The Death of Natalie Wood

Natalie Wood, born July 20, 1938 and passed away November 29, 1981. She was an American actress.

Wood began acting in movies at the age of four and became a successful child actress in such films as Miracle on 34th Street (1947). A well received performance opposite James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause (1955) earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and helped her to make the transition from a child performer. She then starred in the musicals West Side Story (1961) and Gypsy (1962). She also received Academy Award for Best Actress nominations for her performances in Splendor in the Grass (1961) and Love with the Proper Stranger (1963).

Her career continued successfully with films such as Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969). After this she took a break from acting and had two children, appearing in only two theatrical films during the 1970s. She was married to actor Robert Wagner twice, and to producer Richard Gregson. She had one daughter by each: Natasha Gregson and Courtney Wagner. Her younger sister, Lana Wood, is also an actress. Wood starred in several television productions, including a remake of the film From Here to Eternity (1979) for which she won a Golden Globe Award. During her career, from child actress to adult star, her films represented a "coming of age" for both her and Hollywood films in general.

Wood drowned near Santa Catalina Island, California, at age 43, during production of Brainstorm (1983) co-starring Christopher Walken. Her death has been declared an accident. However, on November 17, 2011, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department reopened the case based on new witness statements.

The Death Story

On November 28, 1981, the Wagners' yacht, Splendour, was anchored in Isthmus Cove off Catalina Island with Wagner, Wood, and Wood's current film co-star Christopher Walken on board. The evening began at about 4:00 pm as the trio dined at the Harbor Reef Restaurant. Witnesses claim that this is when things began to unravel. Waitresses at the restaurant saw the trio drink several bottles of champagne and state that the three patrons eventually caused a rude and rowdy ruckus with Natalie openly flirting with Walken.

They left the restaurant in a drunken mess, boarded a small dinghy and motored to the "Splendour." Exactly what happened from this point forward will probably always be a bit unclear. Walken, Wagner and Wood continued their partying as Captain Davern began his last rounds of shutting down the boat. At around 12:20 am Davern noticed that the dinghy was gone. Davern simply assumed Natalie had taken it, as was her custom, to view the evening stars. When she didn't return minutes later, Davern notified Wagner of her absence who immediately set out in another dinghy to look for her. At about 1:00 am Wagner notified the harbor patrol to scout for her. At around 3:30 am the Coast Guard was added to the search party. At 7:30 am helicopters would discover her body, floating face down some two hundred yards from the boat. The small dinghy was discovered adrift, with four life vests aboard, some two hundred yards from her body.

Several stories about the details of Natalie's death would begin to surface. Wagner's people continue to assert that Natalie drowned when she slipped into the icy water after becoming annoyed by the incessant pounding of the tied-up dinghy on the side of the yacht.

Los Angeles County coroner Thomas Noguchi ruled her death an accident following his investigation.

Natalie Wood was buried in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery. Scores of international media and photographers as well as the public tried to attend Wood's funeral at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery; however, all were required to remain outside the cemetery walls. Among the celebrity attendees were Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Fred Astaire, Rock Hudson, David Niven, Gregory Peck, Gene Kelly, Elia Kazan and Sir Laurence Olivier. Olivier, who had worked with Wood and Wagner in their 1976 television production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, flew from London to Los Angeles to attend the service.