Connie Kreski

Connie Kreski (September 19, 1946, Wyandotte, Michigan – March 21, 1995, Beverly Hills, California) was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for January 1968 and was Playmate of the Year for 1969. Kreski had long taffy-colored hair and blue near-sighted eyes.

Playboy Playmate

Her original pictorial was photographed by Larry Gordon. She was discovered by a Playboy staffer while attending a University of Michigan football game. Kreski was on a date with a doctor and he introduced her to his friend, Playboy's sports editor.

She was a graduate of Mercy College, a Catholic nursing school in Detroit, Michigan. At the time of her photo shoot she had been working for three months at an Ann Arbor psychiatric hospital. She was also studying psychiatry.

Actress

In September 1967 Kreski left Michigan abruptly after her mother learned about her upcoming Playmate pictorial. A two week holiday in London, England turned into a stay of more than a year. She did some modeling, bought two Pekingese and met producer/director Anthony Newley.

In April 1969 Kreski was signed by Newley to play the feminine title role of Mercy Humppe in the Universal Pictures film Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? The movie was shot in Malta and starred Milton Berle, Joan Collins, and George Jessel. In Malta the film is under censorship.

Hollywood life

Los Angeles Times writer Joyce Haber mentioned Kreski in a newspaper column just days after the murder of Sharon Tate by followers of Charles Manson. Kreski was a member of the murdered actress' social circle along with John Phillips, Michelle Phillips, Tina Sinatra, Jacqueline Bisset, Michael Sarrazin, and Andrew Prine. Kreski was among those invited to the mansion Tate shared with her husband, director Roman Polanski. The home was on Cielo Drive, Los Angeles, California. Haber said that some of those invited declined to attend on the fatal night of August 9, 1969.

Kreski was the girlfriend of James Caan in the early 1970s. The actor was enjoying his greatest popularity with roles in Brian's Song (1971) and The Godfather (1972). In a 1974 interview Caan depicted Kreski as "very sweet". He described himself as difficult to live with, requiring "a lot of woman to put up with me."

Death

Kreski died of a blocked carotid artery, which was a result from high cholesterol, on March 21, 1995 in Beverly Hills, California.

Trivia

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (October 2009)

Kreski received a spear gun, a facial moisturizer, a custom billiard cue, a Ford Shelby GT 500, a Harley-Davidson M-65, and a Schwinn Varsity bicycle among the $15,000 in prizes she won with her selection as Playboy's Playmate of the Year in May 1969.

Kreski graduated from Our Lady of Mt Carmel High School, in Wyandotte, MI.

Film and television appearances

• Lost Flight (1969) .... Australian's Wife
• Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? (1969) .... Mercy Humppe
• Ironside - "A Matter of Love and Death" .... Arlene (1 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 (segment "Love and the V.I.P. Restaurant")
• The Trackers (1971) (TV) .... Becky Paxton
• Un homme est mort (aka "The Outside Man") (1972) .... Rosie
• The Black Bird (1975) .... Decoy Girl
• Captains and the Kings (1976) (mini) TV Series .... Pearl Gray
• Aspen (1977) (mini) TV Series (uncredited) .... Jackie Camerovsky

See also

• List of people in Playboy 1960-1969

References

• Burlington, North Carolina, 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, 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

• Connie Kreski at Playboy.com
• Connie Kreski at the Internet Movie Database