NATALIE WOOD DEATH -
INTERVIEW /INQUIRY
A documentary about the death of Hollywood star Natalie Wood has aired in the US, reigniting conversation about the mysterious circumstances surrounding her death.
Wood died on 29 November 1981 after disappearing from a yacht she was on with her husband, Robert Wagner, and friend Christopher Walken.
In the documentary, titled Natalie Wood: What Remains, Wood’s daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner, questions her stepfather about the evening.
Wagner claims that, upon returning to the boat following an off-shore meal with the others, he had an argument with Walken about Wood.
It was here when he says that Wood excused herself. Wagner later found her missing from their room before her body was found in the water.
The death was ruled an accident, but in 2018, Wagner was said to be a “person of interest” relating to the case.
“Nobody heard anything,” an emotional Wagner tells his stepdaughter in the documentary, adding: “That night has gone through my mind so many times.”
Five years after Wood died, Walken told People: “I don’t know what happened. She slipped and fell in the water. I was in bed then. It was a terrible thing.”
He added: “Look, we’re in a conversation I won’t have. It’s a f***ing bore.”
Heavy notes that the next time Walken spoke about the incident was in 1997, in which The Hollywood Reporter said he described Wood’s death as “an accident” in Playboy Magazine.
“What happened that night only she knows, because she was alone,” he said.
“She had gone to bed before us, and her room was at the back. A dinghy was bouncing against the side of the boat, and I think she went out to move it. There was a ski ramp that was partially in the water. It was slippery – I had walked on it myself.
“She had told me she couldn’t swim; in fact, they had to cut a swimming scene from Brainstorm [the film they were shooting at the time of Wood’s death]. She was probably half asleep.”
He added: “The people who are convinced that there was something more to it than what came out in the investigation will never be satisfied with the truth. Because the truth is, there is nothing more to it.”
Natalie Wood: What Remains is available to stream on HBO Go in the US. A UK release date has yet to be announced.
Audiences fell in love with Natalie Wood as the dubious Susan Walker in Miracle on 34th Street, but the breakout role was far from her last. She continued to make a name for herself in Hollywood for decades, thanks to her glamorous style, tabloid-ridden romances, and Oscar-nominated performances. Now, nearly 40 years after the actress's tragic death, we're taking a look back at the life of Natalie Wood—from her days as a child star to her award-winning film career.
Wood's first acting jobs were uncredited roles in the 1943 films The Moon Is Down and Happy Land. It was her performance in the latter, however, that caught the attention of director Irving Pichel, setting the four-year-old actress up for success.
1945: Becoming Natalie Wood
In 1945, Wood's mother moved the family to Los Angeles on the advice of Irving Pichel, who took an interest in the child star. It was Pichel who suggested that the young actress adopt the Americanized version of her name, Natalie, and change her surname to Wood, after director Sam Wood.
After Warner Bros. cast Wood in Rebel Without a Cause, they also signed the former child star to a $400 a week seven-year contract.
1966: Putting Her Mental Health First
After a suicide attempt in 1966, Wood made the decision to take a step back from the film industry to focus on her mental health. Penelope was her last film for three years.
1969: Getting Married Again
After her breakup with Beatty, Wood began dating British producer Richard Gregson in 1966. Three years later, the couple got married in a Russian Orthodox ceremony at the Holy Virgin Mary Church on May 30, 1969.
1971: A Family of Stars
Natalie's younger sister, Lana Wood, also earned her place in the spotlight, starring as Plenty O'Toole in the 1971 James Bond movie, Diamonds Are Forever.
1981: A Mysterious Death
On November 29, 1981, Wood drowned in the ocean off Catalina Island. The actress, only 43 years old, was on her yacht, the Splendour, with her husband and costar Walken. After initially being deemed an accidental drowning, the star's official cause of death was updated in August 2012 to say she died from "drowning and other undetermined factors
1964: A Record-Breaking Nomination
In 1964 at the age of 25, Wood received her third Oscar nomination. She became the youngest person to receive three Academy Award nominations, and she still holds the title to this day—though she sadly never actually won one of those Oscars.
1960: Tabloid Magnets
1959: A Studio Suspension
Wood was placed on suspension by Warner Bros. after she refused roles in both The Miracle and A Summer Place, and then failed to appear on the set of The Young Philadelphians in protest of another role she was not interested in. The star's stance against studio head Jack Warner paid off in her favor: She was given permission to choose one of the movies she was in every year.
1955: A Warner Brothers Deal
1955: A Complicated Relationship
Wood, seen here at her Los Angeles home with her mother, Maria Zakharenko, and younger sister, had a complicated relationship with her mother, who managed her career. An aspiring performer herself, Maria reportedly pushed her daughters into the industry and was extremely controlling over their careers.
1956: A True Hollywood Star
Wood appears among Hollywood's elite at the 1956 Modern Screen Awards, with the likes of Doris Day, Debbie Reynolds, Janet Leigh, Tony Curtis, and Kirk Douglas.
1957: Getting Married
Robert Wagner and Wood began seeing each other after a studio-arranged date. The couple got married on December 28, 1957 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
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1959: A Studio Suspension
Wood was placed on suspension by Warner Bros. after she refused roles in both The Miracle and A Summer Place, and then failed to appear on the set of The Young Philadelphians in protest of another role she was not interested in. The star's stance against studio head Jack Warner paid off in her favor: She was given permission to choose one of the movies she was in every year.
1956: A Brief Romance
At the age of 17, Wood was a regular fixture in the gossip columns for her romantic interests, including a romance with Elvis Presley. However, the relationship ended shortly after it began.
1956: Studio Constraints
Over the years, Wood expressed her frustration with the studio system in Hollywood (stars weren't allowed to choose the movies they appeared in, as studios had all the power). With the momentum from Rebel Without a Cause, Warner Bros. lined up a number of films, including The Searchers, which was Wood's least favorite role, as she felt she wasn't properly cast.
1955: A Breakthrough Role
Wood proved her talents at the age of 16, when she starred in her first mature movie role as Judy in Rebel Without a Cause, alongside James Dean. The actress was nominated for her first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the performance.
1946: A Child Actress
Wood made a big splash in her first major film role as Margaret Ludwig in Tomorrow Is Forever. She starred opposite Orson Welles who referred to the young actress as "so good, she was terrifying." She followed her speaking-role debut with multiple films that year and in 1947.
1947: Her Biggest Role Yet
Wood delivered one of her most popular performances as Susan Walker in Miracle on 34th Street, starring opposite Maureen O'Hara. At the age of eight, Wood's fate in Hollywood had been set.ANNGETTY IMAGES
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1947: A Studio Contract
After the success of Miracle on 34th Street, Wood's contract with 20th Century Fox was updated to $1,000 a week, with the plan that her payments would build for seven years to $3,300 weekly.
1949: An Accident on Set
A nine-year-old Wood experienced a horrible accident on the set of The Green Promise. The actress fell through a broken bridge while filming a storm scene, nearly drowning. The incident left her with a protruding bone in her left wrist, as well as a lifelong fear of water.R SCREEN COLLECTIONGETTY IMAGES
1954: Becoming a Teenager
Throughout the early '50s, Wood struggled to convince studios that she could transition from child star to screen siren. As a result, she was mostly stuck with roles on television.
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