Heather Locklear: Pulling double duty

She seemed to be on TV all the time in the ‘80s. One minute she was a vamp, stealing the heart of a gay man. At the same time, she was a police officer and the daughter of the commanding officer.

Such was the life of Heather Locklear, who just used the ‘80s as a jumping off point to a prosperous career that continues to this day.

Earliest roles
Heather Locklear studied at UCLA where Wikipedia reveals she began modeling and working in commercials for the school store.

Her earliest on-screen roles were in the series “CHiPs”; “240-Robert”; “Eight is Enough”; and the movie “Twirl.”

Her career took off in the next two years with not one, but two recurring roles, in long-running TV series.

Dynasty
“Dynasty” was a night-time drama about Denver oil man Blake Carrrington and his wife Crystal. In 1981, Locklear joined the cast of “Dynasty” as Sammy-Jo Dean, Crystal’s scheming, conniving niece. She soon hooks up with Blake’s son Steven, who is closeted, and they ultimately marry and have a child together. It becomes clear quickly she is a gold digger, and their relationship remains on and off throughout the run of the series as they struggle with each other and their shared son.

Locklear appeared in “Dynasty” from 1981 to 1989, for 127 episodes from seasons two through nine, as well as “Dynasty: The Reunion” in 1991.

I distinctly recall how duplicitous, and outright evil, Sammy-Jo could be. She would act sweet and innocent to someone’s face, then stab them in the back. Locklear had this ability to put an angelic look on her face, which quickly turned sly and scheming.

T.J Hooker
Locklear’s role on “Dynasty” began a long association with producer Aaron Spelling, that lasted decades.

“T.J. Hooker”, aired as a mid-season replacement in mid-March of 1982. William Shatner played the title character, a police detective whose partner was killed in the line of duty. Hooker returns to duty as a patrol officer to rid the streets of crime. In the pilot, he also returns to the police academy as an instructor.

He is teamed with a younger officer, Vince Romano, played by Adrian Zmed. Much is made about their age gap, but they become an effective pair. Of course, he has a commanding officer Dennis Sheridan, played by Richard Herd, who Hooker comes into conflict with. In the second season, Heather Locklear joined the cast for the remainder of the show’s run as Stacey Sheridan, another rookie police officer, and the commanding officer’s daughter.

Locklear appeared in “T.J. Hooker” from 1982 to 1986, for 84 episodes from seasons two through five.

Locklear’s portrayal of Stacey Sheridan was so striking, because it was such a stark contrast to Sammy-Jo. Stacey would have the same angelic look on her face – but it was genuine and sincere.

That was my first indication of just how great an actor Heather Locklear is.

However, she kept demonstrating that throughout the rest of the ‘80s.

Rest of the decade
Heather Locklear appeared in a lot of shows in addition to her recurring roles. Those included “The Fall Guy”; “Fantasy Island”; “Matt Houston”; “Tales of the Unexpected”; “Hotel”; “The Love Boat”; “The Fall Guy” again; and the television movies “City Killer” and “Rock ‘n’ Roll Mom”.

She also appeared in the movies “Firestarter” in 1984 and “The Return of the Swamp Thing” in 1989.

The years after
Heather Locklear would go on to have more prominent recurring roles in television series in the 1990s and beyond.

After several more television movies, and a 19-episode stint in a series called “Going Places”, Locklear landed the role of Amanda Woodward in “Melrose Place”, another Aaron Spelling production. She would appear in 199 episodes from 1993 to 1999 and be nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series Drama in 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997.

After she finished “Melrose Place”, later in 1999 she joined the cast of “Spin City” opposite Michael J. Fox then Charlie Sheen. She would appear in 71 episodes in seasons four, five and six of the series. She was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series Musical or Comedy in 2000 and 2002.

Locklear would appear in episodes of “Ally McBeal”; “Scrubs”; “Two and a Half Men”; “LAX”; “Boston Legal”; “Hannah Montana”; “Rules of Engagement”; an update of “Melrose Place” in the 2009-2010 season; “Hot in Cleveland”; “Franklin and Bash”; “Too Close to Home” for eight episodes; “Fresh Off the Boat”; and much more.

She appeared in movies such as “The First Wives Club”; “Money Talks”; “The Perfect Man”; “Game of Life”; “Scary Movie 5”; and much more.

Locklear was also known for high-profile marriages to musicians Tommy Lee of Motley Crue, from 1986 to 1993, and Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi from 1994 to 2007.

Heather Locklear continues to act to this day.

Parting thoughts
Although Heather Locklear had her greatest success in the ‘90s with “Melrose Place” and “Spin City”, her career really got rolling in the ‘80s.

I still think it is really impressive she was able to pull off two very different roles on two different shows at the same time. I recall when she left “Dynasty” and joined “T.J. Hooker” soon after. That was not uncommon for an actor to leave one show then join another shortly after. I was surprised when she was back on “Dynasty” but stayed on “T.J. Hooker”.

That was a pretty unique thing to see, and must have taken a lot of work.

It also increased her profile and led to, essentially, continuous work for the next decade – and award winning work at that.

Her pulling double duty really paid off.