The Death of Natalie Wood
Hollywood actress, Natalie Wood, known for her appearances as a child in the Miracle on 34th Street (1947) as well as the leading lady in Rebel Without a Cause (1955) and as Maria in the film adaptation of West Side Story (1962), has been seen as a silver screen symbol during the 1950s and 1960s. Her youthful face and long list of notable credits makes her a classic Hollywood star.
Her transition as a childhood actress to a full fledged movie star in more serious roles made her stand out among other celebrities of her time, it wasn’t until her death on November 28, 1981 that the story of Natalie Wood turned tragic.
At the time of her death, Wood was married to another film star, Robert Wagner. She originally married him in 1957, but they later got a divorce in 1962. They reunited years later and decided to retie the knot in 1972. The couple then had a daughter.
While filming the movie “Brainstorm”, Wood, Wagner, and her co-star, Christopher Walken all decided to spend some time on Catalina Island, California. The trio had spent most of their time on a yacht called the Splendour.
The night before her passing, the three actors went out to dinner at Doug’s Harbor Reef restaurant in Two Harbors. The three of them drank a lot, sharing champagne, two bottles of wine, and cocktails.
According to All That’s Interesting, there was tension and jealousy brewing among the three stars. Wagner reportedly was suspicious of Wood’s and Walker’s relationship, borderlining flirtatious with each other. Wagner grew furious with Walker, and when the three of them sat for dinner that night, according to employees at the restaurant, either Wagner or Walker had thrown glass at the wall.
As time passed, the tension simmered down. The trio decided to make their way back to the yacht before heading to bed. Reports stated Wood went to bed first while Wagner and Walker chatted with each other on the deck. Wagner later joined his wife, and then Walker later on. The following morning, the men woke up to find Wood and the yacht’s dinghy missing.
They reported the Hollywood star missing around 5 a.m. before discovering her body in the water not far from the yacht. Her death was determined to be an “accidental drowning”. It was believed she drowned soon after hitting the water, sometime around 1:30 a.m.
Despite what investigators concluded, there’s more to the story than meets the eye. It is widely theorized both men, especially Wagner, knew more than they admitted. Some think Wagner had killed his wife. Reports of the couple fighting that night after returning to the yacht largely fueled this theory.
This idea wasn’t brought to the media’s attention until 30 years later when Captain of the yacht, Dennis Davern, told investigators that he left out a key detail about that night. Davern remembered Wagner being enraged, allegedly breaking a wine bottle over a table and screaming at Walker, “Are you trying to f--k my wife?”
Later, Davern reportedly heard Wood and Wagner fighting in their room before storming out to the deck together. The argument continued until “everything went silent”.
Later, when Davern went to check on the couple, all he saw was Wagner. There the actor told the Captain that Wood was missing.
Whether or not this is true is up for debate, but beyond this information, what makes this case extremely suspicious was the fact Wood was known for being afraid of deep water. Even Natalie’s sister confirmed this after her death in 1981.
Bringing this to light, the logic behind the order of events regarding Wood’s death don’t add up. It was believed, because of the evidence, that Wood had taken the rubber dinghy out in the water that night. Because of her lifelong fear of water and inability to swim, none of this makes sense.
So, because of all the evidence and suspicion regarding her death, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s officials decided to reopen the case in 2011 and changed the cause of Wood’s death to “drowning and undetermined factors”. Since then, Wagner has refused to talk with authorities. Walker, on the other hand, has cooperated with investigators fully.
In 2018, Lieutenant officer of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, John Corina, said he found Wood’s death “undeniably” suspicious and has gone as far as to consider Wagner a person of interest.
Despite the developments in this cold case, nothing substantial has come of Wagner and his possible involvement in his wife’s death. No critical information has been released from Walker either, although some believe he played a part as well.
With over 40 years since her passing, it is possible we will never know if Natalie Wood’s death was intentional or not. Regardless, the story of the famous actress and her unfortunate end is a fascinating yet tragic mystery.
