The seven-month-old John and his mother joined him that November in London, where his father had secured work as a journalist on the now defunct News Chronicle.
Heyman was educated at Norfolk House in London, Wycliffe College in Gloucestershire, and finally at St. Edmund Hall, Oxford.
In 1955 Heyman started full-time work in the entertainment industry and by the age of 22 was head of public relations at Associated Television, one of the two founder companies of the ITV.
In 1961 the agency formed the subsidiary World Film Sales, the first company to pre-sell and license pictures on a territory-by-territory basis.
In 1964 he also co-produced the longest running Hamlet in Broadway history, starring Richard Burton and directed by John Gielgud.
The company received a special award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts "acknowledging the nurturing of a whole new generation of writers, actors and producers and in bringing new blood and new talent into the industry."
Heyman's World Group of Companies Limited continues to actively produce and co-finance films and television shows.
At the time of his death, he was in pre-production on a number of projects including a Sino-Italian co-production of a 12-hour mini-series titled The Forbidden City, a film titled The Silk Road, and television projects, including You the Jury, Forbidden Lovers, and a contemporary drama based on modern versions of the biblical Parables and Proverbs.