Prominent local artist Heller dies

Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2001 | 9:51 a.m.

So dedicated was Jim Heller to his art that in the final stages of his lifelong battle with muscular dystrophy he was determined to complete his last commissioned painting, even if it required a little help from a friend.

Pat Dockins, Heller's caregiver for the past six years, gently moved the canvas inches at a time as Heller, clutching an extended brush with just three working fingers on his right hand, applied still-masterful strokes of watercolor to an unnamed but exquisite landscape he completed in December.

"Jim never lost his vitality for life," Dockins said. "He was always so positive and so involved in everything he did."

James Heller, who created oil and watercolor masterpieces of American Indians, clowns and landscapes during a career that spanned nearly a half century and included exhibitions at local and regional galleries, died Wednesday at St. Rose Dominican Hospital. He was 64.

The cause of death was complications from pneumonia and muscular dystrophy, Dockins said.

Services for the Henderson resident of 51 years will be 10 a.m. Friday at Desert Rose Chapel in Henderson.

Heller also was a citizens band radio enthusiast who was known by the handle "Lover Boy." He was an activist for the rights of the disabled and was instrumental in getting a ramp installed in front of the Henderson Library in the 1970s to accommodate his 12-volt battery-operated wheelchair.

As a disabled artist he faced unique challenges. For example, for a 2-foot-by-4-foot painting of a steam-driven locomotive chasing a stage coach, Heller had to paint the sky upside down because of the limitations of his arm movement.

His paintings have been displayed at the Boulder City and Henderson libraries, the Union Plaza Art Gallery, the Wilke Gallery in Lodi, Calif., Boulder City's Burke Gallery, the Las Vegas Art Museum, the Boulevard mall and the Portfolio Gallery in San Diego.

Heller's works also have been featured in Southwest Art magazine and Western Horseman magazine. His portraits of Roy Clark, Sammy Davis Jr., Charo and others appeared in the Sun's former Sunday supplement magazine in the 1970s and '80s.

"I used to feel frustrated, but I don't feel that way anymore," Heller told the Sun in an Oct. 13, 1977, story, commenting on his disability. "I know quite a few people walking around who are in worse shape than anybody who is confined to a wheelchair.

"Maybe it's an ego trip, but it feels nice inside that somebody wants to buy my work."

Born Feb. 6, 1937, in Chicago, Heller was the elder of two children of longtime Las Vegas showroom captain Al Heller and his wife, Joanne.

Diagnosed with a neuromuscular disorder at 18 months, at a time when muscular dystrophy sufferers routinely died in childhood, Heller was raised in California and developed interest in art at an early age. The family moved to Las Vegas in 1950.

Heller earned a degree in commercial and illustrative art through correspondence school but, for all purposes, was a self-taught artist. Celebrities including Kay Starr, Mac Davis, Frank Gorshin and Donald O'Connor commissioned Heller to paint their portraits.

Heller also did a portrait of Jerry Lewis and a Muscular Dystrophy Association poster child. He received a letter of appreciation from the comedian and MDA telethon host that he long kept among his most treasured possessions.

Heller made several appearances on the MDA Labor Day telethon, serving as an inspiration that people can survive such crippling diseases and live to see their dreams come true.

Heller is survived by his brother, Larry Heller; a sister-in-law, Norma Heller; two nieces; and a nephew, all of Las Vegas.

His family said donations can be made to the Jim Heller Scholarship Fund, Boulder City Art Guild, PO Box 60204, Boulder City, NV, 89006.