MY DAD DIDN’T KILL MY MOVIE STAR MUM!
Natalie Wood’s daughter is determined to clear her stepdad’s name all these years later
If you believe his stepdaughter Natasha Gregson Wagner, Hart To Hart star Robert Wagner had nothing to do with the death of her mum 39 years ago, despite persistent claims he killed Natalie in a jealous, alcohol-fuelled rage.
Natalie died during a boozy and explosive Thanksgiving weekend on the couple’s yacht in 1981 from “drowning”, but there are many other theories about her mysterious death.
HOW DID NATALIE DIE?
It’s said she took a solitary late night ride in a dinghy, dressed only in her nightgown – a highly unlikely scenario for the actress, who had a fear of the dark and was unable to swim.
Others believe she died at the hands of her husband Robert, who pushed her from their yacht Splendour while it was anchored off the coast of California’s Catalina Island.
Or perhaps she fell in the water and was left to drown by Robert, who delayed searching for her and then went to lengths to cover up the crime. Her body wasn’t found until the following day.
It’s an enduring Hollywood mystery that has ripped Natalie’s family to pieces for decades, prompting her daughter Natasha, 49, to release a memoir, More Than Love: An Intimate Portrait
Of My Mother, Natalie Wood, and an HBO documentary, in order to address the rumours.
“I’ve spent the rest of my life dealing with it,” says Natasha, who refuses to believe that her famous stepfather could have had anything to do with the screen siren’s death.
Robert was named “a person of interest” when the case was reopened in 2011, with the LA Coroner’s Office amending the cause of death to “drowning and other undetermined factors”, to take in the many unanswered questions.
Natasha’s faith in Robert, now 90, is so strong she’s even attempting to clear his name with a new documentary, Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind, which she co-produced in a public show of support for her stepfather.
“It’s so preposterous I can’t even relate to it,” insists Natasha, who says becoming a mother herself in 2012 inspired her to break her silence about the controversy around her mum’s death. “I know that she drowned and I know it was an accident. He and my mum had been my model for relationships, for love, intimacy and connection. My mum and dad were always laughing at each other’s jokes.”
Yet Natalie’s younger sister, Lana, 74, who played Plenty O’toole in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever, has long had her doubts about Robert’s innocence, and recently told The National Enquirer she’s still convinced he’s responsible for Natalie’s death.
GIFTED ACTRESS
Natasha hopes her memoir and documentary will help protect her mum’s legacy as a brilliant actress, who was a three-time Oscar nominee, including for
Miracle On 34th Street when she was just eight. She also starred in iconic nic films
Rebel Without t
A Cause, West t
Side Story,
Gypsy and
Splendor In
The Grass.
‘I know that she drowned and I know it was an accident’