Natalie Wood was an actress of tremendous talent who, like James Dean and Marlon Brando, injected movies with explosive neurosis. She was also a rich woman with an appetite for gambling and multiple marriages.
She was last seen alive aboard a yacht with her husband, Robert Wagner, and co-star Christopher Walken on November 28, 1981. Wagner has said that they fought shortly before she went to her cabin. Keep reading the article below to learn more about Natalie Wood Death.
Natalie Wood was one of Hollywood’s most beautiful and famous actresses. She starred in classic films such as Rebel Without a Cause and Splendor in the Grass. She was also a devoted family woman and mother. In November 1981, she died mysteriously while on a yacht with her husband. The cause of her death is still a mystery.
The day of her death, Wood was on a boat with her husband, Dennis Davern, and actor Christopher Walken. They had been drinking heavily. Her body was found the next morning in a cove near the yacht. It was floating in the water, and she was wearing a flannel nightgown, knee-high socks, and a red down jacket.
Her sister, Lana, said she could not swim and was afraid of the water. She was feared to have fallen into the water while trying to get into a dinghy that had been banging against the boat. A few years later, her husband remarried and had another daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner. He also authored a memoir that claimed she was afraid of drowning and had slipped into the water because she was re-tying the dinghy.
Detective Duane Rasure investigated the case, but his conclusions were not widely publicized. He was a close friend of Wagner, and he believed he had heard from the victim’s sister that she was afraid of drowning in dark water. He had also heard from a witness that she had been flirting with Walken, and he told investigators he thought Wagner became jealous.
Investigators reopened the investigation in 2011 after Davern published his memoir, claiming he and Wagner had gotten into an argument and that Wagner pushed her into the water. He claimed he withheld this information because Wagner intimidated him into silence. He also revealed that witnesses from nearby boats had said they had heard arguments. He said that he now believes that Wagner and Walken had been fighting over her, but he did not know how the fight ended. The bruises on her body were also mysterious. The original coroner ruled that she was injured when she fell off the boat and stepped on a rock or the dinghy’s bottom. But the forensic report did not include nail clippings or an examination of the dinghy.
She was drinking
Wood, then 43, was found dead in a cove off the coast of Catalina Island after a night of drinking on her husband’s yacht. She was wearing a nightgown and down jacket, and her body was floating about a mile from the couple’s boat. The cause of death was ruled accidental drowning.
The evening of her death, Wood was on board the yacht Splendour with her husband, actor Robert Wagner, and her Brainstorm co-star, Christopher Walken. They had been partying and arguing. After the argument, Wood decided to take a dinghy out on the water. But she never returned. When ten or 15 minutes passed without hearing from her, Wagner called the harbor patrol. But by the time they arrived, she had already drowned.
Investigators found alcohol and drugs in her system, including motion sickness medication and painkillers. They theorized that her level of intoxication played a role in her death.
Over the years, many details of the night have emerged in conflict with one another. For example, in his 2008 memoir, Wagner claimed that he and Walken had been engaged in a political debate for much of the evening, prompting Wood to leave in search of sleep. She then fell into the water as she was re-tying the dinghy, he said. The dinghy was banging against the boat, and she hit her head as she tried to tighten it.
In 2012, the coroner amended the official cause of death to “drowning and other undetermined factors.” Unexplained bruising on the actress’s arms and knee may have occurred prior to her entering the water, authorities say.
Despite her success, the life of Natalie Wood was troubled by a series of tragedies. Her tumultuous childhood and her relationship with her mother led to emotional distress, which eventually sparked a drug addiction. She also struggled with a fear of the water after a fortune teller told her she would die in dark waters. Ultimately, she lost her battle with demons and died in a tragic accident.
She was attacked
Natalie Wood, an acclaimed Hollywood actor, was found dead in 1981 at age 43 after a weekend sailing trip to Catalina Island. Her body, clad in a down jacket and a nightgown, was discovered floating about a mile away from her husband’s yacht. Her death was ruled an accident, but new evidence suggests that it was not.
In a memoir to be published in November, the actress’s sister, Lana, claims that the actress was sexually assaulted by Kirk Douglas, who was twice her age, while filming The Searchers. The book also alleges that Wood was attacked by the actor at the Chateau Marmont hotel in Los Angeles in 1955.
Lana Wood said she promised Natalie that she would never talk about the incident, but she decided to come forward because it was the right thing to do. She said she feels that her mother would support her.
The bruises on her body that were noted in the autopsy report have been the source of speculation that she was the victim of an assault. But forensic experts say the injuries were consistent with drowning. Moreover, the bruises are located in places where they wouldn’t be expected to appear, such as the armpits and ankles.
New evidence reveals that the bruises were likely inflicted before Wood’s body was thrown into the water. A forensic pathologist who examined the autopsy report has raised questions about the original investigation, and the case is now being reopened by Los Angeles County detectives.
The evidence includes a confession by Dennis Davern, the boat’s captain, who was with Wagner and Walken on board the Splendour. Davern has since changed his story in paid interviews with tabloids, and Wagner, Walken, and the boat’s owner have each denied involvement in her death.
Investigators have also interviewed new witnesses who allegedly heard a loud argument between Wagner and Walken on the evening of her death. The detectives believe that this evidence could change the outcome of the case.
She died
Natalie Wood, one of Hollywood’s most alluring actresses, was 43 when she drowned in mysterious circumstances off the coast of California’s Catalina Island. Her death remains one of Hollywood’s biggest unsolved mysteries. Her daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner, has now released a documentary that digs into the case, with new interviews and evidence, including never-before-seen photographs.
The film is called Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind, and it premiered on HBO on November 29, 2015. It features brand-new interviews with those closest to the late actress. Natasha has also re-examined the evidence, including forensic analysis.
In the movie, she reveals that the initial statements of her mother’s friends were inconsistent and raise questions about foul play. She argues that the dinghy story is suspect, as Wood was not a strong swimmer and her greatest fear was dark seawater. In addition, she was sensitive to noise, so the banging sound of the dinghy may have woken her.
Natasha also points to inconsistencies in the testimony of police officers. In particular, she cites the fact that lead detective Duane Rasure’s recollections of the evening in question have changed over time, which raised suspicions that he was involved in a cover-up. She also points to a manipulated official report and crime scene evidence, including never-before-seen photos of the Natalie Wood autopsy.
This is a compelling piece of investigative journalism, as it exposes the skewing of official reports and other inconsistencies. It also discusses the role of powerful Hollywood insiders in suppressing the truth for decades. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department possesses the autopsy photos, but it has fought to give them to the author. This reveals the true scale of the conspiracy to keep the truth hidden from the public.
Natalie Wood was a beloved star in Hollywood, known for her performances in West Side Story and Rebel Without a Cause. She started her career as a child actor and went on to earn three Academy Award nominations before the age of 25. Sadly, she died in an unexplained death aboard her husband’s yacht. She had been drinking alcohol, and her body was found floating in the water with a small inflatable dinghy nearby. She had bruising all over her body and a scratch on her throat. The official cause of death was accidental drowning and other undetermined factors.