Jo Heims

Not to be confused with Joe Hyams.
Jo Heims
Born
Joyce Heims

(1930-01-15)January 15, 1930
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
DiedApril 22, 1978(1978-04-22) (aged 48)
Los Angeles, California, US
OccupationScreenwriter
Years active1958–1978
Notable workThe Girl in Lovers Lane
The Devil's Hand
Play Misty for Me
Breezy
SpouseWilliam Duffy (1972–1978; her death)

Joyce Heims (January 15, 1930 – April 22, 1978) was an American screenwriter best known for her collaborations with actor-director Clint Eastwood. Born in Philadelphia, Heims moved out to the US west coast in early adulthood. She worked various jobs before starting a career writing for film and television during the 1960s. In addition to co-writing the story for Eastwood's role in Dirty Harry, Heims drafted the screenplay for Play Misty for Me, which served as Eastwood's own directorial debut in 1971. Heims continued to screenwrite throughout the decade before dying of breast cancer in 1978.

Life and career

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Jo Heims was born in Philadelphia on January 15, 1930.[1] She worked as a model, dancer, and fashion illustrator and moved to California in the 1950s to become a writer in show business.[2] Heims was first credited as a production secretary on the science fiction movie Missile to the Moon in 1958.[3] She worked primarily as a secretary throughout the next decade while writing and selling screenplays on the side.[4][5] Heims received writing credits in television and movies in a wide range of genres for both independent and major film studios. These include the crime drama The Girl in Lovers Lane, the horror feature The Devil's Hand, the western Navajo Run, and the Elvis Presley musical Double Trouble.[6][7][8][9]

While working at Universal Pictures, Heims crossed paths with and befriended Clint Eastwood, then an up-and-coming actor.[2][10] By the late 1960s, Eastwood had achieved international fame as a western-action star and began directing his own films. Heims drafted a 60-page screenplay for Play Misty for Me, a psychological thriller that would soon become Eastwood's directorial debut. The plot follows a radio disc jockey who becomes a stalking victim of an obsessed, female fan. Heims based the latter character on a woman she knew after it was suggested to her by an acquaintance.[11][12][13] Although he initially optioned the script, Eastwood encouraged Heims to sell it to Universal when she received a larger offer.[14] The company shelved the project, so when Eastwood later signed a three-picture contract with Universal, he regained the screenplay and had it revised by Dean Riesner.[2][4][10][13][15] Play Misty for Me was released in 1971, the year Eastwood also took the title role in the crime thriller Dirty Harry. Heims contributed to the story of the latter film, but she received no screen credit.[16]

Heims married William Duffy in August 1972.[17] That same year, Universal distributed the thriller You'll Like My Mother, a script that Heims adapted from a novel by Naomi A. Hintze.[18] The following year, she collaborated with Eastwood again by writing Breezy, also distributed by Universal. The drama depicts a romance between a jaded, middle-aged divorcee and a much younger, free-spirited woman. Heims additionally served as an associate producer for the movie, allowing her to coordinate some of its creative elements.[19] She developed the male lead with Eastwood in mind to play the part.[4][10] However, the two agreed he was too young for the role, so it went to the older William Holden instead. Eastwood's then-mistress Jo Ann Harris was a strong contender for the female lead, but Heims felt Harris was wrong for the part and suggested her friend Sondra Locke. Locke was five years older than Harris and 12 years older than the character as written.[20][21] Heims set up the very first meeting between Locke and Eastwood, but Kay Lenz ultimately earned the part as Locke was too old to be credible in it.[2][5][20]

By 1974, Heims had composed a script for a horror-suspense film titled "Mrs. Manning's Weekend".[22] It was purchased by director-producer Peter S. Traynor, then rewritten and released as Death Game three years later.[23] She then completed the women in prison teleplay Nightmare in Badham County, a television movie.[24] Not long after, Heims fell ill with a breast cancer diagnosis. Her final work was another TV feature, the murder mystery Secrets of Three Hungry Wives. Heims wrote the teleplay as long as she could before handing it off to executive producer Alan Surgal to finish.[25] Heims died on April 22, 1978, in Los Angeles at the age of 48.[1][26] Eastwood reportedly attended her funeral.[2]

Filmography

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Year Title Credit(s) Notes
1978 Secrets of Three Hungry Wives teleplay[25] TV movie
1977 Death Game screenplay[22] uncredited
1976 Nightmare in Badham County teleplay[24] TV movie
1973 Breezy screenplay, associate producer[19]
1972 You'll Like My Mother adapted sreenplay[18]
1971 Dirty Harry story[16] uncredited
1971 Play Misty for Me screenplay, story[2]
1969 The First Time screenplay[27]
1968 Here Come the Brides writing[28] TV series (episode "The Man of the Family")
1967 Double Trouble screenplay[9]
1967 The Fugitive Writing, teleplay[29] TV series (episode "Corner of Hell")
1965 Tell Me in the Sunlight screenplay[27]
1964 Navajo Run screenplay[8]
1963 The Gun Hawk screenplay[30]
1961 The Devil's Hand screenplay[7]
1960 The Girl in Lovers Lane screenplay[6]
1960 The Threat screenplay[27]
1958 Missile to the Moon production secretary[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b California Department of Public Health. "Jo Heims Duffy - Death Record". California Death Index, 1940 - 1997. MooseRoots. Retrieved 2017-10-14.
  2. ^ a b c d e f McGilligan, Patrick (August 19, 2002). Clint: The Life and Legend. New York City: St. Martin's Press. pp. 192–3, 229–30, 333. ISBN 0-312-29032-2.
  3. ^ a b Warren, Bill (February 10, 2016). Keep Watching the Skies!: American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-1-476-66618-1.
  4. ^ a b c Clinch, Minty (1994). Clint Eastwood: A Biography. London: Hodder & Stoughton. pp. 81–2, 101. ISBN 0-450-59439-4.
  5. ^ a b Eliot, Marc (2009). American Rebel: The Life of Clint Eastwood. Crown Publishing Group. pp. 126, 147. ISBN 978-0-307-33688-0.
  6. ^ a b Psychotronic Video staff (Winter 1994). "Reviews". Psychotronic Video. No. 19. Narrowsburg, New York: Michael J. Weldon. p. 15. ISSN 1070-4949.
  7. ^ a b Young, R. G. (April 1, 2000). The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film: Ali Baba to Zombies. New York City: Applause Books. p. 157. ISBN 1-557-83269-2.
  8. ^ a b Hilger, Michael (October 16, 2015). Native Americans in the Movies: Portrayals from Silent Films to the Present. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 234. ISBN 978-1-442-24001-8.
  9. ^ a b Bret, David (June 2003). Elvis: The Hollywood Years. London: Robson Books. p. 209. ISBN 1-861-05416-5.
  10. ^ a b c O'Brien, Daniel (1996). Clint Eastwood: Film-Maker. London: Butler & Tanner. p. 104. ISBN 0-713-47839-X.
  11. ^ Johnstone, Iain (1981). The Man With No Name. London: Plexus Publishing. p. 75. ISBN 0-688-09059-1.
  12. ^ Foote, John H. (2009). Clint Eastwood: Evolution of a Filmmaker. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-313-35247-8.
  13. ^ a b Kapsis, Robert E. and Coblentz, Kathie (November 20, 2012). Clint Eastwood: Interviews, Revised and Updated (Conversations with Filmmakers Series). Jackson, Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi. pp. 24, 73–4. ISBN 978-1-617-03663-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ Avery, Kevin (September 22, 2011). Conversations with Clint: Paul Nelson's Lost Interviews with Clint Eastwood, 1979-1983. London: Bloomsbury Academic. p. 64. ISBN 978-1-441-16586-2.
  15. ^ Foundas, Scott (Spring 2006). "The Straight Shooter". Directors Guild of America. Retrieved 2017-10-14.
  16. ^ a b Sterritt, David (November 25, 2014). The Cinema of Clint Eastwood: Chronicles of America. New York City: Wallflower Press. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-231-17201-1.
  17. ^ Clark County Marriage Bureau, Las Vegas. "Person Details for Jo Heims". Nevada Marriage Index, 1956-2005. FamilySearch. Retrieved 2017-10-20.
  18. ^ a b Stack, Dennis (November 4, 1972). "Films of the Day". Kansas City Times. Kansas City, Missouri: William Rockhill Nelson. p. 28. OCLC 8322727.
  19. ^ a b Variety staff (December 31, 1972). "Breezy". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved 2017-10-17.
  20. ^ a b Locke, Sondra (November 1, 1997). The Good, The Bad & The Very Ugly: A Hollywood Journey. New York City: William Morrow and Company. pp. 130–1. ISBN 0-688-15462-X.
  21. ^ Mell, Eila (January 6, 2005). Casting Might-Have-Beens: A Film-by-Film Directory of Actors Considered For Roles Given To Others. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 43. ISBN 0-786-42017-0.
  22. ^ a b Anderson, George (October 21, 1974). "Local Angle". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Block Communications. p. 12. ISSN 1068-624X.
  23. ^ White, Mike (January 16, 2016). "Special Report: Death Game / Knock Knock". The Projection Booth (Podcast). Interviews with Larry Spiegel, Sondra Locke, and David Worth. Retrieved 2017-09-18.
  24. ^ a b Deal, David (April 30, 2014). Television Fright Films of the 1970s. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 116. ISBN 978-0-786-49383-8.
  25. ^ a b Thomas, Kevin (October 9, 1978). "Three Wives Had Motive in 'Secrets'". Los Angeles Times. p. 89. ISSN 0458-3035.
  26. ^ Kaplan, Mike (May 1, 1981). Variety International Showbusiness Reference. New York City: Garland Publishing. p. 1123. ISBN 0-824-09341-0.
  27. ^ a b c Francke, Lizzie (December 1, 1994). Script Girls: Women Screenwriters in Hollywood. London: British Film Institute. p. 153. ISBN 0-851-70478-6.
  28. ^ Gianakos, Larry James (Dec 1, 1987). Television Drama Series Programming: A Comprehensive Chronicle 1982-1984. Lanham, Maryland: Scarescrow Press. p. 754. ISBN 0-810-81876-0.
  29. ^ Deane, Bill (February 2000). Following the Fugitive: An Episode Guide and Handbook to the 1960s Television Series. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 88. ISBN 0786401486.
  30. ^ Pitts, Michael R. (August 12, 2013). Western Movies: A Guide to 5,105 Feature Films (2nd ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 135. ISBN 978-0-786-46372-5.
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