Connie Kreski (September 19, 1946 – March 21, 1995) was born Constance Joanne Kornacki. She was an American model and actress. In January 1968, Kreski posed in the centerfold as ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

'' magazine's Playmate of the Month. She subsequently won

Playmate of the Year This is a list of models who were chosen as a Playboy Playmate of the Year for the American edition of ''Playboy'' magazine. List of Playmates of the Year *1953: Marilyn Monroe *1954: *1955: *1956: *1957: *1958: *1959: *1960: Ellen Stratton ...

honors for 1969. She was also Miss January 1969 in the Playboy calendar for that year and featured again in the 1970 calendar. Kreski briefly worked as a psychiatric nurse at a hospital in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...

before being discovered at a University of Michigan football game by a Playboy scou

Career

In April 1969, Kreski was signed by

Anthony Newley Anthony Newley (24 September 1931 – 14 April 1999) was an English actor, singer, songwriter, and filmmaker. A "latter-day British Al Jolson", he achieved widespread success in song, and on stage and screen. "One of Broadway's greatest leading ...

to play the female lead in the

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

film ''

Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? ''Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?'' is a 1969 British musical film directed by and starring Anthony Newley. Plot Merkin is an internationally successful singer approaching middle age who retells his life s ...

'' The movie was shot in Malta and starred

Milton Berle Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; ; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over 80 years, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and tel ...

Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime ...

, and George Jessel. She also appeared in The Trackers, (1971),

The Outside Man ''The Outside Man'' (French: ''Un homme est mort'') is a 1972 French-Italian thriller set in Los Angeles, directed by Jacques Deray and starring Jean-Louis Trintignant, Ann-Margret, Roy Scheider, and Angie Dickinson. Plot A contract on the lif ...

(1972), and

The Black Bird ''The Black Bird'' is a 1975 comedy film written and directed by David Giler and starring George Segal and Stéphane Audran. It is a comedic sequel to the John Huston film version of ''The Maltese Falcon'' (1941) with Segal playing Sam Spade's ...

(1975).

Personal life

''Los Angeles Times'' writer Joyce Haber mentioned Kreski in a newspaper column just days after the murder of

Sharon Tate Sharon Marie Tate Polanski (January 24, 1943 – August 9, 1969) was an American actress and model. During the 1960s, she played small television roles before appearing in films and was regularly featured in fashion magazines as a model and cover ...

by followers of

Charles Manson Charles Milles Manson (; November 12, 1934November 19, 2017) was an American criminal and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California, in the late 1960s. Some of the members committed a series of nine murders at four loca ...

. Kreski was a member of the murdered actress's social circle, and considered Sharon Tate, who was quite similar in physical appearance, a very close friend. Kreski was among those invited to the mansion Tate shared with her husband, director

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a (né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two ...

, on the fatal night of August 9, 1969. Kreski penned an article for the Detroit Free Press discussing her immediate reaction to the death of Tate roughly a week after the incident

Death

Kreski died of a blocked carotid artery on March 21, 1995, in Beverly Hills, California.

Film and television appearances

* ''

Lost Flight ''Lost Flight'' is a 1969 dramatic film written and produced for television based on producer Frank Price's unsuccessful 1966 TV pilot, ''Stranded'', that instead had a theatrical release in the US and Australia from mid-1970 through 1971. The p ...

'' (1969) - Australian's Wife * '' Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?'' (1969) - Mercy Humppe * '' Ironside'' (1969) –
A Matter of Love and Death
as Arlene * ''

The Bold Ones ''The Bold Ones'' is the umbrella title for several television series. It was produced by Universal Television and broadcast on NBC from 1969 to 1973. It was a wheel format series, an NBC programming approach also used by that network in serie ...

'' - Waitress (one episode, 1969) * ''

Love, American Style ''Love, American Style'' is an anthology comedy television series that aired on ABC from 1969 to 1974. The series was produced by Paramount Television. During the 1971–72 and 1972–73 seasons, it was a part of ABC's Friday primetime lineup ...

'' Love and the Big Night/Love and Those Poor Crusaders' Wives/Love and the V.I.P. Restaurant
--> (1970) TV episode - "Love and the V.I.P. Restaurant" *
The Trackers
' (1971, TV) - Becky Paxton * ''

'' (1972) - Rosie * ''

'' (1975) - Decoy Girl * '' Captains and the Kings'' (1976) TV miniseries - Pearl Gray *
Aspen
' (1977, TV miniseries) - Jackie Camerovsky

References

Burlington, North Carolina Burlington is a city in Alamance County, North Carolina, Alamance and Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the principal city of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

, "She's on Her Way to Stardom, But Mom's on Tranqulizers", April 30, 1969, Page 58. *

Florence, South Carolina Florence is a city in and the county seat of Florence County, South Carolina, United States. It lies at the intersection of Interstates 20 and 95 and is the eastern terminus of the former. It is the primary city within the Florence metropolit ...

''Morning News'', "Star Chat, Tough Talk from James Caan", January 6, 1974, Page 44. *''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', ''Movie Call Sheet'', April 15, 1968, Page C21. *''Los Angeles Times'', "Venus of the Centerfold", July 13, 1969, Page K22. *''Los Angeles Times'', "Playmate of the Year Ceremonies Present", May 15, 1969, Page D21. *''Los Angeles Times'', "Living in Era of Uncommon Barbarity", August 12, 1969, Page C11. *''Los Angeles Times'', "Lived The Part, How James Caan Became Godson", May 30, 1972, Page G1.

External links