Elvis and "Lakota Woman"

Since the 1950s Claudette Sabor of St. Francis, SD has found herself playing bit parts in several movies.

She fondly remembers being an extra in "Flaming Star," a western that some say was Elvis Presley's finest performance as an actor. "He was a nice person. He was so kind to people," she said.

Years later back home in South Dakota, Sabor was cast as American Indian Movement Warrior Buddy Lamont's mother in "Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee." She originally auditioned for a different part in the film, but found that Mrs. Lamont's character had a speaking part.

"That made me eligible for the Screen Actors Guild, but I didn't join at my age," she laughed. "I didn't want to go running all over the country."


"I understand she was a lady with a big heart," Sabor said of her portrayal of Mrs. Lamont. Above is Sabor grieving Buddy's death at the hands of FBI agents in the film.