Actress Natalie Wood died after a night of drinking and arguing on her husband’s yacht off the coast of Catalina Island. She was found floating in a cove near her dinghy, which was about a mile away from the couple’s boat.
While an accidental drowning seemed plausible at the time, nagging questions eventually arose. Over the years, Wagner, Walken and the yacht’s skipper have given conflicting accounts. Keep going to uncover more details about Natalie Wood Death.
On November 29, 1981, Natalie Wood—the actress who starred in Miracle on 34th Street and Rebel Without a Cause and won Oscar nominations for West Side Story and Splendor in the Grass—drowned off Catalina Island in the Pacific Ocean. She was 43 years old. Wood’s petite body was discovered floating in the water, clad in a flannel nightgown and a down jacket.
She had spent Thanksgiving weekend aboard her husband, matinee idol Robert Wagner, and her Brainstorm co-star, Christopher Walken, on their yacht, The Splendour. Hours before her death, the three had dined at Doug’s Harbor Reef in Two Harbors and then returned to the boat, where they drank and got into an argument over Wood’s future.
According to the original medical examiner’s determination, she was drowned by a fall from her dinghy, Prince Valiant, into the sea. But despite her Hollywood stardom and the lavish funeral, rumors of foul play swirled.
Among the most persistent theories, as noted by writer Marti Rulli in her 2009 book, Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour, was that Wood had been pushed in the water. Davern, the then-captain of the yacht, later wrote his own memoir, in which he accused Wagner of pushing her in the water. He told The Record in 2011 that he withheld that information at the time because of the way Wagner intimidated him.
He also disputed the timeline given by Wagner and others regarding when she fell into the water. According to his version, they anchored the yacht near the Blue Cavern Point cove, and he started looking for her around midnight. His search lasted about four hours, during which he heard no radio calls to the Coast Guard asking for help.
In the end, it was never clear what happened to Wood during her final moments. But the mystery has remained a part of our cultural landscape, thanks in large part to tabloids that turned her death into a sensational case. In the years since, it’s been a constant in Wood’s films, which chronicle women’s uneasy steps into sexual independence and their desperate quest for men who will celebrate their bodies, not suppress them.
Was She Drowning?
Wood’s death remains one of Hollywood’s most compelling mysteries. In life, the alluring actress rose from the ranks of a child actor to star in classics like Miracle on 34th Street and Splendor in the Grass. She was a beloved icon who was adored by her fans, despite the fact that she had a turbulent personal life. Her first marriage to actor Robert Wagner lasted only a few years and ended in divorce, and she was later involved with off-screen lover Warren Beatty. The actress was also haunted by a series of health problems and drug overdoses.
During her final boating trip in November 1981, Wood reportedly met up with Wagner and fellow actor Christopher Walken on the yacht Splendour. The trio had invited friends to join them on a sailing trip around Catalina Island off Southern California. According to an investigator’s report, Wood was seen entering the dinghy shortly before midnight. The next morning, her body was found floating a mile away from the boat. The medical examiner concluded that she had drowned.
The case was closed shortly afterward and the public was left to speculate on what really happened. Some believed that Wagner killed her, while others guessed that she had simply fallen overboard and then drowned. But her husband, who has never spoken publicly about the incident, insists that there was no foul play.
Over the decades, rumors about what really happened to Wood have swirled. In 2011, the captain of the Splendour, Dennis Davern, admitted that he had lied to investigators in the initial police report about what happened the night of her death. He now says that he believes that Wagner is to blame for her death.
But while there’s no evidence to suggest that any of the three men on board had anything to do with her death, they all have some serious questions to answer. Whether it was an accident, a homicide or something else entirely, the lingering mystery surrounding Natalie Wood’s tragic end will likely always remain with her loved ones. And, for those who knew her well, it’s especially painful to think about.
What Happened Between Her and Her Husband?
The marriage between Natalie Wood and her second husband, Robert Wagner, lasted just four years. But that short time was enough to leave a lasting impression on the world and to transform her into one of Hollywood’s most beloved icons. The couple was a classic Hollywood power couple—Wagner, a square-jawed contract player with 20th Century Fox, and Wood, a sweet, doe-eyed child star who had just made the transition to adult actress.
Their relationship deteriorated, though it isn’t clear exactly what caused the crack. But it’s certainly not unfathomable that the pressures of celebrity, acting, fatherhood and other personal problems contributed to their eventual split.
After they divorced, both Wagner and Wood had other relationships with other men. Wagner would remarry twice, once to actress Marion Marshall, and again to film producer Richard Gregson. The two shared a daughter, Courtney, before splitting in 1969.
Throughout her life, Wood struggled with some mental health issues. After the grueling shoot of The Great Rae, she attempted suicide by taking sleeping pills. Her daughter Natasha, however, says she doesn’t think her mother meant to die that night. “I don’t believe that was her intent to kill herself; it was more of a cry for help,” she tells the documentary.
But the most enduring and controversial event surrounding Wood was her mysterious death on Thanksgiving 1981. The official cause of her death was listed as drowning, but the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reopened the case in 2011 and deemed it suspicious. Among other things, investigators pointed to a slew of bruises found on her body.
The new details Finstad has uncovered since her book’s first edition have only strengthened her belief that Wood didn’t simply drown. In this updated edition of Natalie Wood: The Complete Biography, Finstad reveals the most explosive revelations—details that, she believes, prove beyond a doubt that Wagner was responsible for her death.
What Happened Between Her and Christopher Walken?
Despite their onscreen chemistry, Wood and Walken had trouble getting along in real life. They were both heavy drinkers and their relationship was volatile. That, coupled with their mutual distrust and a long list of petty arguments, could have set the stage for what ultimately happened on that fateful night off the coast of Catalina Island.
The documentary claims that when the crew of Brainstorm was on a break for Thanksgiving, Wood invited Walken to join her and Wagner on a weekend boat trip to Catalina. They had spent the previous week shooting on location in North Carolina and were looking for a relaxing weekend away from the cameras. The two couples met up for drinks at the Doug’s Harbor Reef Restaurant before they boarded the 60-foot yacht Splendour.
According to Davern, the atmosphere on the yacht quickly turned tense and it was only a matter of time before something exploded. He says the argument was about whether or not Wood should continue her acting career, and he remembers that Wagner smashed a wine bottle. He also reveals that he went below deck to check on Natalie, but when he couldn’t find her, he reluctantly radioed for help.
In his memoir, Pieces of My Heart, Wagner wrote that he got into an argument with Walken over her future in the business and he broke a bottle on the deck. He then went below to bed, and when he came back to the deck later, the dinghy was untied. He claims he tied it up and then heard the dinghy hit against the side of the boat again, at which point he realized his wife had fallen in the water.
For years, Wagner maintained that he had no involvement in his wife’s death and that it was an accident. In 2011, however, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reopened the case and found her death to be suspicious.
In an interview on 48 Hours, Walken revealed that he and Wood had recently had a fight about her decision to continue her acting career and that he believed she was trying to distance herself from him and their family. He claims that he told her he loved her and she promised to return home soon, but the next morning she was gone.