Kim Winona (born Constance Elaine Mackey; October 10, 1930 – June 23, 1978), also credited as Connie Buck, was an American actress, mostly playing Native American roles in Western television programs.

Early life

Winona was born Constance Elaine Mackey in

South Sioux City, Nebraska South Sioux City is a city in Dakota County, Nebraska, United States. It is located immediately across the Missouri River from Sioux City, Iowa, and is part of the Sioux City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 14 ...

, the daughter of Elaine G. Melior. She lived in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

, as a girl. She was an enrolled member of the

Santee Sioux The Dakota (pronounced , or ) are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government in North America. They compose two of the three main subcultures of the Sioux people, and are typically divided into the Eastern Dakota and the Wester ...

people, and her mother was active in compiling records of Native American family trees.

Career

Winona worked as a secretary and model when she first lived in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. On television she had a regular role as Morning Star in ''

Brave Eagle ''Brave Eagle'' is a 26-episode half-hour Western television series which aired on CBS from September 28, 1955, to March 14, 1956, with rebroadcasts continuing until June 6. Overview Keith Larsen, who was of Norwegian descent, starred as Br ...

'' (1955–1956), of which she explained that "The script writers have never made me say 'Ugh', 'Me catchum this', or 'Me wantum wampum.'" The show was praised for casting several Native American actors in regular roles, and for having a Chippewa technical advisor. While in this role, she was a guest marshal of the Hesperia Days parade in

Hesperia, California Hesperia () is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is located north of downtown San Bernardino in Victor Valley and surrounded by the Mojave Desert. Because of its relatively high elevation and the unique and moderat ...

. As Connie Buck, she also appeared in ''

The Man Called X ''The Man Called X'' is an espionage radio drama that aired on CBS and NBC from July 10, 1944, to May 20, 1952. The radio series was later adapted for television and was broadcast for one season, 1956–1957. People Herbert Marshall had the lead ...

'' (1956), '' Bolt of Lightning'' (1957), ''

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...

'' (1958), '' The Rough Riders'' (1958), ''

26 Men ''26 Men'' is a syndicated American Western television series about the Arizona Rangers, a law-enforcement group limited to 26 active members. By March 1958, the program was carried on 158 stations in the United States. The program was also bro ...

'' (1957–1958), ''

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea lane between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, near the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Arctic Archipelago of Canada. The eastern route along the Arctic ...

'' (1959), ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

'' (1959), ''

Black Saddle ''Black Saddle'' is an American Western television series starring Peter Breck that aired 44 half-hour black-and-white episodes from January 10, 1959, to May 6, 1960. The first season of 20 episodes aired on NBC from January 1959 to September ...

'' (1959), ''

Bat Masterson Bartholemew William Barclay "Bat" Masterson (November 26, 1853 – October 25, 1921) was a U.S. Army scout, lawman, professional gambler, and journalist known for his exploits in the late 19th and early 20th-century American Old West. He was bo ...

'' (1960), and ''

Rawhide Rawhide may refer to: *Rawhide (material), a hide or animal skin that has not been tanned * Whip made from rawhide Entertainment * ''Rawhide'' (1926 film), a Western directed by Richard Thorpe * ''Rawhide'' (1938 film), a Western starring baseball ...

'' (1959–1960). She had a role in the film ''

Gun Fight ''Gun Fight'', known as in Japan and Europe, is a 1975 multidirectional shooter arcade video game designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, and released by Taito in Japan and Europe and by Midway in North America. Based around two Old West cowboys ar ...

'' (1961), and was hired to promote the film ''

Apache The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...

'' (1954), despite not appearing in it. She also painted and did sculpture.

Personal life

Winona married four times and divorced three times. Her first husband was Harvey L. Buck; they married in 1949 in Spokane. Her third husband was John Gilbert Stewart; they married in 1972 in Los Angeles and divorced in 1976. Her last husband was Charles Marcus "Chic" Sorenson; they married in 1977. She had two daughters, Migan (Mimi) Richman, and Michelle Stewart. Michelle is a young adult and supernatural thriller writer under the pen name Michelle Morningstar. Kim Winona died in 1978, aged 47 years, in Los Angeles. Correction I am jim richman and Kim and I were together for 8 years had a daughter---Mimi Richman

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Winona, Kim 1930 births 1978 deaths People from South Sioux City, Nebraska Native American actresses 20th-century American actresses 20th-century Native American people 20th-century Native American women People from Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota Santee Dakota people American television actresses