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 A Playmate is a female model featured in the centerfold/gatefold of ''Playboy'' magazine as Playmate of the Month (PMOTM). The PMOTM's pictorial includes nude photographs and a centerfold poster, along with a pictorial biography and the "Playm ...

. She subsequently won Playmate of the Year 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 before being discovered at a

University of Michigan football The Michigan Wolverines football team represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the List of NCAA football teams by wins, most all-time wins in college 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 leadin ...

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 Americ ...

film '' Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?'' The movie was shot in Malta and starred Milton Berle,

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 (1972), and The Black Bird (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, tw ...

, 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 Carotid artery may refer to: * Common carotid artery, often "carotids" or "carotid", an artery on each side of the neck which divides into the external carotid artery and internal carotid artery * External carotid artery The external carotid arte ...

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? ''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 ...

'' (1969) - Mercy Humppe * '' Ironside'' (1969) –
A Matter of Love and Death
as Arlene * '' The Bold Ones'' - Waitress (one episode, 1969) * '' Love, American Style'' 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 * '' The Outside Man'' (1972) - Rosie * '' The Black Bird'' (1975) - Decoy Girl * ''

Captains and the Kings ''Captains and the Kings'' is a 1972 historical novel by Taylor Caldwell chronicling the rise to wealth and power of an Irish immigrant, Joseph Francis Xavier Armagh, who emigrates as a penniless teenager to the United States, along with his you ...

'' (1976) TV miniseries - Pearl Gray *
Aspen
' (1977, TV miniseries) - Jackie Camerovsky

References

Burlington, North Carolina Burlington is a city in Alamance and Guilford counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the principal city of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Alamance County, in which most of the ...

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

'', ''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