This is 1969 Playboy Playmate of the Year Connie Kreski posing with her prize 1969 Ford 429 CobraJet Shelby Mustang … In special Playmate Pink!
This was a tradition started by Hugh Hefner in 1964 (given to Donna Michelle), when he decided to reward his Playmate of Year with a new car as part of a larger prize pool. The car had to be a performance sports car and it had to be painted in what he cal;led “Playmate Pink”.
Connie’s was a very special case though! Although all were Pinks between 1964 and 1975 were all what are now highly collectible – including a rare 1968 AMX – Connie’s was to become the most iconic of all.
It is a 429 CobraJet GT500 with Top Loader 4 speed and a 9″ Diff along with the full race suspension to make sure it stays straight around corners and the big brakes to make sure it stops when it comes out of them!
Two other Shelby’s were given to Playmates however these were not in Playmate Pink. One was a Series 1 given to Karen McDougal in 1998 and the other a CSX4000 given to Heather Kozar in 1999.
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.
It’s said that Kreski’s long taffy-colored hair and blue eyes captured Hefner’s interest and obviously the attention of the voters.
In April 1969 Kreski was signed by Anthony 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.
Los Angeles Times writer Joyce Haber mentioned Kreski in a newspaper column just days after the murder of Sharon Tate by the Charles Manson family. 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 but declined the invitation to attend on the fatal night of August 9, 1969.
Kreski died of a blocked carotid artery on March 21, 1995 in Beverly Hills, California.
And this is the reason Connie was voted Playmate of the Year in 1969 …
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