Film career

After leaving Soap, the actress gained the role of Lucille LaRusso, mother of Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), in the Karate Kid movie series, appearing in the first and, as a cameo, third installments, to positive notices from critics.^[11] Reviewer Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune noted her absence from the second film, "Heller's honest portrayal of a single parent trying to raise an adolescent was one of the genuine pleasures of the original film."^[12] Ralph Macchio also "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."^[13] Heller was also the voice that says "Hey Rock, you're a bum" in the first Rocky movie.

Other films include Fast Break (1979), Bulworth (1998), Monster-in-Law (2005), and Crazylove (2005).

Television guest appearances

Heller had a starring role as Carol in the 1979 TV movie Can You Hear the Laughter? The Story of Freddie Prinze. She has made guest appearances in television series including Murder, She Wrote, Less Than Perfect, ALF, Nip/Tuck, Judging Amy, Felicity, the children's series Drake & Josh, Night Court, Fame, and The White Shadow. She was a regular on the one-season program Husbands, Wives & Lovers (1978). Heller played leading roles in three short-lived sitcoms: Second Chance (1987), "Better Days (TV series)," and Mama Malone (1984). Her TV-movie appearances include Can You Hear the Laughter? The Story of Freddie Prinze and And Your Name is Jonah (both 1979). Heller had a recurring role in the fourth season (2010) of AMC's Mad Men as Bert Cooper's and Don Draper's elderly secretary Ida Blankenship. For this role she received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. Also, in the 2010s, she played the recurring role of Ryan's neighbor Margot on the American version of Wilfred

Since 2018, Heller has reprised the role of Lucille LaRusso in the streaming show Cobra Kai.

Stage career

Heller has appeared in such theater productions as Bermuda Avenue Triangle,^[14] The Tale of the Allergist's Wife,^[15] and Cabaret. Of her role in Cabaret, with one reviewer remarked 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.^[16]

Heller also played the role of Barbra Streisand's mother in the stage performances of Streisand's Timeless concerts in 2000. She performed the role after having been diagnosed with breast cancer the year before and undergoing a double mastectomy and chemotherapy and radiation treatments.^[2]

Film

Television

Additional credits

Television film

• Husbands and Wives ... as Rita Bell (1977)
• ...And Your Name is Jonah ... as Connie (1979)
• Can You Hear the Laughter? The Story of Freddie Prinze ... as Carol (1979)
• Obsessed with a Married Woman ... as Rita (1985)
• The Last Fling ... as Mimi (1987)
• Changes ... as Carol Kellerman (1991)

Short film

• Coma ... as Doug's Mother (2009)
• Haunted with a View ... unknown / unnamed role (2011)

Selected theatre credits

• Grease ... as Betty Rizzo (replacement) (February 14, 1972 – April 13, 1980)
• Hurry Harry ... as Helena / writer / Native No. 4 / Not-So-Grand Lama / Gypsy (October 12, 1972 – October 13, 1972)