Natalie Wood’s mysterious death off the coast of Catalina Island remains one of Hollywood’s most enduring mysteries. This documentary explores the many theories that surround her death. Keep reading the article below to learn more about Natalie Wood Death.
Actor Christopher Walken is tight-lipped about the night of Wood’s death, but he did give an interview to Playboy in 1997 that offered his theory on how she died.
Natalie Wood, who won an Oscar for her role in Rebel Without a Cause and was nominated for Splendor in the Grass and West Side Story, died in a mysterious drowning off the coast of Catalina Island in November 1981. The death was ruled an accident, but questions still remain about her disappearance. In this article, we will look at the events leading up to her death and explore some of the theories about what happened.
In life, Wood was a beautiful and gifted actress who rose from obscurity to become one of the most popular stars in Hollywood. Her career had ups and downs, but she is best remembered for her classic films such as Miracle on 34th Street and West Side Story. However, like many actors, she also had trouble with drugs and alcohol and was involved in several love affairs.
Wood was born in San Francisco to Russian immigrants Maria Gurdin (née Zoodiloff), a housewife, and her husband Nick Gurdin, who worked as a prop builder and janitor. She had a sister, Svetlana, who followed her into acting under the name Lana Wood. After the family gained American citizenship, they changed their surname to Wood.
After a stint as a stage actress, Wood began her film career in 1955. She appeared in a number of movies as a child star before transitioning to teenage roles and adult characters. Her performances in the films Splendor in the Grass, West Side Story, and Rebel Without a Cause brought her critical acclaim and international fame.
In the years leading up to her death, Wood made a few comebacks in theater and television. She appeared in the thriller Peeper and a few made-for-television movies as well as a TV miniseries, From Here to Eternity. Her final four theatrical films, Meteor, Brainstorm, The Last Married Couple in America, and her posthumous release of Anastasia, were less successful.
On the night of her death, Wood was vacationing with Wagner and Walken on his yacht, Splendour, off the coast of California’s Catalina Island. The three had been drinking. At some point, Wood went to bed, leaving her dinghy unattended. A few hours later, her body was found floating about a mile away from the boat. She was wearing a flannel nightgown and down jacket. A dinghy was found nearby with its engine turned off and the oars locked. Fresh superficial bruises were found on her arms and legs, and her blood-alcohol level was 0.14.
Actor Robert Wagner
In the wake of Natalie Wood’s death, many theories have surfaced regarding what really happened. Some believed she fell off the boat accidentally, while others thought that she was pushed overboard by her husband Robert Wagner or that she was poisoned. But what most people fail to realize is that none of these explanations ring true.
In a new book, former skipper Dennis Davern claims that Wagner lied to investigators about what really happened that night. Davern also claims that Wagner was the cause of his wife’s death.
The book, titled Goodbye Natalie, Splendour, is based on interviews with Davern and his co-author Marti Rulli. It details the events of that fateful weekend in November 1981, when Wood was sailing with her actor husband Christopher Walken and their crew aboard a yacht called Splendour. All were drinking heavily. The captain told investigators that after a heated argument between Wood and Walken, she retired to her cabin, and when he went to join her, he noticed that her dinghy was gone.
Davern claims that he woke up the next morning to find Wood’s body floating in the water. He claims that he saw bruises on her arms and knee and a bloody nose, all of which he says are evidence that she had been beaten before she fell in the water. He says that he believes that Wagner was the one who killed her and has been paid to offer his version of events to various publications.
While no charges were ever filed in Wood’s death, the case remains open. In 2011, the Los Angeles County sheriff reopened the investigation after discovering that fresh bruises had been discovered on her body, which they could not have accounted for in the original autopsy. The new report changed the cause of her death to “drowning and other undetermined factors.”
Actor Christopher Walken
One of the most alluring and iconic stars in Hollywood history, Natalie Wood was a popular actress who had a number of movie classics to her credit. However, like most actors, she also had a lot of low points in her life. And the way she ended her own was sad and tragic.
The mystery of her death has remained unsolved since she drowned off the coast of Catalina Island in November 1981. The cause of her death was originally ruled an accident, but the Los Angeles County sheriff’s department has reopened the case.
It is widely believed that foul play may have been involved. The three men aboard the yacht, Wagner, Walken and captain Dennis Davern, all initially told detectives that they assumed Wood fell overboard from a dinghy while trying to secure it, but in later interviews their accounts of what happened have changed, which raised suspicions.
According to Lana Wood, her sister and the author of her 2011 book, Natalie Wood: You Must Remember This, Walken was involved in a romantic relationship with Wagner at the time of her death, although she says it was not serious. She claims that he was aware of the affair, but did not tell authorities. She also claims that he had an obsession with her, and that he would often berate her about her acting career, which he felt was ruining his own.
On the night of her death, Wood, Wagner, and Walken had dinner at Doug’s Harbor Reef restaurant in Two Harbors. They then returned to their yacht, called the Splendour. Hours afterward, she was found dead in the water a mile away from the boat, in an isolated cove known as Blue Cavern Point. A small dinghy was found beached nearby.
In the years after her death, Walken spoke very little about what happened. But in a rare interview with Playboy magazine, he said that he thought Wood accidentally slipped overboard and drowned. He added that he was asleep in his cabin at the time, so he didn’t see what happened.
Yacht Splendour
In her lifetime, Natalie Wood was one of Hollywood’s most alluring stars. She died in mysterious circumstances 36 years ago when she vanished off the coast of Catalina Island on a yacht called Splendour. She was aboard with her husband Robert Wagner, co-star Christopher Walken, and boat captain Dennis Davern. The incident was initially ruled an accident, but investigators have reopened the case and have labeled Wagner as a person of interest.
The night of Natalie’s death was a cold, drizzly, and stormy November evening. The four people on board were cruising for pleasure around California’s Catalina Island. At some point, Wood retired to her stateroom. Several hours later, she was found dead in the water. The investigation is ongoing, but the case remains a mystery.
The story of what happened that night has changed over the years, with different stories from each of the parties involved. At the time, police considered it a homicide case but later dropped the theory because there was no evidence of foul play. In the last two decades, the case has been reopened many times.
One of the most controversial aspects of the case involves the role of captain Dennis Davern. His account of what happened that night has shifted several times, making him a person of interest to the investigation. The book Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour reveals new information about Davern’s relationship with the actress and his ever-shifting stories.
The book reveals that the day before the accident, Wood and Wagner went ashore to drink at Doug’s Harbor Reef on Catalina Island with her “Brainstorm” co-star Christopher Walken. According to the book, the trio were so intoxicated that the restaurant’s night manager called Harbor Patrol to make sure they made it back to their boat safely. The group left the restaurant at 10 p.m. and headed back to their yacht via the dinghy Valiant.
When they returned to the yacht, the captain noticed that Natalie was missing. He claimed that she had slipped in the dark while trying to secure their inflatable rubber dingy banging against the side of the boat. He also claimed that Wagner and Walken had argued with each other.