60s and 70s sex symbol who worked with Bob Hope, Dean Martin and taught Johnny Carson to dance steps out on 82nd birthday… can you guess who she is?

This star was was an actress, dancer and singer who became one of the more famous sex symbols in the 1960s and 1970s.

With her striking platinum-blond hair and pert, vivacious personality, it was small wonder she became a frequent guest on such programs as The Ed Sullivan Show, Hullabaloo – a popular variety series on NBC from 1965 to 1966 – The Dean Martin Show and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

She joined Bob Hope on his touring USO troupes for over a decade.

The multi-talented actress also starred opposite Troy Donahue in the 1965 suspense-thriller My Blood Runs Cold, which has become a cult classic.

Though she retired in the early 2000s, she was spotted during a rare outing in Los Angeles on her 82nd birthday, still looking pert in a red top and black slacks with her blonde hair half up, half down.

Can you guess who she is?

If you guessed Joey Heatherton, you are absolutely right!

The star was seen picking up some packages delivered to her on her birthday.

She stopped to speak to her little dog, a smile spreading across her face.

Heatherton was known for her flirtatious and high-energy guest appearances on top television variety shows where she sang and danced in skimpy attire and bantered with the hosts.

During an appearance on The Tonight Show in the mid-1960s, Heatherton taught Johnny Carson how to dance the ‘Frug,’ a vigorous dance craze where dancers stood mostly in place and moved their arms and hips to pop music.

She performed live with Bob Hope’s touring troupe on his overseas Christmas and traveling USO tours from 1965 to 1977, particularly during the Vietnam War.

Heatherton and the beloved Hollywood icon were described as close professional colleagues and touring partners rather than good friends.

But Mr Entertainment, as Hope was nicknamed, mentioned Heatherton in his 1966 book, Five Women I Love: Bob Hope.

He described the blonde bombshell and her stage costume as ‘nine feet of girl in four feet of leopard skin,’ according to IMDb.

Hope also praised her bravery during their USO tour, recalling that she refused to be talked out of flying out to a small, isolated patrol base on an unescorted helicopter, per the entertainment site.

Heatherton’s appearances on The Dean Martin Show were the stuff of legend.

While she amused Martin, her provocative and dynamic style often shocked the 1960s censors and more conservative viewers.

They would sing Mother Goose rhyme medleys and she would inject sensuality into her performance by using a breathy voice and suggestive ad-libs while Martin would react with his signature relaxed charm.

Heatherton also appeared in numerous movies during the 1960s.

In her film debut, Twilight of Honor (1963), she starred as the wife of an accused murderer (Nick Adams).

Then came Where Love Has Gone, based on the book by Harold Robbins that was a fictionalized account of the Lana Turner-Cheryl Crane-Johnny Stompanato manslaughter case. Heatherton played the role of the daughter opposite Susan Hayward.

She had her first leading role in My Blood Runs Cold opposite Troy Donahue. It was described as a neo-noir psychological thriller about a wealthy young heiress who falls for a mysterious stranger who believes she is the reincarnation of his long-dead ancestor.

In 1977, Heatherton won the role of Xaviera Hollander in The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington, a political satire inspired by the events of the Watergate scandal.

Twenty years later in 1997, at age 52, Heatherton posed nude for Playboy, which was seen as more of a nostalgic move than a shocking one. She had already done some partial nudity in the 1972 film Bluebeard.

Her personal life has had its fill of drama as well.

In 1971, Heatherton’s marriage to Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Lance Rentzel ended in divorce after he pleaded guilty to exposing himself to an underage girl.

She was arrested in 1985 and charged with obstruction of government administration and disturbing the peace after she allegedly slapped and pulled the hair of a US Passport Agency office clerk for refusing to change a $100 bill. She was acquitted of both charges.

In 1986, she was arrested for assault after she allegedly stabbed her former boyfriend and ex-manager, Jerry Fischer, in the hand with a steak knife during a quarrel. Fischer later dropped the charge of assault against the actress.

Since the early 2000s, Heatherton has been mostly retired. Her appearance in a film was the 2002 horror/fantasy Reflections of Evil.