THE death of glamorous Hollywood movie star Natalie Wood continues to spark intrigue nearly 40 years on. Now her actress daughter has written a book and made a documentary on the enduring mystery.
She was an icon of her time?
Californian-born Wood began acting at the age of four and earned a starring role aged eight, alongside Maureen O’Hara and John Wayne in 1947’s classic, Miracle on 34th Street, going on to feature in a raft of iconic films, including Rebel Without a Cause, West Side Story and Gypsy.
Her love life…?
As a Hollywood leading lady, her relationships made headline news, including a dalliance with Elvis Presley when she was 18. Her two marriages to actor Robert Wagner were highly publicised, with the first lasting from 1957 to 1962, after which she wed film producer Richard Gregson. She again wed Wagner in 1972.
Wagner?
Now 90 and most famous for his hit 1980s TV show, Hart to Hart, and roles in the Austin Powers movies, he was a silver screen leading man in his youth and together, he and Wood were Hollywood’s golden couple.
Then tragedy struck…
On November 29, 1981, Wood’s body was found floating in the Pacific Ocean off California's Catalina Island, in a flannel nightgown, a down jacket and wool socks. It emerged that she had spent Thanksgiving weekend aboard her yacht, Splendour, with her husband and also actor Christopher Walken – with whom she was making the film Brainstorm – and the ship's young captain, Dennis Davern.
The coroner announced it was an “accidental drowning”, but nagging questions persisted.
What has Wagner said?
In his 1986 book, he said he thought his wife – bored of the political discussion between himself and Walken – had gone to bed and was possibly unable to sleep due to the dinghy banging, so tried to tighten the line and fell and hit her head. But he originally told police that he had argued with Wood about her extended time away from the family.
Now?
Wood’s daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner, 49, whose biological father is Gregson, but who was raised by Wagner, has written a memoir, More Than Love, and made a documentary Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind, set to air on May 5 in the US, opening up about her loss and interviewing Wagner.
She believes…?
In her book, she writes: “I have always understood that my mother slipped and fell, bruising her body and possibly ending up unconscious before she entered the water – but we can never know with complete certainty”.
And she supports Wagner?
Wholeheartedly, saying: “It’s outrageous and completely unacceptable that others have created this narrative about my dad and the night my mom died. I know that if my mom had been in any kind of distress he would have given his life for her..”
And what does he say?
On screen for the documentary, he says: “I don't think there's a day that has ever gone by that I don't think about Natalie”.
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