I was in bed then. When Davern went to investigate, he claims Wagner told him to go away. The Miracle on 34th Street stars sister told The Post in 2021 that she always has believed Wagner was responsible for Woods death. Wood left the boat after the spat and stayed in a Catalina hotel on Nov. 27, said Davern . After a day of drinking, tempers reportedly flared in the evening with Wagner breaking a bottle, supposedly over Woods apparent closeness to Walken. Yes, after Natalie Wood died, Robert Wagner married Jill St. John . It was slippery I had walked on it myself. She and her young daughter moved in with Maria, who was living in one of Natalies old condos. Natalie was pronounced dead at 7:44 a.m. on November 29, 1981. Getty Images. At the time of her tragic and untimely death in 1981, Hollywood darling Natalie Wood was married to actor Robert Wagner. This makes her Robert's stepdaughter. I know who I am.. It really didnt sit well.. The twice-married actors met when Wood was just a child star and endured a rollercoaster romance until her mysterious death. In an . Nobody heard anything, an emotional Wagner tells his stepdaughter in the documentary, adding: That night has gone through my mind so many times.. CBS News was the first to report that actor Robert Wagner is now being called a person of interest in the 1981 death of his wife, actress Natalie Wood. The outlet shared that the show's creators originally wanted Wagner's wife, Natalie Wood, to appear in their series.But Wagner, who previously worked with Powers, felt she was the best choice . The death of comedic actor and "Saturday Night Live" star Phil Hartman stunned fans in May 1998, when he and his wife were discovered shot to death in their Los Angeles home, Topless dancer-turned-model-turned reality TV star Anna Nicole Smith died at 39 in February 2007 after being found unconscious in her Florida hotel room. I was 10 and he was 18 when I first saw him walking down the hall at 20 Century Fox, Wood recalled to People in 1976. When it comes to weighing the impact of Wood's death, and Wagner is deemed a suspect in a murder . Following Wood's death in late 1981, Wagner became the legal guardian of her daughter by producer Richard . Robert Wagner cleared as Natalie Wood case goes cold - Page Six In the early 1990s, Dennis Davern began calling her, talking about Natalie and Wagners troubled relationship. Directed by French filmmaker Mawenn, the film marks Depps first major film role since settling his defamation suit against ex-wife Amber Heard. "Natalie Wood's Drowning Was Not an Accident": A New Book's Shocking The hard-living 27-year-old's passing was ruled death by misadventure, yet theories abounded that he'd been the victim of a crime. Davern reportedly told podcastFatal Voyage: The Mysterious Death of Natalie Woodthe pair left the yacht in the Dinghy, and described the woman as petrified. 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. In 1969 Wood married film producer Richard Gregson. Robert, or R.J. as his friends called him, rarely attended social gatherings after Natalie's death. The 26-year-old actor, who had starred in PrinceValiant and A Kiss BeforeDying,began dating Natalie when the actress was 18, and he never even uttered a hello to 10-year-old Lana. Most recently, the two starred in the TV movie Northpole, where Jill played Mrs. Claus and Robert fittingly played Santa. James Dean's death is part of his legend. Robert Wagner noticed Natalie Wood missing at approximately 11 p.m. after the group returned from the restaurant. Its not a continuous thing, just a moment, a turn, her hair, some kind of look. And yet I was asking him to step outside of his comfort zone to talk about the night that [Wood] died. Asked whether she went into the conversation hoping to disprove specific theories, Gregson Wagner said, I wasnt really concerned with disproving these outlandish theories, I was more just wanting to have the kind of conversation that he and I have had in the past about other things, but on camera. "So your mother went down below to our bedroom to get ready to go to bed and I sat there with Chris. I sat there with Chris, and we started talking, and he started to mention to me about your motherhow wonderful she was, and what a great actress she was, and how he enjoyed working with her. (Lana told The Post that Walken has spoken with the detectives currently working on the case, under the condition that his remarks would never be made public. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. Wagner, known to friends and family as R.J., had dreamed from a young age of life as a working actor and had become a handsome fixture around Hollywood by the mid-1950s. Wood had settled into semi-retirement by the time she remarried Wagner. They were totally out of character.. A documentary about the death of Hollywood star Natalie Wood has aired in the US, reigniting conversation about the mysterious circumstances surrounding her death. In 1981, she was making the sci-fi movie Brainstorm with Walken, and the two hadbecome pals. Radio stations would announce we had just passed through, and people would wait for us in every little town., The media scrutiny continued as Woods star rose to even greater heights in the following years due to starring roles in Marjorie Morningstar (1958), Splendor in the Grass (1960), as the doomed Maria in West Side Story (1961) and Gypsy (1962). 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. Did Natalie Woods Killer Inherit Her Estate? | Law Offices of DuPont He would invite her daughter and mother to dinner and exclude her. Who was on the boat with Natalie Wood when she died? 2023 Cable News Network. Looking for more? Wagner and Woods only child together, Courtney, was born in 1974. Davern claims Walken also stormed out and went to his cabin, while Wagner stayed where he was, and began to drink with the captain. The Dr. Phil show provides the most comprehensive forum, 48 Hours "Natalie Wood: Death in Dark Water" reveals new witnesses in investigation. This story has been shared 16,031 times. All I can do is attempt to have people understand the truth, and to show Natalie as she really was.. Which makes Lanas allegations about Natalies death all the more heartbreaking. It was like two parts of the same whole. Yet the story of Wagner and Woods long relationship would take a backseat to ongoing lurid headlines concerning Woods drowning. Natalie and Wagners daughter, Courtney, was born in 1974, and after making such hits as Gypsy, West Side Story and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, Wood had largely disappeared from the big screen. Fox says Parkinson's battle getting 'harder': 'I'm not gonna be 80', Padma Lakshmi claps back at trolls: 'I have boobs, I have nipples', Kendall Jenner rocks sheer top, fur mini skirt for date night with Bad Bunny, Miley Cyrus mom, Tish Cyrus, engaged to Prison Break star Dominic Purcell, Fans confused over Lala Kent, Ariana Madixs White House dinner appearance, Woman has 'loud and full body orgasm' during LA Philharmonic concert. A representative for Wagner had no comment. Natalie Wood: What Remains documentary trailer, What happened that night only she knows, because she was alone, Christopher Walken said of Woods tragic death in 1997, Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in, Please refresh your browser to be logged in, Damien Chazelles The Eddy sounds wonderful but the plot is weak, On Earth Were Briefly Gorgeous shows how often love is tied to pain, Lionel Shriver: Most Covid victims wouldve died within a year anyway. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. A Warner Bros. Wood, Wagner, and actor Christopher Walken were the only guests. I said, 'Don't tell her what to do, and stay out of her life.' The People story, published this week, finds the 86-year-old actor opening up about his relationship with his stepdaughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner. I knew the circumstances that had surrounded her death, because he told me, and Im sure we visited it here and there, but it wasnt as pointed as it was for the documentary. Then-Assistant Sheriff Robert Edmonds still vividly remembers being awakened at 5am with the news that actress Natalie Wood had gone missing from a boat moored off Catalina Island in November 1981. The case was reopened six years ago and now has key witness accounts. It isnt for my sake, its for Natalies, Lana said of the book. The 48-year-old had been in Los Angeles with plans to attend a pre-Grammys party and had just, Chris Perez, chronicled in the book "To Selena, With Love. Natasha Gregson Wagner was 11 when her mother, the Oscar-nominated actor Natalie Wood, drowned off Catalina Island. That nights gone through my mind so many times, as you can imagine. Following Woods' death, Natasha's biological dad, Gregson . Lana felt that none of Wagners or Walkens words rang true to her at the time because what they had been describing about the night in question did not line up with the West Side Story stars personality. As Robert tells the story of Natalie's last evening, he maintains that he last saw her when the actress excused herself for bed. 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. All Rights Reserved. He claimed that the married couple had a fight out on the boats deck right before she went missing and that Wagner prevented him from putting out a call to shore for a missing person. Im sure they were.. Pushed by Lana on the matter, Natalie told her: Sometimes the devil you know is better than the devil you dont know., I would have really liked to hear, I love him dearly and I cant live without him, something like that, Lana said. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. Robert Wagner DID kill Natalie Wood on luxury yacht then - The Sun John Lennon was shot and killed outside of his Manhattan apartment on December 8, 1980. Actress Natalie Wood mysteriously drowned in the Pacific Ocean on November 29, 1981, in a death that was initially ruled accidental. Smith died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs, but her death, Whitney Houston was on the verge of a comeback when she was found unresponsive in her Beverly Hilton hotel room in February 2012. According to Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind, a 2020 documentary made by Woods daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner, the manager of a mainland restaurant where Natalie, Wagner, Walken and the yachts skipper, Dennis Davern, had dined the night before was worried they were all too intoxicated to make it back to the yacht. Immediately afterwards, Wagner rekindled his romance with Wood. When Lana expressed confusion about their reunion,given that Wagner had cheated on her sister with a man,their mother glibly parroted, Hes cured of homosexual tendencies. 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. Natalie Wood's 1981 drowning death has remained one of Hollywood's great mysteries for four decades. Wood was also found to have blood alcohol higher than the limit. In the film, Wagner recalls authorities later telling him that Woods body had been found. At that point, Wood went below deck to go to bed, and allegedly, no one saw her alive again. Christopher Walken Betrays Robert Wagner! Inside His - RadarOnline She had told me she couldnt swim; in fact, they had to cut a swimming scene from Brainstorm [the film they were shooting at the time of Woods death]. He also says, I dont think theres a day that has ever gone by in my life that there hasnt been a moment that I havent thought about Natalie and how much she meant to me in my heart, in my soul., Natalies younger sister, Lana Wood, has always thought Wagner was involved. Natalie Wood: What Remains is available to stream on HBO Go in the US. DetectiveRalph Hernandez, who retired from the force in March, declared Wagner a person of interest in 2018 after interviewing witnesses who claimed Wood had been arguing with Wagner, now 92, at the edge of their boat before she disappeared. He left behind an ever-increasing fan base, a catalog of music and one of culture's most persistent mysteries. Woods sister, Lana, and Dennis Davern, the captain of the Splendour in 1981, have spoken publicly about the incident, alleging Wagner played a greater role in Woods death than was originally revealed. After the tragic death of his wife, Natalie Wood, Robert Wagner remarried twice. Hes not going to admit anything, Lana explained. Woods death was initially ruled an accident, but her death certificate wasamended in 2012 to change her cause of death from drowning to drowning and other undetermined factors.. Robert Wagner Dead Or Alive: Did He Remarry After Natalie Wood Died? In 2011, the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department reopened its investigation into Woods death, after Splendour captain Dennis Davern claimed he had heard Wood and Wagner arguing the night of Woods death. Wagner remarried in 1963 to actress Marion Marshall, with . But that doesnt mean I dont think he did it. Premiering in 1968, ABCs It Takes a Thief was a hit and Wagner was commanding about $10,000 per episode. Wagner remarried in 1963 to actress Marion Marshall, with whom he had a daughter, Katie, born in 1964. But her sister Lana Wood believes there is one person to blame for the . In the documentary, titled Natalie Wood: What Remains, Woods daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner, questions her stepfather about the evening. At that point, Wood went below deck to go to bed, and allegedly, no one saw her alive again. What has Christopher Walken said about Natalie Wood's death? We knew each other better than we knew ourselves, she recalled. Wood died on 29 November 1981 after disappearing from a yacht she was on with her husband, Robert Wagner, .