Derby Mowers

Natalie Wood Death was an up and down actress whose career peaked with West Side Story. In her final film, Brainstorm, she played a woman with a traumatic secret.

New statements made by Dennis Davern, the captain of the yacht on which Wood died, persuaded authorities to reopen the case. The reopening resulted in more witnesses coming forward to offer information.

The sudden death of actress Natalie Wood in 1981 off the coast of California’s Catalina Island remains one of Hollywood’s lingering mysteries. In this book, author Sam Perroni examines her case using official records and photographs, previously-unreleased confidential documents and interviews with witnesses and forensic experts. He reveals corrupt motives that may have colored the original investigation and, ultimately, led to a miscarriage of justice.

The young actress had become a star with her role in 1955’s Rebel Without a Cause, a groundbreaking depiction of teenage rebellion and angst. She starred opposite James Dean and Sal Mineo, earning an Academy Award nomination for her performance. Her subsequent work, including Splendor in the Grass and West Side Story, showcased her dramatic range.

Throughout her career, Wood acted in a wide variety of genres and played many kinds of characters — from true-blue, reliable women to neurotic, high-strung personalities. She even tried her hand at directing, producing and writing.

As she grew older, Wood’s film career began to decline. Her final picture, the science-fiction thriller Brainstorm, was a critical and commercial failure. She teamed up with Christopher Walken in the movie, and he and she struck up a friendship off-screen. They were not romantically involved, but they shared a current of energy and excitement.

On the evening of November 29, 1981, Wood was spending Thanksgiving weekend aboard her husband Robert Wagner’s yacht, Splendour. She was in the company of her co-star and the boat’s captain, Dennis Davern. According to testimony by her sister, Lana, and other sources, the couple had been drinking heavily, and there was an argument on the boat’s back deck over a relationship between Wood and Walken.

Early the next morning, authorities found Wood’s body floating in the water about a mile from the boat in an isolated cove known as Blue Cavern Point. Her autopsy revealed multiple superficial skin bruises and a mildly elevated blood alcohol content, but there was no evidence of traumatic injuries to her head or body. Her dinghy was found beached nearby. The police ruled her death an accident.

Cause of Death

The story of Natalie Wood’s death is one that turned heads for decades. The actress, who could not swim, was found dead off the coast of Santa Catalina Island in November 1981. Despite tabloid speculation and whispers of a deeper story, it was originally ruled to be an accident, with the official cause of death listed as accidental drowning. However, that changed in 2011, when sheriff’s officials reopened the case and changed her cause of death to “drowning and other undetermined factors.”

In that year’s report, police pointed out fresh bruises on Wood’s arms and knee and a scratch on her neck. They also noted that her body was found near a 13-foot dinghy that was missing. Investigators believed that Wood had slipped trying to board the dinghy and drowned.

Wood’s husband, Robert Wagner, told reporters at the time that he was certain his wife had fallen overboard and accidentally drowned. He said that he did not want to turn the boat’s floodlights on or call for help because he did not want people to think he was responsible. A witness reported hearing a woman screaming that night.

Wagner has maintained that he was not involved in his wife’s death and that she fell off the boat during an argument with Walken. However, he has not been interviewed by police since the reopening of the investigation in 2011. Davern has also come out and claimed that he had lied to police during the initial investigation and that a fight between Wagner and Wood had led to her death.

In the book, author Dennis Prager cites eye-opening facts that suggest there may have been a cover-up of the true cause of Natalie Wood’s death. He focuses on the actions and conduct of lead detective Duane Rasure during the original investigation and examines crime scene evidence, including never-before-seen photos. He also discusses his conclusions about the alleged conspiracy between LA County Sheriff’s Department officials, including a directive to Rasure from Sheriff Pitchess to close the case as an accident. He also provides an analysis of the medical forensics of the case, including a finding that Wood’s bladder had 300cc of urine in it.

Relatives

A generation has passed since Natalie Wood was one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, a doe-eyed well of emotion on screen and a brashly glamorous woman off it. Her death, in 1981 at the age of 43, remains mysterious. Even today, her family and friends struggle to comprehend her disappearance and to understand why the circumstances surrounding her death were so grim.

Wood was born Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko in San Francisco on July 20, 1938. She started acting as a studio child star at the age of five and became a household name by her teens. She starred in many of Hollywood’s classic films, including Miracle on 34th Street, Rebel Without a Cause and Splendor in the Grass. She earned three Oscar nominations by her 20th birthday.

But her offscreen life was as erratic as her career, and she suffered a series of nervous breakdowns and addictions. By the time she died, she was struggling with depression. Despite her fame, she was lonely and felt that she had nothing to live for. She had also recently tried to take her own life.

It was on the evening of November 29, 1981, that Wood’s body was discovered floating in the waters off Catalina Island. She was dressed in a night gown, long socks and a down jacket. Her body was located about a mile from her husband’s yacht, which was beached nearby with a small Valiant-brand inflatable dinghy nearby. The police believe that she had been thrown from the boat, as there were bruising marks on her arms and face.

The case was initially ruled an accidental drowning, but it was reopened in 2009 after a book by Marti Rulli and Dennis Davern, titled Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour, made revelations that didn’t fit with the official story. Davern had been the captain of the yacht and was the last person to see Wood alive.

He said that he and Walken had been drinking for hours at a bar on the island before Wagner came to the yacht, angry at them both for flirting with other people. He says that when he returned to the yacht, Wood was nowhere to be found and that she must have taken the dinghy. The dinghy was later found, but it was empty.

Tributes

Natalie Wood Death – A Hollywood Icon and a Tragic Fate

When Natalie Wood was drowned off the coast of Catalina Island on November 29, 1981, she left behind a wife, two children and a legacy that continues to this day. A new HBO documentary, titled Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind, seeks to shed light on the private life of the actress whose dark eyes mesmerized audiences onscreen. The film features interviews with those who knew her best, including co-stars Christopher Walken and Elliott Gould, as well as friends and family members including her daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner.

The film also examines the relationship between Wood and her husband, Robert Wagner, who is also interviewed in the documentary. Though their marriage was troubled at times, Wood and Wagner are portrayed as loving parents who doted on their children. Wood also sought out therapy at a time when such treatment was considered a taboo.

Despite all the glitz and glamour that surrounded Wood, she was a deeply emotional woman with an inexplicable passion for acting. She often played characters who struggled with pain and tragedy, from Maria in Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise’s big-screen adaptation of West Side Story to Louise in the 1962 movie Gypsy. Her eyes were a canvas for her emotions, and she brought them to all her roles.

While the documentary isn’t without its biases, it is a fascinating look at an iconic actress and her tragic end. In addition to interviews with Wood’s co-stars and friends, the film also interviews Dennis Davern, who was present when she died, and her sister Lana Wood. However, the documentary fails to interview Wagner, who is accused of pushing her off the boat.

The documentary concludes with a tribute to the actress from her longtime manager, who is buried beside her in Los Angeles. The ceremony includes appearances by such legendary actors as Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor and Fred Astaire. It is a beautiful, moving tribute to an unforgettable star who was taken from us too soon. This documentary is a must-see for fans of Natalie Wood and anyone who is interested in learning more about the life of this legendary actress.