Monday, November 21, 2011

Natalie Wood Returns

Three decades after her death, the ghost of a drowned actress rises again.
Actress Natalie Wood (wife of film star Robert Wagner) died myseriously in the Pacific 30 years ago. Police have started a new investigation into the events of 28 Nov.1981, when the actress fell from a yacht she was aboard with Wagner and fellow actor Christopher Walken.
Her sister Lana Wood always doubted the official version - that Natalie drowned after falling from the yacht unnoticed when she tried to clamber into a dinghy. She adds she does not believe Wagner was involved in any foul play, but thinks he has not revealed all he knows about that night. She says the coroner's conclusion made no sense...as her sister was terrified of the water.
It Takes A Thief (1969)
The case has re-opened after Dennis Davern, the yacht captain, said he'd taken part in a cover-up at Wagner's request. But police point out the 81-year-old former star of the long-running Hart to Hart tv series is not a suspect. Marti Rulli, strong supporter of Davern, has submitted a dossier of evidence, including sworn statements from Davern, a Coastguard official and a woman on a nearby boat casting serious doubt on the official explanation. Davern claims Wood disappeared after a furious row with Wagner, fuelled by booze and motivated by tension over her relationship with Walken, her co-star in a new film. Rulli: "This is not new evidence that's mysteriously come to light...it's old information never previously investigated. It's been a long slow process but I'm confident they'll finally get to the bottom of it."
Wagner gave his version of events in his 2008 memoirs, saying he'd argued with Walken about how much of one's personal life an actor should sacrifice for his career – not, as Davern claims, whether his wife was having an affair with Walken.
The thrice-Oscar-nominated West Side Story star was found floating in her nightgown, aged 43. The coroner's verdict did little to quell speculation about one of Hollywood's enduring mysteries...
...but think about it: would any sane man wanna kill such a babe?

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