Natalie Wood was 43 years old and at that time, she was already one of the most beautiful faces of classic Hollywood.
Natalie Wood is remembered for legendary films: Rebel Without a Cause (1955), Desert Centaurs (1956), West Side Story (1961) or Splendor in the Grass (1961). Her personal life was also closely linked to cinema, due to her curious love story with Robert Wagner, whom she married twice.
Natalie Wood's death: accident or murder?
Natalie Wood drowned on the night of November 29, 1981. Her body appeared floating near San Catalina Island in southern California. Those days, she was on a yacht trip with her husband Wagner, and also with the actor Christopher Walken, with whom she had just filmed the film Project Brainstorm (1983).
The first hypothesis that the forensic experts came to was that she probably slipped and fell into the water. It happened one night when everyone had dinner and drinks, and the first official report indicated that the actress, while intoxicated, tried to get away from the ship in an inflatable boat. But she tripped, fell into the sea, and was found the next day floating near some rocks. Two weeks later, authorities certified her death as an accident.
2011, Wood case reopened
Several decades later, in 2011, the Los Angeles police reopened the case due to a change in the testimony of Dennis Daver, the ship's captain. He confirmed that that night he witnessed an argument between Natalie and her husband, and all doubts were raised because the official report indicated bruises on her body and arms.
The following year, they changed her death certificate to “drowning and undetermined factors” and the record now indicates that “the circumstances are not clearly established.”
Robert Wagner confirms an argument that night
In his memoir Pieces of My Heart: A life, published in 2008, Robert Wagner remembers an argument that night, although he completely disassociates himself from the death of his wife.
Recently in 2020, Robert Wagner (currently 92 years old) remembers more details of that fateful night in the documentary Natalie Wood Behind the Scenes. He admits that he had an argument with Cristopher Walken about his wife's professional career, in which they broke a bottle.
He also remembers that he himself stayed to collect the glass remains with the ship's captain Dennis Davern. Later, he realized that his wife was not in the room, and they quickly notified the authorities.
Despite these latest explanations in the documentary, Natalie Wood's death has always been a mystery, and today, more than 40 years later, it is not known what really happened on that night in November 1981.
