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as the greasers. The musical, set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School , follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of love,...
," where she played Rizzo, and Godspell
Godspell
Godspell is a musical by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak. It opened off Broadway on May 17, 1971, and has played in various touring companies and revivals many times since, including a 2011 revival now playing on Broadway...
". She moved from New York to California in 1978. Her groundbreaking role as Alice on the TV series Soap
Soap (TV series)
Soap is an American sitcom that originally ran on ABC from 1977 to 1981.The show was created as a parody of daytime soap operas, presented as a weekly half-hour prime time comedy. Similar to a soap opera, the show's story was presented in a serial format and included melodramatic plot elements such...
received mixed reviews. The criticism was not for her acting but for the stereotyping of her character. The role played into a television tradition of making lesbian characters psychologically troubled. The Boston Herald
Boston Herald
The Boston Herald is a daily newspaper that serves Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and its surrounding area. It was started in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States...
said that the characterization shows how "the networks have generally depicted lesbians either as suicidal losers or sexual predators." For example, it identifies Alice as "TV's first recurring lesbian character," noting that she "first tries to throw herself off a bridge, then falls for Jodie (Billy Crystal
Billy Crystal
William Edward "Billy" Crystal is an American actor, writer, producer, comedian and film director. He gained prominence in the 1970s for playing Jodie Dallas on the ABC sitcom Soap and became a Hollywood film star during the late 1980s and 1990s, appearing in the critical and box office successes...
), a confused gay man, and finally runs off."
Film career
After leaving Soap, the actress went on to create the role of Lucille LaRusso in the Karate Kid series, appearing in the first and third installments. Her characterization generally received praise from critics, with reviewer Gene SiskelGene Siskel
Eugene Kal "Gene" Siskel was an American film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted the popular review show Siskel & Ebert At the Movies from 1975 until his death....
of the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
naming her absence from the second film as one of its greatest flaws: "Heller`s honest portrayal of a single parent trying to raise an adolescent was one of the genuine pleasures of the original film." Co-star Ralph Macchio
Ralph Macchio
Ralph George Macchio is an American actor, best known for his roles as Daniel LaRusso in the Karate Kid series, Bill Gambini in My Cousin Vinny, and Johnny Cade in The Outsiders. He is also known to American television audiences for his season five recurring role as Jeremy Andretti on the...
agreed, stating in one interview with Siskel,
I argued for her [inclusion]. Those scenes with her were some of my favorites in the original – they had some real emotion – and I honestly don't know why she isn't there. I haven't seen the sequel, but (when the film focuses) just on Miyagi, well, he's a great character, but after a while he can become sort of a walking fortune cookie with all of his sayings.
In addition to the Karate Kid series, other films in which she appeared include Fast Break (1979), Bulworth
Bulworth
Bulworth is a 1998 American film co-written, co-produced and directed by the film's star, Warren Beatty. It was loosely based on the life of Beatty's friend, Tennessee political figure John Jay Hooker. It co-stars Halle Berry, Oliver Platt, Don Cheadle, Paul Sorvino, Jack Warden, and Isaiah...
(1998), Monster-in-Law
Monster-in-Law
Monster-in-Law is a 2005 romantic comedy film directed by Robert Luketic and starring Jennifer Lopez, Jane Fonda, Michael Vartan and Wanda Sykes. It marks a return to cinema for Fonda, being her first film in 15 years after Stanley & Iris. The screenplay is written by Anya Kochoff...
(2005), and Crazylove (2005).
Television guest appearances
Heller has made guest appearances in the television series Less Than PerfectLess Than Perfect
Less Than Perfect is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from October 1, 2002, to June 6, 2006. The show was about a young female office employee and her co-workers...
, Mad Men
Mad Men
Mad Men is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The series premiered on Sunday evenings on the American cable network AMC and are produced by Lionsgate Television. It premiered on July 19, 2007, and completed its fourth season on October 17, 2010. Each...
, Nip/Tuck
Nip/Tuck
Nip/Tuck is an American drama series created by Ryan Murphy, which aired on FX in the United States. The series focuses on McNamara/Troy, a plastic surgery practice, and follows its founders, Sean McNamara and Christian Troy...
, Judging Amy
Judging Amy
Judging Amy is an American television drama that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS-TV. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly...
, Felicity, the children's series Drake & Josh
Drake & Josh
Drake & Josh is an American sitcom that premiered on the Nickelodeon television network on January 11, 2004, which follows the lives of two stepbrothers. It stars Drake Bell and Josh Peck as stepbrothers Drake Parker and Josh Nichols, respectively. Both actors had played roles in The Amanda Show,...
, Fame
Fame (1982 TV series)
Fame is an American television series originally produced between 1982 and 1987. The show was based on the 1980 motion picture of the same name. Using a mixture of drama and music, it followed the lives of the students and faculty at the New York City High School for the Performing Arts. Although...
, and The White Shadow
The White Shadow
The White Shadow is an American drama television series that ran on the CBS network from November 27, 1978, to March 16, 1981.-Overview:...
, among many others. She had leading roles in three short-lived sitcoms, Second Chance
Second Chance
- Film :* Second Chance , a 1953 film starring Robert Mitchum, Jack Palance, and Linda Darnell* Second Chance , a French film directed by Claude Lelouch...
(1987), "Better Days (TV series)
Better Days (TV series)
-Summary:Brian McGuire was a California teenager who moves in with his grandfather, Harry in Brooklyn, New York to ease his parents' financial problems. Helping Brian adjust to his new surroundings were Luther Cain and Anthony "The Snake" Johnson, two of his street-smart teammates on the Braxton...
," and Mama Malone (1984). Her TV-movie appearances include And Your Name is Jonah (1979). In 2000, Heller performed with Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
in her concert Timeless, which was broadcast over American television.
Heller had a recurring role in the fourth season (2010) of AMC's Mad Men
Mad Men
Mad Men is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The series premiered on Sunday evenings on the American cable network AMC and are produced by Lionsgate Television. It premiered on July 19, 2007, and completed its fourth season on October 17, 2010. Each...
as Don Draper
Don Draper
Donald "Don" Draper is a fictional character and the protagonist of AMC's television series Mad Men. He is portrayed by 2008 Golden Globe winner Jon Hamm. Until the third season finale, Draper was Creative Director of Manhattan advertising firm Sterling Cooper...
's secretary, Miss Blankenship. The character generated a large fan following, including a popular Facebook page. For this role she received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. Also, Randee was a regular on the one-season program Husbands, Wives & Lovers
Husbands, Wives & Lovers
Husbands, Wives & Lovers was a CBS television sitcom that aired for only one season in 1978. Created by Joan Rivers, this program focused on the relationships of five suburban couples living in the San Fernando Valley.-Cast and characters:...
(1978).
Stage career
Heller has also maintained a stage career, appearing in such productions as Bermuda Avenue Triangle, The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, and CabaretCabaret (musical)
Cabaret is a musical based on a book written by Christopher Isherwood, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The 1966 Broadway production became a hit and spawned a 1972 film as well as numerous subsequent productions....
. Her role in Cabaret was particularly well received, with one reviewer remarking that
she proved in her first five minutes that she knows how to develop a character, command a stage and deliver a song. Heller made a role that seems peripheral in some productions into a central part of the story. When her engagement to her Jewish beau, Herr Schultz, is called off, it symbolizes many of the small human tragedies brought about by Nazi hate.
She also played the role of Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
's mother in the stage performances of Streisand's Timeless concerts in 2000. Randee also had a guest appearance on an episode of ALF
ALF (TV series)
ALF is an American science fiction sitcom that originally aired on NBC from 1986 to 1990, created by Paul Fusco. The title character was Gordon Shumway, a friendly extraterrestrial nicknamed ALF , who crash lands in the garage of the suburban middle-class Tanner family.The series starred Max...
, where she plays a kleptomaniac mother of one of Brian's friends. Randee was also the voice that says "Hey Rock, you're a bum" in the first Rocky
Rocky
Rocky is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and both written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It tells the rags to riches American Dream story of Rocky Balboa, an uneducated but kind-hearted debt collector for a loan shark in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
movie.