Actress Natalie Wood was just 43 when she drowned on November 28, 1981, during a weekend sailing trip aboard her yacht Splendour off the coast of Catalina Island. Decades of speculation about what happened that night have overshadowed her legacy.
In 2011, the Los Angeles sheriff’s department reopened the case. Dennis Davern, the boat’s captain, said he believed that Wagner was responsible for her death. Keep reading the article below to learn more about Who Killed Natalie Wood.
Natalie Wood was a beloved actress who started her career at the age of five and went on to star in numerous hit films, including Miracle on 34th Street, Rebel Without A Cause, and West Side Story. Her larger-than-life presence on screen was matched by her glamorous offscreen life. But her mysterious death in 1981 has remained one of Hollywood’s great mysteries.
In this two-part, 2004 made-for-TV movie, we follow Wood from her beginnings as a child star to the height of her success as a young woman. When she died at the age of 43, her sudden, unexplained disappearance sparked worldwide outrage and rumors of foul play.
The film begins with Natalie’s childhood as Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko, the daughter of Russian immigrants. Her father, Nikolai, was a laborer given to violent alcoholic rages, while her mother Maria was a fantasist and taskmaster who pushed Natasha hard to become a celebrity.
Despite her immense talent, Wood struggled with mental illness and was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 1963. In an attempt to extricate herself from her toxic upbringing, she began psychoanalysis, attending sessions seven days a week for more than eight years. She also created a logical family of parental figures to replace her real ones, which included nannies, PAs, and older ex-partners who lived in her Beverly Hills home.
When she died, many believed it was a suicide triggered by her schizophrenic condition. But her sister Lana believes something more sinister was afoot, and she has written a book in an effort to uncover the truth.
In Who Killed Natalie Wood, the author draws on police records, witness statements, never-before-released confidential documents, and dozens of interviews with forensic experts to offer a far-reaching investigation into the case. The author also examines the expanding story of Splendour’s captain, Dennis Davern, who admitted to lying to investigators and made striking contradictions in a podcast in February 2018, raising serious suspicions about his credibility.
Using the latest in forensic technology, this riveting book uncovers new facts and raises fresh questions about what really happened to Natalie Wood. From the start of her career as a child star to her final moments in the Pacific Ocean, this is the ultimate look at the mystery that has haunted Tinsel Town for decades.
Robert Wagner
As the star of such movies as Gypsy, West Side Story and Splendor in the Grass, Natalie Wood’s career seemed on the rise. But she was plagued with personal issues that left her feeling suffocated and unfulfilled. Her marriage to actor Robert Wagner was tumultuous and she had recently begun a relationship with Dennis Davern, her captain on the yacht Splendour.
The night of her death, Wood was sailing the yacht with Wagner and Walken, who was starring with her in the sci-fi movie Brainstorm. The three of them had planned to have a party on the boat with other guests, but many had cancelled in order to avoid their infamous arguments. After a heated argument, Wagner claimed that Wood had retired to her cabin and that she had possibly fallen off the yacht and into the water while trying to board the dinghy.
In the months after her death, Wagner and Walken have given conflicting statements about what happened on the evening of Nov. 28, 1981. The book’s author, Marti Rulli, dissects their words and finds evidence that supports her theory of foul play. She cites examples of inconsistencies in witness testimony and reveals a trail of inconsistencies in Wagner’s behavior that shows his awareness of guilt.
Rulli also reveals inconsistencies in Wagner’s own statement about what happened to Wood. She cites a quote from his 2009 autobiography, Pieces of My Heart, in which he says he blamed himself for his wife’s death. He claimed that he and Wood had been drinking on the boat and, after an argument, she went to her cabin where she fell off the yacht and into the water.
According to Rulli, a male witness told investigators that he saw the two women argue and he heard screams from her cabin. He says he didn’t want to be involved in the investigation, but he was afraid of Wagner’s wrath. She writes that after her death, Wagner treated his sister-in-law with hostility. He wouldn’t invite her to dinner and would rag on her in the press. He also asked her to sign a statement relinquishing any further claims against his estate.
Christopher Walken
Natalie Wood, known for her roles in Miracle on 34th Street, Rebel Without a Cause and West Side Story, was set to star alongside Christopher Walken in MGM’s sci-fi film Brainstorm. On Thanksgiving Day in 1981, she was spending the night aboard her yacht Splendour off the coast of Catalina Island with her husband, actor Robert Wagner and Brainstorm co-star Walken.
The quartet had dined earlier in the evening at Doug’s Harbor Reef restaurant and staff remember them drinking heavily and acting erratic. Waitresses also said that there was a clear flirtatious chemistry between Walken and Wood, and the two were even seen holding hands in one instance. After dinner, the four returned to Splendour. Wagner claimed that he and Walken engaged in a political argument until Wood got bored and went below deck to sleep. When he couldn’t sleep, he checked on her and found that she was gone.
When police investigated, they decided that she had slipped off the boat into the water and died from hypothermia. They ruled her death an accident, and it remained that way until 2011 when the Los Angeles County coroner re-examined the case. The change in her cause of death was based on the fact that propoxyphene, a common over-the-counter pain reliever with potentially dangerous side effects, was found in her system and could have played a role in her drowning.
Over the years, Dennis Davern, a longtime friend of Wood’s family and her yacht captain, has become increasingly vocal about his suspicions in the case. In an interview with CBS 48 Hours, he claims that Walken and Wagner were having a “small beef” and that he was irritated by the pair’s constant arguing. He also alleged that when the two men were at a bar later that evening, Wagner became very angry and began yelling at Walken.
He went on to say that he then heard the noise from the dinghy, and when he returned to his room to investigate, Wood was nowhere to be found. When he returned to the deck, he says that Walken was there but was knocked out by the dinghy’s knocking and then disappeared from sight.
Dennis Davern
Davern, a captain and boat owner, was with Wagner and Walken on the night Wood disappeared. He told 48 Hours he heard the two argue, with Wagner saying to her, “Do you want me to f*** your husband?” Then he says he saw Wagner smash a bottle of wine on the table and he moved into his own stateroom. The next morning he said he asked Wagner to call for help, but he refused, telling him the ship was going to get away.
When the body of the 43-year-old actress was found floating in the water, she was wearing a flannel nightgown and socks with a jacket over her, and there were bruises on her face and neck. She was also found with a dinghy nearby, but authorities determined her death was an accident and she had likely slipped off the boat or thrown herself into the water.
Police reopened the investigation into Wood’s death in 2011, and they looked into whether Wagner was involved. However, the case was closed again in 2012 and Wagner denied he was a suspect, even though he later admitted his account of what happened on the night of Wood’s disappearance wasn’t true.
The case is now back in the spotlight because of a book that Davern co-authored with Marti Rulli called Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendor. The authors allege that Wagner pushed Wood off the boat to her death, and they’ve been peddling their story for years. First Coast News tried to talk with Davern, who lives part of the year in St. Augustine, Florida, but he was unavailable for comment.
In the book, Davern and Rulli say they uncovered inconsistencies in witness testimony and holes in the original investigation. They also claim that Wagner held Davern hostage and made him sell information to tabloids to keep him from talking about what really happened. However, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. John Corina tells CBS News that he doesn’t believe Wagner has told the full truth and that he remains a suspect. Davern, who appears on a new podcast with Rulli called Fatal Voyage and is also hosting a show on HLN, has been grilled by the media over the past few days.