Golden Age Performer Annette Heinz Passes Away at 71

CAMPBELL COUNTY, Ky.—Golden Age adult movie star and performer Annette Heinz passed away on Thursday, weeks after being diagnosed with late-stage cancer. She was 71. Heinz, an Ohio native, had a total of 29 movie credits during her career. She started as an exotic dancer in 1970, at Larry Flynt’s original Hustler Club in Cincinnati. After the stint at Hustler and as a burlesque dancer in Newport, Kentucky, Heinz hit the road in a van with her live stage act, including elaborate costumes, fire-eating apparatus, and even a boa constrictor named Mr. Cooper. By the 1980s, she had landed in New York City and Times Square, where she danced for a decade at the world-famous adult venue Melody Berlesk. It was there she was discovered by legendary adult director Gerard Damiano (Deep Throat, The Devil In Miss Jones), who cast her in a non-sex role in 1982’s Consenting Adults. In 1983, Heinz received an XRCO Best Supporting Actress nomination for her role in Public Affairs, co-starring XXX stars Annette Haven, Joey Silvera and Paul Thomas, and directed by late AVN Hall of Famer Henri Pachard for Caballero Home Video. She appeared in video features for the era’s most prominent studios including Femme Productions’ Three Daughters (directed by Candida Royalle), VCA's Burlexxx, Video-X-Pix's Succulent, and Command Video’s Dangerous Stuff. After retiring from her adult career, Heinz went on to graduate cum laude from Cincinnati State University with degrees in culinary arts and hotel/restaurant management, later apprenticing under two prominent chefs, Jim Kinsella and James Wyatt. Her hospitality career was cut short due to Marfan Syndrome, a disabling genetic condition that affects the connective tissues. She married construction worker James Seward and they lived together in Newport, Kentucky, until he died in 1995. Fellow Golden Age star and longtime friend “Long” Jeanne Silver had been assisting Heinz as her health was failing. “Annette was family of choice,” Silver told AVN. “We were roommates back in the ‘80s, both of us worked off and on at the Melody Berlesk on 48th St. Annette and I worked on a few films together—one, in particular, was called Piggies. She was fabulous as Mrs. Morehead. Annette excelled in character acting, you could never find fault in her skills. “We continued our friendship as much as possible with a few moments of distance, but reunited thanks to Facebook,” she recalled. “I'll be doing a small fundraiser after I talk with the funeral home tomorrow. I need to sign papers so she can have her remains cremated and sent to me. I plan on putting her ass, I mean ashes, in small vials and taking her on some final tours. “Since Annette has no bio family, I was tasked as her Medical POA. I hope I did her justice in making sure she had the care she needed,” Silver concluded. “Gone too soon but, no longer suffering from the massive cancerous tumors throughout her body.” Silver is organizing a PayPal fundraiser to help with final arrangements for Heinz, the details of which will be updated here as soon as available.