ROBERT WAGNER
AS HE MARKS A MILESTONE BIRTHDAY, THE HOLLYWOOD VETERAN LOOKS BACK OVER GOOD TIMES AND BAD
As he approaches his 90th birthday, the Hart to Hart star reflects on his greatest loves and losses and the life lessons he’s learned.
When wife Natalie Wood tragically drowned in 1981, “I thought my life was over,” Robert Wagner confesses. “I thought I would never get up, you know? Slowly, I got on my feet, but it was very, very difficult and a sad time.”
Nearly 40 years later, the beloved actor is alive and well and is looking forward to celebrating his 90th birthday on Feb. 10. “He’s low-key, so he will probably have a small dinner with family and friends,” an insider tells Closer. Not that he wouldn’t be up for a bigger shindig. “He’s always been physically fit,” says the insider. “He still skis, rides horses, loves to play golf and has a trainer who comes three times a week.”
Robert has come a long way since the dark night of Nov. 29, 1981, when Natalie died in the waters off Catalina Island at 43. On the boat with Christopher Walken, Natalie’s costar in the film Brainstorm, the couple argued before the actress apparently retired for the evening in a separate cabin from Robert. Later, it’s believed that Natalie came on deck to tie up a loose dinghy. “She slipped and rolled into the water,” says Robert. “I have gone over it so many millions of times with people. Nobody heard anything.”
Over the years since, Robert has dodged rumors that he was somehow involved in Natalie’s death, and in 2018, he was named a person of interest in the case. All along, he has maintained his innocence and continued to pledge his everlasting devotion to Natalie. “She was a wonderful woman,” he says. “She was such a big part of my life.”
MOVING FORWARD
Robert and Natalie were married twice: from 1957 to 1962 and again from 1972 until her
“I feel so fortunate that I still get to be an actor after all these
years.”
— Robert
“I had lived a charmed life, and then I lost a beautiful woman I loved with all my
heart.”
— Robert
death. “We were such a romantic couple,” he remembers. “The highlight of our lives was when we got back together, and then this horrible tragedy…good God.”
Between his marriages to Natalie, Robert was wed to another actress, Marion Marshall, the mother of his daughter Katie, 55. During that same period, Natalie married Richard Gregson and gave birth to daughter Natasha, 49. After Robert and Natalie reunited, they had Courtney, 45. Despite their differing parentage, the girls were raised as sisters, even after Natalie’s passing. “They’d always been together,” Robert explains. “So Richard and I sat down and came to the conclusion we felt it was best Natasha stay with her sisters.”
During difficult times, Robert has always drawn strength from his tight bond with his daughters. “We were all shattered by the loss, and we’ve hung on to each other through the years,” he says.
Natasha, who has made a new documentary about her mother that premiered at the recent Sundance Film Festival, remembers how hard it was for Robert to weather Natalie’s death. “When I would look at him from my bedroom window, walking into the house, there was a heaviness and a sadness to him that hadn’t been there before,” she says. “My relationship with my stepdad is way deeper than it would have been if my mom had lived, because he had to be my mom and dad.”
Robert was also able to lean on Stefanie Powers, his co-star on the hit TV series
Hart to Hart at the time of Natalie’s death. In an eerie coincidence, Stefanie’s significant other, legendary actor William Holden, died only a few weeks before Natalie. “It was like two body blows,” Stefanie says.
Though Robert and Stefanie were never romantically involved, their on-screen affection for each other was no act. “She was wonderful in the show and we always had a joyous time,” Robert says of Stefanie.
HIS LIFE NOW
In 1990, Robert married actress Jill St. John, 79, and together the couple have found lasting happiness. “We really do love each other,” Robert says. “We have such a nice romance, and she still makes my head spin every day. She’s made me experience what I call ‘the good life,’ which has really had an impact on me.”
He’s been equally affected by the love he feels for his five grandchildren. “It’s the most wonderful thing that can happen to a man,” he says. “It has made me see love on a whole new level. You get such a sensation from seeing these little people take over.” And he admits he spoils them: “Oh yeah, I’m absolutely a pushover.”
An animal lover, Robert also cherishes the time he spends with pets like his German shepherd, Duke, as well as the horses he keeps at his house with Jill in Aspen, Colo. “It’s the highlight of my day interacting with animals,” he says.
Despite the tough times he’s endured, Robert feels grateful to have made it to 90. “I am very content,” he says. “I have had a wonderful run, and I’ve had a lot of fun doing it.”