Barton Heyman, born in 1937, was an American actor whose career spanned several decades, leaving a mark in cult cinema. He appeared in The Naked Flame (1964), showcasing his ability to navigate the provocative themes of the era. His later roles in Is There Sex After Death? (1971) and The Happy Hooker (1975) further cemented his status within the exploitation genre. Heyman's versatility is evident in his performances, including a memorable role in Dead Man Walking (1995), where he continued to explore complex characters.
The Happy Hooker
As prostitutes are arrested in New York, a flashback begins to the life of one of them, a Dutch secretary Xaviera Hollander who moved to New York in hopes of marrying her fiancé Carl, whom she met whilst visiting her sister in South Africa. Observing how Carl does not help her take her bags off the airplane and his increasingly long morning routine and primping, Xaviera grows concerned he is not the man she thought he was. Her suspicions are confirmed when his mother insults her over dinner. Xaviera offers him a choice of her or his mother and he picks his mother. Xaviera finds work at the Dutch Embassy as a translator and secretary. She is asked on a date by Frenchman Yves and quickly falls in love with him and his extravagant lifestyle, as Yves has made a small fortune as a consultant for large corporations and even small countries. Yves announces that he must leave as he has been summoned by the king of a Middle Eastern country. Xaviera breaks down crying. He hands her a large envelope containing cash. Although it makes her feel like a prostitute, she realizes quickly that this may be her calling in life because she loves sex and money. She starts meeting up with Yves' friends. Xaviera prospers as a prostitute until she is shaken down by a corrupt police officer who takes her money and tries to rape her. Instead of paying him off, she goes to work at a local bordello with a madam who offers her a 50/50 split. Xaviera decides that she can do better on her own, so she leaves to open her own bordello ten blocks away. After a while, she is the most successful madam in New York City and buys out her former madam's business as well. All is well until the corrupt cop from earlier in the film sees her and instigates a raid, sending her to jail. Xaviera's attorney bails her out of jail and sets her up with a friend of his who is coming in from Montreal.
