HBO’s new documentary, Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind, wants to put to rest the mystery of Natalie Wood’s death, which has fascinated the … "She had a great fear of it. Published: 19:57 GMT, 14 April 2020 | Updated: 23:23 GMT, 14 April 2020. Front and center: The veteran actor was seen on camera with his daughter, Face to face: Natasha is seated opposite Robert as they talk their family's tragedy from 40 years ago, The early years: 'I don't think there's a day that has ever gone by that I don't think about Natalie,' Wagner says in the clip. According to Natalie Wood's sister Lana Wood, the idea of her older sister boarding the dinghy in the first place was a red flag that her death may have been more than an accident, especially considering Natalie was incredibly afraid of large bodies of water ever since her girlhood. ‘Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind’: Film Review A documentary revels in Natalie Wood's homespun sensual charisma, but the film is also haunted by her death, which it … While Gregson Wagner's documentary places most of its emphasis on her mom's early days and ensuing career, the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of Natalie — who drowned off the shores of California's Catalina Island in November 1981 during a Thanksgiving weekend spent aboard the yacht she owned with her husband, Hart to Hart television actor Robert Wagner — are impossible to overlook. Firefighters union 'delayed its members volunteering in pandemic because of a health and safety row'. I'm simply looking at facts. HBO is set to air on May 5 a remarkable new documentary about the tragic screen siren Natalie Wood whose drowning death in 1981 at the age of 43 while boating at night with husband Robert Wagner remains an unsolved mystery. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Moreover, he refuses to dignify rumors that he could've hurt Natalie Wood — or even worse, killed her. Using in-depth firsthand accounts from new witnesses, 'Fatal Voyage: The Mysterious Death Of Natalie Wood' series investigates the night … Poster of the documentary “Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind” For those not immediately familiar with Wood – she died 40 years ago … Natalie Wood first saw Robert Wagner when she was just 10 years old and swore she was "going to marry him" someday, per People. Natalie Wood's death has long remained a mystery, and may never be solved. (Though Wagner at one time admitted to arguing with Natalie that night, his latest account, per the HBO documentary, directed by Natalie's daughter and his stepdaughter, omits it entirely.). The new HBO documentary Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind explores Wood's life and career, as well as the strange circumstances surrounding how she drowned. Natalie didn't swim. However, it's most likely Noguchi did downplay them due to the actress' blood-alcohol level testing at .14%, pointing to extreme intoxication. "The boat just starts getting smaller. "Natalie hated the water," she relayed. Wagner, who was married to Wood twice, spoke for the first time on camera about Natalie's death in 1981 at the age of 43. Even worse is the idea that the story Natalie and Lana's mother told them was entirely a work of fiction. Hollywood loved her: Here she is seen in a promo photo for her film Sex And The Single Girl, directed by Richard Quine in 1964, She was beloved: Her most popular film is 1961's West Side Story in which she played Maria; a remake is in the works, Wood's sister, Lana, did not want to participate in the film, telling Bouzereau to let Natasha know, 'I completely understand she also wishes to keep her pain and her family's at a minimum.'. As Lana relayed in an exclusive interview with OK! Packed with good images: Never-before seen footage of Wood's second wedding to Wagner was discovered. The documentary Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind is the definitive look at all things Natalie Wood -- her life, career, and death. With Natalie Wood, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Julie Salamon, Robert Redford. Douglas Should be studied- not celebrated because he was a film star. Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind The film features previously unseen home movies, photographs, diaries, letters and artifacts, as well as intimate interviews with her friends, family, co-stars and colleagues; re-examining her personal and professional triumphs and challenges, which have often been overshadowed by her tragic death at age 43. So much so, argues her daughter Natasha Gregson Wagner in the opening minutes of Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind, … While Robert Wagner, Dennis Davern, and Christopher Walken were the key witnesses in the Natalie Wood case (or suspects, depending on what you believe), they weren't the only witnesses. In addition to this fear of water, the younger sibling opined that her sister would never have attempted to leave the yacht for the shore unaccompanied and wouldn't have done so in a nightgown. Lana's decades-long battle to uncover the full truth about what happened to Natalie that night in 1981 culminated in a podcast interview in 2018. You can also find more information, resources, and support at www.thehotline.org. The actress was on a boat on a weekend break during the filming of the movie Brainstorm, and her … With the May 2020 release of the HBO documentary Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind, directed by Natalie Wood's daughter Natasha Gregson Wagner, attention has once again been renewed regarding the life of the famous actress. The HBO documentary, Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind not only re-examines her death, but also highlights how Natalie decided to take control of … The actress Natalie Wood, who drowned in 1981, is the subject of an HBO documentary overseen by her daughter. She slipped and fell in the water," he claimed. The first half of Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind is pretty good, but then it turns into a love letter to R.J. Wagner. There is a collection of personal photographs and home movies of Natalie, some of which Gregson Wagner discovered in her family's storage unit. You can't look for a whole lot of escape. Christopher Walken — who co-starred with Natalie in 1983's Brainstorm — was also on the 55-foot yacht, though any of the actor's insight as to what did or didn't happen has yet to be determined. Seen in the 1960s, The star: Wagner seen in October 2019 in LA, left, and with Stefanie Powers on their hit TV series Hart To Hart in the 1980s. With the May 2020 release of the HBO documentary Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind, directed by Natalie Wood's daughter Natasha Gregson Wagner, attention has … Her fear of dark water was deeply ingrained.'. Along with Natalie, her co-stars James Dean and Sal Mineo died under mysterious or tragic circumstances. The comments below have not been moderated. Wagner’s recollection of hearing the news of her mother’s death that rainy morning is the first scene of Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind, a HBO documentary reflecting on Wood… Natalie Wood death: 48 Hours documentary reveals details of why Robert Wagner is now 'person of interest' Detectives tell CBS programme they have … After that, Wagner and Natalie reconnected and wed a second time, only three months after her divorce to Gregson was finalized. Welcome to the University of WOKE! There have been conspiracy theories ever since about how she died, but the film does not dig into that as her daughter wanted to focus more on her mom's life rather than her death. Mineo's life was cut tragically short in 1976 after he was fatally stabbed by two muggers. When Natasha asks him if the case of her drowning should be reopened, he says: 'I don't think there's a day that has ever gone by that I don't think about Natalie. He was a sexual predator and possible brutal rapist (of Natalie Wood and others), possible murderer (Jean Spangler) Death does not erase crimes. Natalie Wood Died November 29, 1981. According to Davern, Wagner had the employee live in his home for the year following the incident, limiting his contact with friends and family, keeping tabs on where he went via a private chauffeur and escort, and supposedly locked Davern in his room when he went to sleep, though in the interceding years, it has become nearly impossible to corroborate his story. Her most popular film is 1961's West Side Story in which she played Maria; a remake is in the works. Her inability to swim, of course, played a huge part in the cause of her death, leading to the prophecy coming true. By Philip Ellis May 6, 2020 On May 5, 2020, HBO is airing a different take … ", The situation took a turn for the worse with Wagner lashing out at Walken for getting too cozy with his wife. May 6, 2020. Natalie Wood, Robert Wagner, Natasha Gregson-Wagner, Courtney Wagner. Kirk Douglas died at 103. Mineo — who played Plato, the quintessential "little boy lost" in Rebel — went on to earn an Oscar nomination for his role as a Jewish Holocaust survivor-turned-extremist in 1960's Exodus, but afterward faced a slow-but-steady career decline. Considering Wagner's latest iteration of what happened posits it was Walken, not Natalie, who he was arguing with — a story which sharply contrasts Dennis Davern's — it might prompt Walken to either corroborate or deny Wagner's version of events. Natalie Wood’s actress daughter is urging the world to let her mother rest in peace in a new documentary all about the West Side Story star’s death. Magazine in 2018, the Wood sisters' mother, Maria Zakharenko, told her daughters that during her earlier years living abroad in China, a psychic proclaimed she would give birth to a "child that would be known internationally" and "somebody was going to die from drowning.". One of the only statements he's ever really given about that faterful night occurred nearly five years after during an interview with People. (That 2018 update came seven years after the case was reopened and Natalie's autopsy results were revised, categorizing the circumstances of her death as "undetermined."). It is these tragic circumstances that immediately color HBO ’s new documentary, “ Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind.” Natasha Gregson-Wagner, Wood’s daughter, is the … Conspiracies that the coroner at the time, Thomas Noguchi, was paid off to downplay any suspicious injuries Natalie incurred the night she drowned range from unsubstantiated to far-fetched. According to Lana, their mother Maria was a "manipulative" and controlling presence in their lives, and the story of the psychic and "dark waters" filled with portent could have been yet another way of controlling what she and her sister did in their day-to-day lives. Whether or not the unidentified woman was indeed Natalie cannot be unequivocally confirmed, but chances are more likely than not. His quick summation was followed by a sharp rejoinder and dismissal. In the new HBO documentary Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind (available to stream May 5), Gregson Wagner offers intimate details about … Leicester has ditched Chaucer, is 'decolonising' its syllabus and marks... Heartless' BBC hounded more than 520,000 over-75s to pay for a TV licence as the pandemic deepened. I recommend Natalie Wood: An American Murder Mystery which has testimony from the captain of Splendour which incriminates Natalie Wood's husband, R.J. Wagner. In addition to remembrances of his work on screen, though, some are also revisiting an allegation that was made against the actor in the waning days of his life that relates to actress Natalie Wood. She addresses her thoughts on fame, affairs of the heart and family. And in the run up to its release on May 5, … "I don't pay very much attention to it," said Wagner, adding the rumors "are not going to redefine me," because "I know who I am.". In order to avoid sensationalizing the news at a press conference, Noguchi avoided anything that could potentially tarnish the Hollywood icon's reputation, therefore ruling her death accidental, as per Vanity Fair. While we may never know the real circumstances of Natalie's fateful last few hours, there's one truth that's undeniable: Her legacy in film, and her vibrant life, will always overshadow her death, and she'll forever exist in celluloid, in dreams, and in our hearts. 'Since then there's been so much focus on how she died that it's overshadowed who she was as a person,' added Natasha. Natalie Wood, Robert Wagner, and a young Natasha Gregson Wagner, pictured in 1972. The documentary, titled Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind, sees Wagner recalling the events that led up to the death of his wife. "Christopher and Natalie are sitting in the salon together and giggling... [and] I was seeing [Wagner] getting mad," he claimed, adding that large amounts of alcohol only increased the tension. As Davern alleged to Vanity Fair in 2000, Natalie and Walken flirted all weekend in Catalina, including their final night aboard the yacht, which spun Wagner into an increasingly jealous rage. They went on to each marry other people and have more children before eventually reconciling then marrying again in 1972. Her career-defining movies — among them Miracle on 34th Street, West Side Story, Rebel Without a Cause, and Inside Daisy Clover — changed the Hollywood landscape, and the course of film history, forever. This film weaves excerpts from Wood's filmography with archival material, including extensive family photos, diaries, never-before-seen home movies and audio recordings. A series of bruises and other injuries that couldn't be explained by drowning or hypothermia. Wagner's publicist took a much more brusk, direct tack (via the Washington Post): stating Dennis Davern and Lana Wood should be "ashamed of themselves," categorizing both as "despicable human beings, capitalizing on the accidental death of a beloved member of the Wagner family. And in 2018, Davern came forward yet again, this time with an account of how Wagner had made sure he wouldn't go forward to the police by making the sea captain a virtual prisoner in his home, per The Hollywood Reporter. He was the first to meet an untimely end. So we consider Lana Natalie Wood's family and that's who we're working for, to try and find out the truth about what happened to her sister. She didn't go into her own swimming pool at home.". The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. Playboy vet Shanna Moakler, 45, shows before and after... Hailey Bieber reveals she suffers from Perioral dermatitis... Kylie Jenner is 'leaning' on Travis Scott amid the... Elsa Hosk strips down to her bra and undies to flash her... Top doctors demand gap between first and second Pfizer jabs is HALVED to six weeks and warn government's... Heathrow says it is 'impossible' for passengers to be socially-distanced as travellers returning to the UK... Welsh Tory leader QUITS after admitting he drank alcohol on Welsh parliament grounds with other MPs days... How to turbo charge your Covid jab: DR MICHAEL MOSLEY reveals the simple steps that could make it more... JOHN HUMPHRYS: Let's not kid ourselves. Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind (USA, 100 min.) Robert's nickname is RJ. LB: And to Natasha's point, because she [Natalie] started her career when she … Natasha Gregson Wagner on the forthcoming HBO documentary Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind, in which she sits down with her stepfather to discuss her mother’s tragic 1981 death… Decades after her sudden, mysterious death by drowning in 1981, Natalie Wood‘s shadow still looms large in the show business consciousness. Laurent Bouzereau. She shares her perspective on the life and career of her famous mother, the actress Natalie Wood, in a new documentary for HBO. If you had no knowledge of Natalie Wood's death going into this documentary, it's grossly misleading. "She certainly would not get into a dinghy in her nightgown by herself. Natalie Wood drowned in 1981 during a boat trip to Catalina Island in the company of her husband, Robert Wagner, as well as Christopher Walken — her co-star in the film Brainstorm. But HBO's documentary Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind features a new statement from Robert Wagner. https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/g32376127/natalie-wood-movies "The location of the bruises, the multiplicity of the bruises, lack of head trauma, or facial bruising support bruising having occurred prior to entry in the water," Sathyavagiswaran wrote in the autopsy report (via ABC News). Natalie Wood: Or, Mommy Dead and Dearest ‘What Remains Behind’ frustratingly fixates on Wood’s death, rather than what she achieved in life. Though the pair reported what they heard after Wood's death already hit the news cycle, they had chalked up the cries as the product of revelers partying on a nearby boat. While Davern's informal testimony gives credence to Wagner's account, it doesn't necessarily clear him as a suspect: Both accounts simply diverge from the touchstone of the Wagner-Walken verbal bout in the ring. ", In HBO's What Remains Behind, the former television actor admitted he tries not to think about speculation of his involvement in Natalie's death. Natalie Wood, Robert Wagner, and a young Natasha Gregson Wagner, pictured in 1972. ", As per Heavy, Walken touched briefly on the incident a little more than a decade later in an interview with Playboy, stating the "logistics" of the night pointed to an accident. 'I am not supposing. Speaking to OprahMag.com, Gregson Wagner opens up about interviewing her stepfather, calling the conversations "triumphant, from an … Gregson Wagner produced Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind , a new documentary about her mother. Huge fire breaks out at Islamic girls' school in Bradford sending thick plume of smoke over city. The story of Dean is as foundational to Tinseltown as the Hollywood sign. Natalie paid dearly — with her life. Kirk Douglas died at 103. HBO. Gregson Wagner produced Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind , a new documentary about her mother. Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind premieres Tuesday, May 5 at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on HBO.Wood’s daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner, produced the documentary with the idea of … Although Wood’s death was eventually ruled to be accidental, to this day there has been intense speculation about Wagner’s possible role. Hollywood icon Natalie Wood is the subject of a documentary that includes Robert Wagner's first on-camera interview about the star's tragic death at 43 Wood … The shores of Catalina Island in California in 1981 on the shores of Catalina Island in California in.! Open until we find out the truth of What happened. `` also a never-published article for home... Story terrorized young Natalie, her co-stars James Dean and Sal Mineo died mysterious. Plume of smoke over city 1957 after a year of courtship, but chances are likely... 14 April 2020 | Updated: 23:23 GMT, 14 April 2020 children eventually! Also featured in the works went on to each marry other people and have more children eventually... Day my mom died, my entire world was shattered, ' Wood 's wedding... A dinghy in her nightgown by herself on fame, affairs of the only statements 's... Young Natasha Gregson Wagner 's eyes there is also featured in the trailer the star big! He record: Robert Redford each marry other people and have more children before eventually reconciling marrying! The star his big break legend is charming but frustratingly incomplete interview with Wood second! And dismissal no knowledge of Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind explores the and... Subject of a health and safety row ' deeply ingrained. ' May 5, … Natalie Wood: Remains... Is in the docu ; Natalie helped give the star his big break the two first tied the knot 1957! Star 's tragic demise years after during an interview with people in Bradford sending thick plume smoke... Published May 4th, 2020Comments of Dean is as foundational to Tinseltown as the Hollywood legend is charming frustratingly... That 'RJ was the love of her life. ' others,,. Firefighters union 'delayed its members volunteering in pandemic because of a new HBO documentary features the interview. Was followed by a sharp rejoinder and dismissal the case is going natalie wood death documentary open! Comments on this article stay open until we find out the truth of What happened..! Could 've hurt Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind, a new documentary about mother... Young Natalie, galvanizing her fear of open water and prompting her to never take swimming lessons and.... `` not celebrated because he was a film star wrote in.... And Natalie reconnected and wed a second time, only three months after her divorce to Gregson was.. New York Times, all three Rebel leads were gone — and speculation regarding a curse grew Wood Robert! Studied- not celebrated because he was a film star story in which she Maria. S career are now being revisited the actress Natalie Wood, Robert Wagner, Gregson! Rejoinder and dismissal other injuries that could n't be explained by drowning or hypothermia on t record... Was indeed Natalie can not be unequivocally confirmed, but divorced five years later stay open until find. Remake is in the works terrorized young Natalie, her co-stars James Dean and Mineo! ``, the situation took a turn for the worse with Wagner lashing out at Walken for getting too with... On all our lives of the Hollywood sign York Times n't go into her own swimming pool at home ``! Of What happened. `` actor Kirk Douglas at 103 regarding a grew. Published: 19:57 GMT, 14 April 2020 | Updated: 23:23 GMT, 14 April |... Our users and do not necessarily reflect the views expressed in the contents are., galvanizing her fear of dark water was deeply ingrained. ' 100. Hamilton talked about how professional she was only 11 when her mother after he the... Drowning or hypothermia the starlet 's tragic demise at the age of 43 that wrote. A new HBO documentary overseen by her daughter Natasha Gregson Wagner produced Natalie,! In 1957 and stayed together for four years before divorcing and death of actor Douglas... Most popular film is 1961 's West Side story star 's tragic demise the... Under mysterious or tragic circumstances on this article she slipped and fell the! Life. ' entirely a work of fiction its members volunteering in pandemic because of a new statement from Wagner... 5, … Natalie Wood — or even worse, killed her • published 4th! On her role as a mother our users and do not necessarily reflect the of. Safety row ' unequivocally confirmed, but divorced five years later they went on to each other! Get into a dinghy in her nightgown by herself Redford is also featured in the movie that 'RJ was love! 'S second wedding to Wagner was discovered sending thick plume of smoke over city you can also find more,... They went on to each marry other people and have more children before eventually reconciling then again. Sharp rejoinder and dismissal children before eventually reconciling then marrying again in 1972 whole... Docu ; Natalie helped give the star his big break a great mother Wood was to her kids Hollywood! 1976 after he was the first to meet an untimely end the love of her.. One of the West Side story star 's tragic demise his big break story which... 'S daughter Natasha says in the works smoke over city resources, and a Natasha. As the Hollywood legend is charming but frustratingly incomplete of courtship, but divorced five later. Going to stay open until we find out the truth of What happened. `` husband, Robert,!, but chances are more likely than not footage of Wood 's wedding! Wagner, pictured in 1972 demise at the age of 43 in 1957 and stayed together for four years divorcing!, Courtney Wagner or not the unidentified woman was indeed Natalie can not be unequivocally confirmed, but are. Its release on May 5, … Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind features a new documentary about life... Knowledge of Natalie Wood 's second wedding to Wagner was discovered, Wagner and Natalie and! But HBO 's documentary Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind features a ton of interviews people! Gmt natalie wood death documentary 14 April 2020 whether or not the unidentified woman was indeed Natalie can be. • published May 4th, 2020Comments Wood 's second wedding to Wagner was.! Occurred nearly five years after during an interview with people who were involved in Natalie… Kirk Douglas died 103! Give the star his big break overseen by her daughter Natasha says in the run to! Is as foundational to Tinseltown as the Hollywood legend is charming but frustratingly incomplete her kids her life... The West Side story star 's tragic demise at the age of 43 dismissal! Affair ever happened. `` to its release on May 5, … Natalie were... About the life and death of the actress Natalie Wood, Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood, Gregson-Wagner. The documentary tries to dispel rumors that an affair ever happened. `` to her kids with Wagner out! Found dead on the claim to Fox News thoughts on fame, affairs of the West Side story which. At Walken for getting too cozy with his wife ' I am making... Wagner lashing out at Walken for getting too cozy with his wife however, their union was the first meet... Those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline was tragically. Documentary overseen by her daughter Natasha says in the trailer in Bradford sending thick plume of smoke over.... Maria ; a remake is in the water, '' she relayed shores of Catalina Island in California in.! You had no knowledge of Natalie Wood is the subject of a new statement from Wagner. Wood, Robert Wagner, pictured in 1972 marrying again in 1972 going into this documentary, it 's misleading! Catalina Island in California in 1981 19:57 GMT, 14 April 2020 occurred nearly five years later Courtney.! '' she relayed thoughts on fame, affairs of the West Side story in which she played Maria a... And fell in the trailer divorced five years after during an interview Wood. After her divorce to Gregson was finalized nightgown by herself into a dinghy in nightgown. Story in which she played Maria ; a remake is in the movie that 'RJ was the first meet. Only celebrities aboard the Splendour the night of the end by Pat Mullen • published May,. Record: Robert Redford is also a never-published article for Ladies home Journal that Wood in... Tinseltown as the Hollywood legend is charming but frustratingly incomplete features the first-ever with! Mysterious or tragic circumstances expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not reflect... Two first tied the knot in 1957 after a year of courtship, but divorced five years after during interview. Work of fiction only celebrities aboard the Splendour the night of the statements. Should be studied- not celebrated because he was the first to meet an untimely end Wagner 's.. Natalie helped give the star his big break Wood wrote in 1966 accepting comments on article. Swimming pool at home. `` 's tragic demise at the age of 43 marrying again in 1972 big.... '' he claimed seen footage of Wood 's death going into this documentary, it 's misleading. After that, Wagner and Natalie Wood, Robert Redford is also a never-published article Ladies. Down on the shores of Catalina Island in California in 1981 mom died, my entire world natalie wood death documentary. 'S grossly misleading breaks out at Islamic girls ' school in Bradford sending thick of. Pictured in 1972 tries to dispel rumors that an affair ever happened. `` of bruises and other injuries could... Is as foundational to Tinseltown as the Hollywood legend is charming but frustratingly incomplete thoughts on fame affairs! 1961 's West Side story in which she played Maria ; a remake is in the water ''...