When actress Natalie Wood, star of West Side Story, Brainstorm, and many other films, died in a boating accident on November 29, 1981, her death made headlines. She was 43 years old and could not swim. Keep reading the article below to learn more about Natalie Wood Death.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reopened the case in 2011 and recently revealed new information.
Natalie Wood was a talented and popular actress who had both career ups and downs. However, most of us remember her best work and think of her as one of the sexiest stars who ever graced the silver screen. Unfortunately, real life is tougher than the movies and Natalie Wood’s real life ended in a tragedy that was a shock to the world.
She was 43 when she died of a possible drowning off the coast of California’s Catalina Island. While the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department originally classified her death as an accident, the case was reopened in 2011 after the manager of a mainland restaurant where Wood, her husband, and her co-star and yacht captain were dining the night before told police that he had heard them arguing. In addition, the coroner reclassified her death as suspicious and Wagner was officially named as a person of interest in the investigation.
While the mystery surrounding her death remains unsolved, many people are convinced that something was wrong. For example, some of Natalie’s family members believe that she was raped on the yacht by her husband. While others think that her body was dragged into the water by a Zodiac dinghy after a fight with her husband or thrown overboard by an intoxicated crew member.
Other experts have found that the unexplained bruises on her body may be connected to her death. For instance, a doctor who examined her body in 2010 pointed out that there were numerous bruising patterns on her legs and arms, including a large, defensive-looking scratch on her right forearm. He also noted that her stomach was twisted and that her throat was cut with a sharp object.
Natalie had a lot of psychological trauma in her life, which could explain why she became so involved with psychoanalysis. For years, she attended sessions seven days a week and would often stipulate that time off from her films be taken for therapy sessions. Her mother was a controlling presence and her relationship with Wagner was rocky. He allegedly abused her financially, treated her like dirt in public and, at one point, even threatened to kill her. He referred to her as his “Persephone,” which is a reference to the Greek myth of the woman who was held captive by her husband for so long that she eventually killed herself in an act of self-defiance.
Drowning
Actress Natalie Wood died in 1981 at age 43. She was best known for her roles in West Side Story, Rebel Without a Cause and Splendor in the Grass, but she had a rich personal life as well, dating actors Warren Beatty, Richard Gregson and Robert Wagner. She also had a daughter, Natasha.
The night of her death, Wood was on a yacht off the coast of Catalina Island. She had brought along her husband, Wagner, and her co-star from her last movie, Brainstorm, Christopher Walken. Wagner and Wood had been drinking ashore before the trio got back on the boat. Then, things began to get ugly.
Wood was found floating in the water the next day. She was wearing a long nightgown, socks and a down jacket. The autopsy found she had a blood alcohol level of 0.14 and painkillers in her system, and that she had suffered a fall while trying to board the dinghy. The Los Angeles County coroner ruled her death accidental.
Over the years, suspicions of foul play have swirled around the case, but no charges were ever filed. In 2011, however, the sheriff’s department reopened the investigation. The move came after a book written by Davern and Marti Rulli, called Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour, was published. The book, which included allegations from people who knew Wood and Wagner, didn’t jibe with the official story of how the actress drowned.
TMZ reported that Walken broke his silence about Wood’s death in 2011. His response, which he delivered on camera, was to say that it was possible that the actress hit her head before falling into the water.
In 2013, the LA County coroner changed Wood’s official cause of death from accidental drowning to “drowning and other undetermined factors.” This was despite the fact that investigators never figured out how she got into the water or found any signs of a struggle or assault. The change in the cause of death only deepened the mystery for many who still believe foul play took place. For this reason, many have continued to demand that the LA Sheriff’s Department reopen the investigation.
Bruises
The bruises found on Natalie Wood’s body may have occurred before the actress drowned in the ocean in November 1981. But the cause of her death remains a mystery, 30 years later.
A ten-page addendum to her autopsy report says that bruises on her arms, a scratch on her neck and superficial abrasions to the face may have occurred before she went into the water and died. However, the coroner’s office could not definitely determine when exactly those injuries took place, because they weren’t on her body when she was pulled from the ocean.
Coroner Sathyavagiswaran based his conclusions on a reexamination of 10 histology slides that contained the bruises and other evidence from Wood’s case. He also reviewed new information from investigators. The new findings do not suggest any new suspects or indicate that Wood’s husband, Robert Wagner, or the boat captain who helped pull her body from the water, Dennis Davern, are responsible for her death.
But the bruises have renewed interest in one of Hollywood’s greatest unsolved mysteries. For years, investigators ruled that the three-time Oscar nominee had accidentally drowned while attempting to tie up a dinghy that was attached to her yacht off Catalina Island. Wagner had told authorities that he believed she slipped and hit her head.
Bruises on her arm, wrist and neck were attributed to that fall. Last year, the Los Angeles County sheriff’s department re-opened the investigation and changed Wood’s official cause of death from accidental drowning to “drowning and other undetermined factors.” A report released Monday details the reasons for that change.
The sheriff’s spokesman said the new results do not change the status of the case. A security hold was placed on the new report until it could be published without contaminating the ongoing investigation, but he emphasized that neither Wagner nor Walken are considered suspects. The actress, who starred in movies such as West Side Story and Rebel Without a Cause, was 43 when she died. She was a doe-eyed child star on screen and a seasoned professional off it. Her sudden death shocked the world.
Alcohol
Actress Natalie Wood died from alcohol in the early morning hours of November 29, 1981, off the coast of Catalina Island. She was 43 years old. She was on a yacht with her husband Robert Wagner and Brainstorm co-star Christopher Walken, and the boat’s captain, Dennis Davern.
Wood was known as a heavy drinker, especially after filming wrapped on her movies. She had a history of alcohol and drug abuse, which often led to inappropriate relationships with older men. Despite her success, she seemed to struggle with feelings of loneliness. She was a natural talent on screen, though, and could light up the screen with her acting.
After her stint in West Side Story, she continued to work in a variety of films. She made a small comeback in the 1968 movie Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice, which was a successful comedy. It was around this time that she started to find stability in her life and began a long, happy relationship with producer Richard Gregson.
While the marriage was healthy, it is not uncommon for Hollywood stars to have extramarital affairs. This was no different for Natalie Wood, who was plagued with rumors of having an affair with director Nicholas Ray. The rumors began circulating in 1955, when Wood was only 16. She told friends about the encounter, but never took it to police.
As the #Metoo movement rages on, the case of Natalie Wood’s death continues to be reexamined. New forensic evidence has emerged, and investigators have changed her cause of death from accidental drowning to “drowning and other undetermined factors.” The change was made after experts determined that the fresh bruises on her arms, legs, and neck were likely inflicted before she died.
While it is not possible to know for sure what happened to Natalie Wood that night, we do know that alcohol was involved. She was found with a blood alcohol level of 0.14 percent and was intoxicated at the time of her death. In addition, she had a fear of water, which may have contributed to her death.