Noguchi himself raised some of those questions in his 1983 book, Coroner. They were included in the original report, but the coroner then said that they were caused by falling off the yacht and struggling to get into the rubbery dinghy, which had scratch marks on it consistent with someone struggling to pulls themselves into it. Natalie may … The services were simple and they were private. Hypothermia caused her to lose strength, then consciousness, then finally her last feeble grip on the boat. “I went to the end of the boat and the dinghy was gone and I came back up and said to Dennis, ‘Natalie’s not here, she’s taken off, I guess in the dinghy,’ … nobody heard anything. Also in attendance were actor Richard Benjamin and directors Elia Kazan and Herb Ross. Two days later, Hollywood mourned Wood's passing at a star-studded funeral, marked by a teary Wagner kissing her coffin, and the investigation was formally closed on December 11. Wood was also a stepmother to Wagner’s daughter Katie from his marriage to Marion Marshall. The new documentary, Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind, dispels rumors that actress Natalie Wood had an affair with her Brainstorm co-star, Christopher Walken. CBS News was the first to report that actor Robert Wagner is now being called a person of interest in the 1981 death of his wife, actress Natalie Wood. February 2, 2018 3:54 PM EST M ore than 35 years after the mysterious death of Hollywood star Natalie Wood, the actor’s 1981 drowning has returned to headlines. And everything just went out from under me.”, Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind (2020): Mother Natalie (Clip) | HBONatasha Gregson Wagner remembers reflects on having a larger-than-life figure as a mother. "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty joined CBSN with more.2018-02-02T16:01:56Z. This man that I knew and your mother knew, Doug Bombard, took care of Catalina at that time … he said we found her and I said is she OK? Elaborating on things in the 1986 book Heart to Heart with Robert Wagner, the actor described how he and Walken were engaged in a "political debate" for much of the evening, prompting his bored wife to check out of the discussion and head to bed. After a year-long courtship, Natalie and Robert would marry on December 28, 1957. "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty joined CBSN with more. However, his recollection of impassioned discussions differed from an original description to police, in which he admitted to arguing with Wood about her extended time away from the family. Investigators fear her death was no accident. The case was reopened six years ago and now has key witness accounts. Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind is an intimate portrait of actor Natalie Wood’s life and career, told through the eyes of her daughter Natasha Gregson Wagner and others who knew her best. On her 18th birthday, Natalie would go on a studio-arranged date with Robert Wagner. But Natalie would soon discover that juggling the fame of her movie-star lifestyle with her desire to lead a private life would be too much. After years of trying to get publishers and tabloids to bite on the story, he began leaking more revealing details to the mainstream press. I think it was a matter of, ‘We’re not going to look too hard, we’re not going to turn on the searchlight, we’re not going to notify anybody right now. The film celebrates the woman behind the iconic imagery and…, 48 Hours "Natalie Wood: Death in Dark Water" reveals new witnesses in investigation. At first, Natalie Wood’s cause of death was officially labeled “accidental drowning.” You can read Natalie’s autopsy report here. “The ultimate problem is we don’t know how she ended up in the water.”, Mourners Attend Natalie Wood's Funeral | From the Archives | NBCLAMourners attend Natalie Wood's funeral, just days after she drowned off the coast of Santa Catalina Island. The following summer, the L.A. County coroner added emphasis to the newfound urgency by changing the cause of death to "drowning and other undetermined factors," citing a closer examination of bruises that suggested Wood was assaulted. Cameras continued to respect requests to stay at a distance. The actor's account of the evening, … Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind (2020) | Official Trailer | HBOThe greatest roles of her life were behind the scenes. He theorized that she was unable to sleep with the dinghy banging against the yacht and fell and hit her head while attempting to tighten the line. Natalie Wood, American film actress who transitioned from child stardom to a successful movie career as an adult. Natalie Wood, a brave young woman, tragically lost her fight against the specter, death, less than 200 yards from shore. Her movies included Miracle on 34th Street, Splendor in the Grass, and West Side Story. Hollywood starlet Natalie Wood was terrified of water, but supposedly took a dinghy out in the middle of the night when she drowned in 1981. We waited for a while. “So I called the shore boat … but the shore boat came back and they said she didn’t go ashore. The death of movie star Natalie Wood four decades ago continues to fascinate the media and now the "Dr. Phil" show has joined in, hosting the yacht skipper who now claims Wood … Two years later, he was among the 700-plus people who signed a petition over the flawed investigation into Wood's death, prompting the L.A. County Sheriff's Department to reopen the case in November. I did lie on a report several years ago … We didn’t take any steps to see if we could locate her. Shipping Accidents. Natalie Wood, 43, was found washed up off the coast of Catalina Island in southern California after disappearing from the couple's yacht, the Splendour, in … Wood’s body was found floating near the dinghy in a cove near the island. A new documentary, Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind, premiers tonight on HBO. ", The Splendor and the yacht's dinghy, Prince Valiant. She and husband Wagner owned a yacht called The Splendour and they invited her recent co-star Christopher Walken to join them. On November 29, 1981, the body of actress Natalie Wood, star of such acclaimed films as Miracle on 34th Street, Rebel Without a Cause and West Side Story, was found floating in … Natalie Wood (born Natalia Nikolaevna Zacharenko; Russian: Наталья Николаевна Захаренко;July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American film and television actress best known for her screen roles in Miracle on 34th Street, Splendor in … Natalie Wood covered for her husband Robert Wagner's alleged bisexuality, even as the knowledge nearly destroyed her, according to a new biography ... to her death at 43, which Natalie … It was then that we called the Coast Guard. Lana Wood now refers to Natalie’s death as “a murder.” She seethes thinking about Guy McIlwaine, the powerful Hollywood agent who represented her sister. Post sponsored by the Texas Jobs site That are easy to get and people are desperate to get them A new biography of the actress exposed the complicated relationship between one of the best-known marriages in Hollywood. “They were looking for her. When Wagner went below, he couldn’t find Wood. God, it seemed like forever. NBC4 reports on the aftermath of Wood's death. Natalie Wood Died November 29, 1981. Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood circa 1981 in Los Angeles, California. Wood is buried in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. Joshua, in particular, appears several times in the documentary about Wood. The film celebrates the woman behind the iconic imagery and explores the compelling…2020-04-07T16:00:02.000Z. From the late 1950s right up to before Natalie’s death in 1981, the Wood sisters could be seen arm in arm all around town, in high spirits and beautiful clothes. The coroner believed Wood to have died around midnight, shortly after she entered the water, according to the Los Angeles Times. Still, with Wagner sticking to his general version and Walken saying next to nothing, the case likely would have lain dormant if it weren't for the efforts of Davern. Natalie was traumatized by the rape and spent years in therapy. She was best known for ingenue roles that traded on her youthful appeal. According to Wagner, Wood went below deck when the men started arguing. "But the bottom line is that nobody knows exactly what happened. Natalie Wood drowned on November 29, 1981, aged 43. Still, it was clear that other people were, leaving open the possibility of finding some real answers after four decades of question marks. Wood's death investigation has since been reopened. Friends said she would “shudder” every time she heard Douglas’s name. ET on HBO and HBO Latino, and Monday, May 11 at 1:30 p.m. Honorary pallbearers included Frank Sinatra, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Gregory Peck, Rock Hudson, and Laurence Olivier, who flew from London to attend the funeral, according to the New York Times. Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind is an intimate portrait of actor Natalie Wood’s life and career, told through the eyes of her daughter Natasha Gregson Wagner and others who knew her best. The Godfather of Soul died more than a decade ago, but the details of his sudden passing are raising a lot of questions. He has admitted that in his past he was a womanizer and an alcoholic but he’s never confessed to rape. ", Wood stormed off and slammed the door of her room, with Wagner eventually heading down to confront her, setting off what Davern recalled as an epic fight. Wagner and Walken started arguing about Wood’s family versus her career, which Mann also said was a struggle Wood was dealing with in her life because she loved her children and loved her work, but it was hard to balance them. How was it possible that Wood, with her long-known fear of "dark water," would venture out into those very environs, alone, on a starless night? According to Davern, Wagner at one point smashed a wine bottle on the table and yelled at Walken, "What are you trying to do, f**k my wife? The untimely death of the Hollywood actress-turned-princess in a tragic car accident in 1982 at the age of 52 has raised more questions over the years. Additionally, Roger Smith, the L.A. County rescue boat captain who pulled Wood’s body from the water, told the L.A. Times that he did not receive a call to look for her until 5 a.m. “There’s no question in my mind that he just delayed calling for us,” Smith said, referring to Wagner. Wagner talks to Jesse Palmer about the many questions surrounding her mother's death and reveals how she's honoring the late actress' legacy. © 2021 Biography and the Biography logo are registered trademarks of A&E Television Networks, LLC. “It is downright joyous to think that one pretty individual accomplished so much beauty in so few decades,” said McDowell, adding, “She found not only a way to put life into her art but art into her life. Where was she going? Here is what you need to know about Wood’s death. The Sheriff's Department has been petitioned to open an inquiry into the 1981 death of Natalie Wood by the author of an upcoming book. Walken broke his silence on the night of Wood's death, offering a theory as to how she died. Natalie Wood’s death has been the subject of a criminal investigation and rampant speculation about what happened to her for nearly 40 years. In the documentary, Courtney says of her mother’s death, “The day my mom died, our entire world was shattered and our family has never been the same … It was like the instant that my mom passed away, it was like the air in the balloon that was our life, it just — the party was over.”. Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind airs Tuesday, May 5 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and HBO Latino. After her divorce brought about by the discovery of her husband's sexual indi… Why, he wondered, did Wood slip out to the yacht's stern in the middle of the night and untie the dinghy? Nearly 40 years later, the drowning death of Natalie Wood remains one of Hollywood’s most enduring mysteries. At almost 90 years old, Wagner was no longer interested in talking to the police about his wife’s death. The notorious robber was killed by a would-be gang member while plotting his next heist. I didn’t hear anything, we would’ve heard it if the dinghy had fired up,” says Wagner. Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind (2020) | Official Trailer | HBO, The greatest roles of her life were behind the scenes. The actress' sudden passing at the age of 32, left many puzzled — then her husband died in the exact same way five months later, leaving more questions than answers. He returned with the news that he couldn't find her, prompting Davern to conduct his own search. In 2009, Davern finally published his long-gestating tell-all, Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour. Powered by. March 25, 2020. While Lana has been vocal about her sister’s death—even participating in the recent podcast Fatal Voyage: The Mysterious Death Of Natalie Wood —Walken has … It was just one of the many inconsistencies that surfaced as accounts of the night's events evolved over the years. And we haven’t been able to prove that this was an accident, either,” said Detective Ralph Hernandez. At Robert Wagner’s side were his daughters and stepdaughter … a musician played a simple melody on a balalaika,” said the NBC news report on the funeral. Wood’s friend Delphine Mann says in the documentary that it was “pouring rain the entire Thanksgiving” and because of that, several friends of the couple declined to go on the trip, Mann included (she was also celebrating her son’s birthday that weekend). Wood's death investigation has since been reopened. They eventually worked things out and Walken went below, then Wagner and Davern cleaned up the broken glass. He noted the "superficial" bruises on Wood's body, likely from falling in the water, and the scratch marks on the yacht's dinghy, Prince Valiant, as evidence of her attempts to climb on board before succumbing to exhaustion. In a March 2000 story for Vanity Fair, the captain divulged that Wood and Walken had been flirting throughout the weekend and that things turned nasty after the foursome returned to Splendour after an evening spent drinking on the island. Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind (2020) | Official Trailer … Now speculation will begin anew with the release of HBO’s documentary Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind, which explores Wood’s “public life and private persona through personal interviews with those closest to her, including husband Robert J. Wagner, who speaks on-camera about Wood’s death for the first time,” according to the HBO press release. See more from NBCLA's archives here: 4.nbcla.com/y9EDQ1L ——— Don’t miss an NBCLA video, subscribe here: bit.ly/2NnofFF For more, visit NBCLA.COM here: bit.ly/2uB6niE On…2019-11-11T00:00:02.000Z. It says Natalie had “numerous bruises to … Wood died on 29 November 1981 after disappearing from a yacht she was on with her husband, Robert Wagner, and friend Christopher Walken. and he said she’s dead. A man writing a book about the 1981 drowning death of Natalie Wood … The circumstances surrounding the death of Natalie Wood on Nov. 29, 1981, while sailing off of Catalina Island outside Los Angeles, have become the stuff of … The film celebrates the woman behind the iconic imagery and explores the compelling…, Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind (2020): Mother Natalie (Clip) | HBO, Natasha Gregson Wagner remembers reflects on having a larger-than-life figure as a mother. Before her untimely death, Natalie Wood was an Academy Award-nominated actress who was in some of the most famous films of all time. Decades after her body was discovered in the water off Catalina Island, questions have heightened over how the actress wound up there. Wood's sister Lana, who followed by publishing Natalie: A Memoir by Her Sister (1984), was also puzzled by the supposed chain of events. It will be rebroadcast on Wednesday, May 6 at noon ET on HBO and HBO Latino; on May 6 at 8 p.m. On November 30, Thomas Noguchi, chief medical examiner in the L.A. County Coroner's Office, announced his determination of an "accidental drowning." Wood was with her husband Robert Wagner, Brainstorm co-star Christopher Walken, and Splendour's captain Dennis Davern on the evening of November 28, 1981. But the documentary makes it clear that neither Natasha nor Courtney think their father (Natasha was legally adopted by Wagner) was responsible for their mother’s death. In … The initial cause of death was ruled an accidental drowning by the Los Angeles County Coroner because Wood couldn’t swim and had been drinking. Photo: Chris Wood/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images. There were two witnesses who claim to have heard a woman’s cries for help that night. NBC4 reports on the aftermath of Wood's death. Produced by Wood's daughter Natasha Gregson Wagner, the film takes a … The actor was just weeks away from the premiere of 'Exit the Dragon' when he suddenly — and shockingly — died in Hong Kong. Natalie Wood’s Death At Sea And A Sexual Betrayal Of Robert Wagner. ET on HBO. In 2011, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department reopened the case after Captain Davern told NBC News that he lied in his initial statement to the authorities. It soon emerged that Wood had spent Thanksgiving weekend aboard her yacht, Splendour, with her husband, actor Robert Wagner, her Brainstorm co-star, Christopher Walken, and the ship's young captain, Dennis Davern, before an accident of some sort left her lifeless in the water. Here's everything the public does know about what happened to Natalie Wood the night of her death—and what has transpired since. Wood’s sister, Lana, and Dennis Davern, the captain of … Her body was found floating in the water the next day, and after a two-week investigation, Wood’s death was ruled an accident. Photo from Warner Bros. Pictures Publicity, 1964, Public Domain. READ MORE: Inside Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner's Tumultuous Relationship. '”, When asked if he thought Wagner was responsible for Wood’s death, he said, “I would say so, yes.”. According to the Washington Post, Marilyn Wayne and an unidentified friend heard a woman calling for help around 11:45 p.m. that night. Her blood alcohol content was 0.14 percent and there were traces of a motion-sickness pill and a painkiller in her bloodstream. With Walken in bed for the night, the two remaining men stayed up for more drinks, before Wagner, at around 1:30 a.m., said he would check on his wife. She said the cries for help stopped around 12:10 a.m. Wayne said she and her friend did not try to help the woman they heard because they heard people on another boat calling out “We’re coming to get you” several times. Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind is an intimate portrait of actor Natalie Wood’s life and career, told through the eyes of her daughter Natasha Gregson Wagner and others who knew her best. Over 100 people attended, with actors Hope Lange and Roddy McDowell and screenwriter Tommy Thompson giving eulogies. And why did it take so long for the men aboard to realize she was gone? “Early this afternoon, private guards made sure cameras kept their distance, and they did as the family left for the funeral. HBO The weekend was stormy. The case was reopened six years ago and now has key witness accounts. Mourners Attend Natalie Wood's Funeral | From the Archives | NBCLA, Mourners attend Natalie Wood's funeral, just days after she drowned off the coast of Santa Catalina Island. The twice-married actors met when Wood was just a child star and endured a rollercoaster romance until her mysterious death. READ NEXT: Natalie Wood Attempted Suicide After Warren Beatty Split, Natalie Wood’s Death: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Copyright © 2021 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. The actress was on a boat on a weekend break during the filming of the movie Brainstorm, and her … Outside of drowning, many of the circumstances are unknown; it was never determined how she entered the water. September 1, 1997. “I made some terrible decisions and mistakes. She has given us a slice of life and serenity.”. Wagner revisited the case one more time in his 2008 memoir, Pieces of My Heart. Exterior: The Splendour, where actress Natalie Wood died, is currently docked in the harbour of Oahu in Hawaii Former United Airlines flight attendant Ron … ET on HBO2, on May 10 at 11:30 a.m. Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner. Although known for the rapport that fueled hit films like ‘Stir Crazy,’ the famed costars did not have the same level of chemistry off-screen. The August 1969 slayings of the movie star and others rocked Hollywood and introduced the world to the twisted mind of Charles Manson. Wood had a daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner, with her second husband, Richard Gregson, but they split soon after Natasha’s birth and she soon remarried her first husband, Robert Wagner, with whom she had daughter, Courtney Wagner. Wagner is considered a 'person of interest' in Wood's death. was now a “person of interest” in her death, Natalie Wood Attempted Suicide After Warren Beatty Split. It bothers me that anyone would ever think that you would be involved in what happened to her because you would have given your life for my mom,” says Gregson Wagner. See more from NBCLA's archives here: 4.nbcla.com/y9EDQ1L ——— Don’t miss an NBCLA video, subscribe here: bit.ly/2NnofFF For more, visit NBCLA.COM here: bit.ly/2uB6niE On…, Natasha Gregson Wagner Remembers Her Mom, Natalie Wood. “We have not been able to prove this was a homicide. The weekend after Thanksgiving in 1981, Wood took a trip out to Catalina Island, a popular vacation spot off the coast of Los Angeles, California. Legendary actress Natalie Wood.