Actress Natalie Wood disappeared in the chilly waters off Southern California 30 years ago. Her death remained one of Hollywood’s enduring mysteries until recently when a sheriff’s detective reopened the investigation.
On Thanksgiving weekend of 1981, Wood and her husband, Robert Wagner, invited Brainstorm costar Christopher Walken to join them for a sailing trip around Catalina Island aboard their yacht, the Splendour.
After the success of her big screen hits like Gypsy and West Side Story, Natalie Wood faded into obscurity in the 1970s. She starred in less popular films, including a series of low-budget horror movies called The Black Widow and a sci-fi movie called Brainstorm. Then, on Thanksgiving weekend of 1981, she and her husband, actor Robert Wagner, went sailing on their yacht off the coast of California. They invited Walken, her co-star in the new film, to join them. The couple was arguing when Wagner suddenly realized that Wood had disappeared. He searched for her but could not find her, and he called the Harbor Patrol. A local boater named Doug Bombard offered to help with the search. He checked a kelp line off the coast of Two Harbors and found her red down jacket floating in the water, along with her body, which was still clad in a nightgown.
The police initially concluded that Wood had accidentally fallen overboard from the yacht and drowned. But the Los Angeles County coroner later changed the cause of death to undetermined, and investigators reopened the case in 2018, when they deemed her death suspicious, noting that fresh bruises on her arms, neck, and knee might indicate she was assaulted before she died.
No one has ever been able to come up with an explanation for what really happened that night, but the fact remains that Wood’s body was found about a mile from her yacht and that her dinghy was nearby, with its ignition turned off and the oars locked.
Despite the fact that Walken and Wagner have both maintained their silence about what happened on the day of Wood’s death, many details about her last hours have emerged, thanks to an intrepid journalist who spent years investigating the case and interviews with those involved.
Among the most interesting things to emerge from the research was that Wagner had a history of domestic abuse with Walken and other women. In addition, he treated his wife with outright hostility after her death, often cutting her out of his life and insisting that she contact him only through his lawyer.
What Happened Next?
When an actress dies, memories of her screen roles and what was rumored about her private life resurface. Natalie Wood was no exception. For three decades, she portrayed characters who were strong and independent, but her real-life story wasn’t all that different.
After starring in the 1950s classic Rebel Without a Cause, which made her a teen idol, Wood went on to star in other dramatic films like Splendor in the Grass and West Side Story, earning Oscar nominations for both performances. In the ’60s, she branched out into modern romance movies and also took on more serious roles, such as writer Helen Gurley Brown in Sex and the Single Girl.
In late 1981, Wood was filming Brainstorm in California. She was aboard her family’s yacht, the Splendour, along with her husband Robert Wagner, co-star Christopher Walken and Captain Dennis Davern. It was a Thanksgiving weekend and the trio were heading to Catalina Island, one of their favorite boating destinations.
According to reports, the group invited friends to join them on the cruise, but they declined. At some point, Wagner and Wood got into a fight and he left her alone on the yacht. The next morning, Davern found her body floating in the ocean near Blue Cavern Point. She was clad in a down jacket and flannel nightgown.
The initial death was ruled an accident, but investigators later reopened the case after discovering fresh bruises on her arms and knee. The Los Angeles County sheriff’s department named her husband, Wagner, a person of interest in the investigation.
For years, Wagner denied he had anything to do with her death. But he eventually admitted to his daughter, Lana, in an interview that he was jealous of her and tried to break her character down.
Over the years, many have speculated that Wagner had something to do with her death. His daughter has repeatedly confronted him on-camera, asking him to explain his alleged role in her sister’s death. But he has said little on the matter. In 2018, Wagner was once again named a person of interest in the Natalie Wood case.
How Did She Die?
In a career that spanned four decades Natalie Wood starred in a slew of big screen classics, earning three Oscar nominations and winning two Golden Globes, but it was off-screen where the actress truly made her mark. She championed mental health and equality for the LGBTQ community. She also jumped from film to television, breaking the glass ceiling and becoming one of the most successful actresses in history in both mediums. She even pushed back against the Hollywood patriarchy, demanding equal pay to her male co-stars.
But on November 28, 1981, the actress was found dead on a yacht off the coast of Catalina Island in California. It was a chilly day, and the fog was thick. A row erupted, a wine bottle was smashed, and then Wood disappeared. It was later discovered that she had fallen into the water and drowned.
While forensic evidence, such as fingernail scratches on the side of the dinghy and brush-type abrasions on her face, pointed to the actor being in the boat when she fell overboard, the circumstances surrounding her death remain a mystery. Various accounts of the incident from her husband Robert Wagner, boat captain Dennis Davern and Christopher Walken all differ. Wagner argued that she had been unable to sleep due to the noise from the dinghy banging against the boat and he claims that she was simply trying to re-tie it when she fell.
Davern claimed he withheld information in the initial investigation, afraid to lose his job, as pressure from Wagner grew. He would go on to write a book in which he alleged that Wagner pushed Wood into the water. Several witnesses came forward to corroborate his claim.
Lana Wood has spoken out against many of those whose names have been put on the list of those responsible for her mother’s death including Wagner, authorities who handled the initial investigation and the celebrity tabloids that incessantly covered the case. However, there is one person whose name she does not place blame on for the tragedy: her ex-husband Christopher Walken.
Who Killed Her?
In life, Natalie Wood reigned as one of Hollywood’s most alluring stars. In death, however, she remains one of its most mysterious. On November 29, 1981, she drowned in the chilly Pacific Ocean off California’s Catalina Island. She had been spending the Thanksgiving weekend aboard her husband Robert Wagner’s yacht Splendour with her Brainstorm co-star Christopher Walken and the boat’s young captain, Dennis Davern. Her body was found the next day, floating a mile away from her yacht and wearing only a flannel nightgown and a pair of wool socks.
At the time, it was believed that Wood had accidentally fallen overboard and drowned after being unable to board a small dinghy that had been attached to her yacht. She had also taken a motion sickness pill known to increase the effects of alcohol, and her blood-alcohol level was at 0.14%.
But a closer examination of fresh bruises on her arms and knee suggested that she had not simply fallen overboard. And the Los Angeles County medical examiner changed her cause of death to “drowning and other undetermined factors.”
Vanity Fair writer Sam Kashner revisited the case in 2000, revealing new information that raised suspicions of foul play. A year later Suzanne Finstad’s book Natasha sparked further speculation by pointing out that Wood was still taking the barbiturate Seconal (the generic name for Ambien) to sleep at night in the years leading up to her death.
As the filming of The Great Gatsby was beginning, Wood was asked to screen test for Daisy Buchanan. Wagner reportedly wanted her to play the part, but she refused, fearing that her character would be portrayed as a “drunken broad.” She told him to fuck off and quit harassing her.
Several months before her death, the actress confided in her sister Lana that she had been unhappy in her marriage to Wagner and was considering leaving him. She described him as controlling, possessive, and jealous, especially when he flirted with other women. He reportedly once grabbed her breasts, and she smashed a wine bottle against the table in a fit of rage. She was also haunted by a prophecy from a Gypsy that she would die in the dark water.
