In this paper, we introduce a classical model for the behavior of the outer electron of a Rydberg helium atom in both static and time‐dependent electric fields; we contrast the behavior of this dynamical system with the behavior of the classical model for highly excited hydrogen atoms in similar fields; and we show that these classical models recover many features of the system that would seem to be purely quantal in origin. Perhaps the most surprising of these is the apparent presence of ‘‘classical avoided crossings’’ in the Stark energy level structure of the classical helium model. Finally, we compare the behavior of our helium model to experimental data obtained by Koch, Mariani, and co‐workers in their investigations of the ionization of highly excited helium atoms in a microwave field, and we note the agreement between experiment and theory.