Speaking to his stepdaughter, Wagner recalls opening another bottle of wine, and Wood retiring to bed. All Rights Reserved. The couple spent much of their honeymoon on a yacht, navigating the Florida Keys. Woods rise to fame had been fostered by her mother, once an aspiring performer herself, and she was signed to a 20th Century Fox contract before age 10. "All leads in the Natalie Wood case have been . When she went out there, there was a slight mist that night and the assumption is she went out there and slipped and hit her head and rolled into the water, says Wagner. Still, Gregson Wagner, who produced the documentary, and director Laurent Bouzereau knew that the film would need to address Woods death head-on to help audiences process it, hopefully once and for all. Davern and Wood took up rooms at a hotel, and the next morning he convinced her that if they returned to the boat the situation would have calmed. Musician and poet Jim Morrison of The Doors was found dead in the bathtub of his Paris apartment in 1971, also at the age of 27. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. By the time of that first fateful meeting, the daughter of poor Russian immigrants was a known and respected actress. I did lie on a report several years ago We didnt take any steps to see if we could locate her. At that point, Wood went below deck to go to bed, and allegedly, no one saw her alive again. Washed up on shore on Catalina [Island].. All Rights Reserved. I think it was a matter of, Were not going to look too hard, were not going to turn on the searchlight, were not going to notify anybody right now. Today, he believes Natalie was killed and thrown overboard. I turned off all the lights and shone a flashlight on the wall and moved it quickly up and down so it looked like it was dancing I thought it looked like a stylish movie, and I wanted to show him, she said. Wagner, who married actress Jill St. John in 1990, said his stepdaughter very much reminds him of his beloved late wife. Lana continued to see Natalie even living with her and R.J. at one point when tensions with her mother reached a boiling point yet she noticed that her sisters new husband mostly stayed out of her way. I picked up the bottle and smashed it on the table. Robert Wagner cleared as Natalie Wood case goes cold - Page Six But did Robert Wagner remarry after Natalie tragically died at the age of 43? Many people are unsure whether Robert Wagner, an American actor who has appeared on all three stages - theatre, screen, and television - is still alive or not; the veteran actor is still alive and well. Lana was asleep in the car when Natalie finally came back, disheveled and upset, whispering angrily at their mother. But Natalie later told her what had happened: Maria had arranged a meeting with Kirk Douglas, who sexually assaulted Natalie. Though he would appear in more than 40 films, big-screen stardom would elude him as the studio system was dismantled and the entertainment industry began embracing the burgeoning television market. ET on HBO. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. He said: I saw the dinghy was missing and fired up the engines to start searching. From the offset, Davern, who had been captaining the couple's boat for six years, said he had an ominous feeling about the voyage. ', When asked if he thought Wagner was responsible for Woods death, he said, I would say so, yes.. As Robert tells the story of Natalie's last evening, he maintains that he last saw her when the actress excused herself for bed. Nearly four decades after the unexplained drowning death of Hollywood . GettyNatalie Wood and Natasha Gregson Wagner, Gregson Wagner, who is a producer of the documentary, says, Its important to me, daddy, that people think of you the way that I know that you are. Do Not Sell My Personal Information, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window). Robert Wagner Talks About Wife Natalie Wood's Death - People Still, she was shocked in 1962 when Natalie showed up at their parents house, distraught and with a bleeding hand. The role of a debonair ex-con would pave the way to his biggest success, Hart to Hart, which aired from 1979 to 1984 on ABC. In addition to Woods three Oscar nominations (for 1955s Rebel Without a Cause, 1961s Splendor in the Grass, and 1963s Love With the Proper Stranger), Wood was a devoted mother to Gregson Wagner and Courtney, and an empowered star who leveraged her profile to handpick her roles and costars including Redfordthe then-unknown she pushed to be cast in 1965s Inside Daisy Clover. Davern said he made his way to the back of the ship. I remember him walking down the hall past my room and that he had very blue eyes, she said. On the night of her disappearance he recalls Wood storming out after another argument, and going to her room. Two months later, they attended the same dinner party. Now, she has written Little Sister: My Investigation into the Mysterious Death of Natalie Wood (Dey Street Books), out Tuesday. I knocked on the door Mom told me to go to, and next thing I knew, Kirk Douglas was ushering me into his suite, Natalie told her, Lana writes in the book. Friends told me to put on the breaks, Wood recalled of her decision to reunite with her ex-husband after she accepted an invitation to his house in Palm Springs. Wagner assumed his wife had gone ashore. ", "RJ and Walken went by helicopter back to the mainland, and I had to identify Natalie's body.". And I can understand that but when I just think about my dad having to deal with any of this stuff, its just so hard to even imagine when he experienced a true nightmare, says Courtney in the documentary. I was in bed then. He was in Hong Kong at the time of his death, which was blamed on a brain edema caused by an allergic reaction to painkillers. She started selling dolls and got a job as a salesperson for Sprint. Nirvana frontman had been found dead at 27. I opened up another bottle of wine and had a couple more glasses of wine. Then Wagner kicked her out, explaining he was the rightful owner. Nov. 30, 2021 8:25 AM PT. Did Natalie Woods Killer Inherit Her Estate? | Law Offices of DuPont 15,640, This story has been shared 13,634 times. Wood, who had first appeared on screen shortly before her fifth birthday in Happy Land (1943), first encountered Wagner a few years after her debut. Sign up for our daily Hollywood newsletter and never miss a story. And Natalies own sister, Lana Wooddeemed a credible source by detectiveshas spent years publicly sharing her doubts that Woods death was an accident and demanding that Wagner, her brother in-law, tell the truth for once and for all., In Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind, Gregson Wagner asks her stepfather to explain what happened the evening Wood fell off the boat. I was terrified. Natasha adds, She has literally accused my dad of killing my mom when thats the farthest thing from the truth.. We were all so shattered by the loss, and we were hanging on to each other, Wagner said, Inside the untold story of Natalie Wood https://t.co/kH1gMRLIBc pic.twitter.com/eEdq1k4hxT. The death of actress Natalie Wood has fueled speculation for four decades because it happened under mysterious circumstances that were initially called an accidental drowning but later changed to drowning and other undetermined factors. Now in the new HBO documentary Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind, her daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner, talks to Robert Wagner, Natalies husband and Natashas adopted father, about the fateful night in 1981.