NATALIE WOOD’S TRAGIC DEATH

The simple truth is that Natalie Wood, when she was 43, died of an accidental drowning while boating off of Santa Catalina Island, Calif. on the Thanksgiving weekend of 1981. At the time of her death there was much confusion and speculation about what actually happened. An investigation ruled it to be an accidental drowning given that she had been drinking and she didn’t know how to swim. However, there are those that believe that there was a cover-up done for various reasons. I believe that Natalie and her family would like to see this put to rest.

In November, 2011, thirty years after her death, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department reopened the case based on comments made by the yacht’s captain, Dennis Davern. The captain had co-authored a book in 2009, “Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour,” and made accusations as he was promoting his book. This produced a new media storm that prompted the Sheriff’s Dept. to investigate the remarks made in the hope of resolving unanswered questions. Davern claimed to have new information on the case that pointed a finger at Robert Wagner, Natalie’s husband and that he withheld the real story of events at Wagner’s behest. In response to Davern’s provocation, Wagner said that he was supportive of the new investigation into his wife’s death.

The investigation at the time of her death concluded that she died of an accidental drowning and hypothermia. It was speculated that she fell overboard after hitting her head while tying up a loose dinghy. It was thought that she could have been unconscious when she fell into the cold water. At some point she unsuccessfully tried to pull herself into the dinghy. This was based on the fact that there were scratch marks on the inside of the rubber boat. The dinghy was found off of the yacht with the motor not started and the oars in place. While this is a good theory, it is inconclusive.

Along with a scrape on her forehead and left cheek, the coroner found other bruises on her body and arms that were explained away as part of her struggle to get into the dinghy. It was not determined precisely how long she was in the water when she drowned or when she had died. She had a blood alcohol level of 0.14% with the acknowledgement that there was much drinking involved on the yacht. It was said at the time by L.A. County Coroner Thomas T. Noguchi that, “It was not a homicide. It was not a suicide. It was an accident.” However, what really happened on the yacht was left in doubt, leaving a sense that she died under mysterious circumstances.

On Wood and Wagner’s yacht for the trip was fellow actor Christopher Walken, along with their captain. On the night of her death the three actors and the captain had dinner and drinks at a restaurant on the island. They returned to the yacht in the dinghy and proceeded to continue the drinking. An argument broke out between Wagner and Walken over the movie that Wood and Walken were making, “Brainstorm.” They calmed down and Walken retired to his cabin. When Wagner went to go to bed his wife was gone.

He assumed that she had taken the dinghy by herself without explanation. After some time elapsed and she didn’t return he went looking for her. Not finding her he contacted the Harbor Patrol. Her body was found floating face down in the water around 8:00 a.m. Sunday about a mile away from the anchored yacht. The dinghy was found beached on the shore nearby, apparently not operated. There were other boats anchored in the water at the time with one woman claiming to have heard cries for help.

This, in essence, was the story reported by those involved at the time. While it seemed unlikely that it was that simple, there was not enough evidence to assume that it was anything more than just a tragic accident. It is therefore not surprising that this simple explanation would defy logic and fuel the idea of a cover-up. There just had to be more to this, didn’t there?

The reopening of the case was based on the media attention of the 30 year anniversary of her death and the timing of Davern’s book promotion. Prior to this Wagner had written a memoir, “Pieces of My Heart” in which he admitted to having a fight with his wife before she disappeared. He also reiterated that she must have had slipped out of the dinghy and rolled into the water. This makes sense but again seems too simple of an explanation.

It appears that this simplicity is what fueled Davern’s accusations that Wagner was at fault and was covering up the truth of what really took place. He claimed that Wagner had basically told him to lie to investigators by giving a scripted version of events. He was tormented by this and wrote the book to set the record straight. He said that the argument between Wagner and Walken was heated with Wagner complaining that the movie had taken his wife away from him. Walken defended this by saying that that was an actor’s life. Wagner angrily accused him of wanting to sleep with his wife and broke a wine bottle on a table. He said that he heard Wagner and Wood screaming at each other on the yacht.

Under hypnosis, Davern said that he saw a scared Natalie in her nightgown starboard. He deduced that she didn’t want to be on the yacht because of how crazy Wagner was. After she disappeared, Wagner told him that he suspected that she had gone to shore in the dinghy. Wagner also stopped him from searching for her. He gave other details but clearly Davern believes that Wagner is at fault and is lying to cover-up the truth. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that Davern knows what the truth is, he is hoping the investigation will uncover the truth.

I believe that she was pressured by the arguing on the yacht and could not emotionally take it. She just had to get off that boat and go somewhere, anywhere. She was emotionally overwhelmed by the events and made a bad decision to leave, choosing flight over fight. She did not intend to do harm to herself or anyone she just needed to leave. Still, there is more to this story.

Lana Wood, Natalie’s sister, believes in Davern’s suspicions about Wagner’s having more to do with her death than he has admitted. She has stopped short of saying that foul play was involved but also doesn’t believe in his simplistic version of events. She has pushed for Wagner to come forward and tell the truth of what really happened that tragic night. However, Wagner has rebuffed the investigators and the media by saying that he doesn’t have any new information to add. Even if this is true, he has given conflicting versions of what happened sense then and most notably during the original investigation. Regardless, Wagner has not been declared a suspect in the new investigation nor was he a suspect in the original one.

Davern claims that the tension between Wagner and Walken was there from the beginning of the trip on Friday, the day before her death. He says that Wagner confided in him, in an irritated way, that he didn’t know why Walken had come on the trip. Natalie felt the tension and had planned to leave on that fateful Saturday. Clearly, Wagner was acting as a jealous husband, both about her time away from him in making the movie and of Walken’s behavior towards his wife in speaking on her behalf. Wagner, not surprisingly, had downplayed this aspect of the events.

Is it possible that Wagner committed a crime by lashing out in a fit of jealous rage? It is possible but unlikely. I believe that he was jealous to a point but not to the point of causing her death. This unknown is probably the reason that a conspiracy to cover the truth is still believed. Even though Wagner was a famous actor at the time, he was also just a man who would normally be jealous in the situation that existed at that time.

Part of the situation was that of Natalie Wood herself. She radiated strong emotions and sexuality that came across on the screen making her adored by many, including her leading men who would be in close contact with her. This is just the danger that can exist of having these traits that she possessed and of the success that comes with it. This does not imply that she had had affairs with all of her leading men but Wagner was aware of the possibility. That he was suspicious is also not surprising given that they were Hollywood actors with all that goes with it.

Davern also claimed that there was drugs involved. He said that to calm the tension on that first day he gave the trio Quaaludes, a sedative. Also, he smoked weed with Walken on Saturday before they returned to the yacht. The autopsy report showed traces of two types of medication in her bloodstream: a motion sickness pill and a painkiller, which increases the effect of the alcohol that was also found. This all points to impaired judgment by all onboard the boat. It also calls into question the validity of the testimony by the captain, the one that is making the accusations of possible foul play. Drug and alcohol use could also explain the conflicting testimonies given at the time. However, it does not excuse lying by omission, basically holding back relevant information.

Sheriff’s investigators go public nearly two months later to say that they have found no evidence to suggest that the cause of death was anything but accidental. However, the L.A. County Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran found fault with the original findings by the coroner at the time because of unexplained injuries. Subsequently, the cause of death was changed from accidental drowning to “drowning and other undetermined factors.” Also cited in the amended document was that there were conflicting statements about when she disappeared and whether there was an argument between Wood and Wagner. The autopsy report notes that how she ended up in the water is “not clearly established.”

The injuries in question were fresh bruising on her right forearm, left wrist and right knee, along with a scratch on her neck and a superficial scrape on her forehead. The injuries suggest that she was assaulted before she entered the water. The Examiner wrote that the nature of the bruising and lack of head trauma supports the contention that the bruising occurred prior to entry in the water. The lack of head trauma effectively denounces the theory of her hitting her head on the yacht and falling into the water while trying to ty up the dinghy.

The report said that she went missing about midnight and that she died about that time based on the contents of her stomach. It noted that Wagner placed a radio call to report her missing at 1:30a.m. However, the lifeguard captain at the time, Roger Smith, believes that she survived for some time in the water, long enough to cry for help. He said that he wasn’t alerted to search until 5:11a.m., adding that a lifeguard boat was moored nearby, raising questions of why it took so long for the call to search.

Smith helped to pull her body out of the frigid water and still believes that she could have been saved had the search started earlier. He said that he and a detective examined the body but found no bruising, suggesting that the cold water could have delayed their visibility.

Smith said that in examining the dinghy, he found dislodged seats and what appeared to be scratch marks along the inside. He believes that she was just grabbing at things trying to get in but was too weak to do so. He claims that Wagner told him that morning that he had searched for several hours and had contacted the harbor patrol. This was said to answer the lifeguard’s questions about the delay in a rescue effort. Davern maintains that Wagner purposefully delayed the search, suggesting an ulterior motive. Davern also says that Wagner lied about Natalie often taking the dinghy by herself because she was afraid to. Wagner has said that he believes she took the dinghy by herself to go to the island’s restaurant and that he thought her to be there.

There were many events that led up to the time of her death. It was an ill-fated pleasure trip from L.A. to Catalina Island, a Hollywood playground. It was the Thanksgiving Day weekend with Natalie and her co-star Chris Walken taking a break from the sci-fi film, “Brainstorm.” RJ (as Robert James Wagner was known to friends and family) was clearly unhappy with Walken being on his boat with his wife and him. He may have suspected that there was more to the co-stars relationship than just being fellow actors. He had good reason to be concerned as Natalie had had an affair with a previous co-star, Warren Beatty that broke –up their first marriage. This was their second marriage and RJ was not wanting a repeat performance.

The night of her death, all four on board had left the yacht Splendour (named after one of her movies) at different times to have dinner on the island. They had a rubber dinghy called the Prince Valiant (named after one of RJ’s movies) that they used to shuttle between the yacht and the island. According to reports, they were drunk and rude at the restaurant, Doug’s Harbor Reef. After their return to the boat, the drinking continued and an argument ensued between RJ and Chris. RJ accused Chris of wanting to bed his wife and he broke a bottle on the table to make a point. Natalie made a hasty retreat to her cabin and Chris retired to his cabin to go to sleep. The captain was aware of the argument but stayed out of the fray.

Natalie reportedly had a routine of taking a sedative before sleeping and along with the alcohol she had consumed she would have had to have impaired judgement. Davern insists that R.J. and Natalie got into a physical argument after the explosive fight between RJ and Chris. He alleges that he heard things hitting the walls until they moved the fight outside. One can only speculate what was said as Davern turned up the radio to hide the noise of the fight from nearby boats. If true, then the tension would have been unbearable for Natalie and she would have wanted to be off of the boat.

Natalie had to have been feeling pressured by the argument between RJ and Chris and could not emotionally handle it. She just had to get off that boat and go somewhere, anywhere. Being emotionally overwhelmed by the events she made a bad decision to leave, choosing flight over fight. She did not intend to do any harm, she just needed to get away.

She was in her nightgown with wool socks and wearing a down jacket when she got into the rubber dinghy. It is likely that RJ helped her to get into this shuttle boat to be done with the fight. She probably planned to go to the island to get away from her husband and his drunken rage. RJ had to have been desolate over this, feeling that he had lost her again. Davern asked RJ where Natalie was and he replied that she was gone, not explaining what he meant by this. He told Davern that she may have returned to the shore aboard the dinghy.

What was not known to any aboard the boat was what happened that caused her death. Some have speculated that Wagner somehow caused her death either by accident or by pushing her in the water. This cannot be proven or disputed and doesn’t seem probable. What is known is that she had been drinking, was sedated, tired from the fighting and could have just passed out at some point. It had rained and the rubber dinghy would have been slippery. Hitting the water would have jolted her and she would have tried desperately to try and re-enter the dinghy. The wet clothes along with her small frame would have weighted her down. The water was said to have been frigid and choppy with rain keeping the rubber boat slippery.

A woman, Marilyn Wayne, claims that she heard a scream for help and cries that I’m drowning. Wayne’s boyfriend, John Payne, turned on the sailboat’s beam light but were unable to see anything. She said her son checked his watch to see that it was just minutes after 11:00 p.m. They called the harbor patrol and the sheriff but got no response. After about fifteen minutes the cries subsided. She said that a man called out to help but sounded drunk and angry. There was a loud party going on in a boat nearby and she could not discern were the call to help came from.

Davern looked for Natalie but only found a messy stateroom. He wanted to radio for help and use the searchlight but claims RJ said no that he wanted to wait for her to return. He probably believed that she would return when she calmed down and no one on the outside would know of the fight. Davern said he told him he was concerned for his image. Wagner said that he went to look for her when she didn’t return and when he couldn’t find her around 1:30 a.m. he put in a distress call to the Coast Guard. The delay could also have been due to the thought that she had made it to the coast and the restaurant. However, with no word from the restaurant, concern set in with the realization that something was terribly wrong.

Wagner was clearly in charge on his yacht the de -facto captain of what was once his fishing boat. Davern held the title of captain but was in effect the first mate to Wagner’s skipper. This had to be a source of animosity for Davern as he felt that Wagner didn’t run a tight ship and he did what he wanted without following protocol. That Davern wasn’t truly in charge played out in the failed rescue attempt. In Davern’s mind had he been in charge the tragedy wouldn’t have happened. His conclusion is that it is Wagner’s fault as he was responsible by being in charge and overriding his concerns.

After hearing of her death, Wagner went into damage control and a cover-up of the events took place. Aside for his concern for their image as a happy couple, did Wagner have other reasons to hide the arguments? It is possible that he harbored a question of whether she was suicidal. She had attempted suicide in the past by overdosing on pills. It is possible that she had suicidal thoughts at the time of her death that led to bad choices. Given the circumstances of her death, Wagner had reason to downplay what happened and lie by omission about the events on the yacht.

There was the possibility that he could have been a suspect in her death. Had he not downplayed his drunken behavior, the fight with Walken and omitted the physical altercation with Natalie he could have been taken away in handcuffs by the police. Some have argued that this should have taken place even if he was innocent. However, Wagner knew that perception is important in Hollywood and that even if he was not charged with a crime, public opinion would have turned against him and his career would have fallen. He could therefore feel justified that he made the right decision at the time as her death was ruled accidental. Yet, since the case was re-opened he has been judged in the court of public opinion by some as being guilty of causing her death either by negligence or intent to harm. There is also the question of whether the end justifies the means or not.

The re-opening of the case was for a twofold reason: to investigate Davern’s public proclamation of Wagner’s guilt and to quell public speculation. One cannot simply ignore the bruising on her body and the conflicting statements made at the time. Davern is clearly guilt ridden about what happened and in his role in the cover-up. Truly, he believes that he could have done more to protect her. He obviously cared about her and is tortured that he didn’t do more to try and rescue her. Whether or not she could have been rescued can only be speculated.

The most likely scenario is that Natalie didn’t try to kill herself, it was an accident. She was in the dinghy because she was trying to get away from RJ, he was driving her crazy. He was physical with her and she was afraid of him. She was terrified of him at that moment and just wanted to get away from him. She was drunk and was not thinking clearly. She passed out for a moment when she was trying to start the motor. She stumbled and fell out of the dinghy. It was wet because of the rain and she just lost her balance. She knew that she was going into the water and was terrified.

She struggled to get back in the dinghy but her wet clothes weighed her down. She couldn’t save herself by getting into the boat so she cried out for help, but no one came. It was cold and dark and she couldn’t fight anymore. Finally, she was just too tired to go on and passed out. She succumbed to the dark water and was no more. It was because of the drinks that she fell into the dark waters.

Davern had turned on loud music to drown out the fighting but this would have also drowned out cries for help. She hadn’t started the motor to alert anyone to her whereabouts. Davern assumed that she was in her cabin and was not aware that she was in the dinghy or in danger. Wagner knew that she had taken the dinghy to get away from him and their fight. He also was not aware of the danger that she was in. He hesitated to search for her as he assumed she would either return or go to the restaurant. He was not trying to cover-up a murder or foul play of any kind, but of his bad behavior.

By the time his senses told him that something was terribly wrong, it was too late to save her. His thinking was dulled by booze and anger. Davern was also of clouded judgment and not able bodied as he should have been. He too made bad choices that led to bad decisions. However, he is racked with guilt and needs to blame this terrible loss on someone, that person is Wagner.

Natalie did not commit suicide nor was she murdered. It was truly an accident that was precipitated by bad choices. She didn’t deserve to die for this anymore than those that drink and drive deserve to die or anyone around them. She just needed to get away from RJ at that moment and that is why she didn’t ask Davern to take her as in the past. RJ was so consumed with anger, jealous rage and a fear of losing Natalie that he didn’t see how dangerous it was to let her go off on her own.

We don’t know Robert Wagner’s story but if he were to speak it would no doubt go like this: “I helped her to die. It was an accident, but I helped her get into the boat. It was all my fault. We were arguing and she wanted to leave, to just get off of the yacht. She wanted to go to the island, to the restaurant. I didn’t want her to die. She wanted to leave and I just let her. That is why I said she was gone, because I let her go alone in the dinghy. It is my fault that she is dead.

I lied to protect her and myself. But I did not kill her. We were drinking and not thinking. I didn’t want anyone to know that I just let her go by herself. How could I do that? She died because of me, it is all my fault. I will have to live with this my entire life. I loved her, I still love her, I will always love her. She was the love of my life. I was Jealous and I was a fool. I pray that she can forgive me.

I lied to the police about what happened that night because I was worried about my image. If I could take it all back I would. I loved her with all of my heart and I would never have intentionally hurt her in any way. I’m guilty, guilty, guilty of negligence, not foul play. I thought of putting a gun to my head and killing myself, but I couldn’t do it. I truly thought of killing myself but I have to be there for our daughters. It is all my fault.

She was going to leave me, I had to try and stop her (bruises). When I said that she was gone, I meant that she was going to leave me. It was over between us. I never expected her to die. It took me a long time to understand what had happened, that she fell into the water and drowned. I just thought that she was going to leave me and that this was it. I would have let her go even though I didn’t want her to go. God, I miss her now and to this day.”

If Christopher Walken were to speak he would say that he was bewitched: “I did it, I started the fight that led to her death. I loved her and thought that RJ was holding her back to protect his own career. He couldn’t control his liquor and went crazy on me. I thought he was going to kill me, so I just left and went to my room. I heard their fight and I just stayed out of it. I couldn’t believe that she just got into that little boat and drowned. I don’t believe that he killed her, he was just crazy jealous that she was going to leave him. And she was going to leave him! She wanted a change in her life and she was so unhappy with the way that things were between them. They made each other crazy.”

Natalie's response to this revelation could have been that she needed to get off from this ride: "I really did bewitch him. He loved me and he would have done anything for me. I wanted out of my marriage as RJ was going crazy with me again.I used Warren Beatty in the same way (she would be smiling in an impish way over this revelation). Men would just fall in love with me and I used this. I really did love RJ, but I needed to be free to be me. I hope that someday that he understands that I did this for me. I was afraid of his anger, but I could control him and he knew that. I was just unhappy and I wanted out."

RJ's simple response would be: "I still love her."

When a tragedy takes place, it is human nature to question one’s actions and to think that if one did something else or more was done, then the tragedy could have been averted. But usually the tragedy is a result of many choices and actions taken in the past that found culmination in the final event. Past behaviors and events set the stage for the final tragic scene. Life is a collection of choices and actions taken that can lead to deadly consequences. It can be wrong to put all of the blame on one particular event or on a choice made at the time of the tragic event.

In this case, it could be said that it was just her fate. Her mother had warned her to be aware of dark waters. This can also be seen as symbolic for the danger inherent in dark or strong emotions. As the world is becoming darker, it becomes a more dangerous place to live in. Anyone of us can succumb to the dark waters that can overtake us if we are not vigilant. This is a cautionary tale, a warning to all to beware the time of darkness that can befall us and the tragedies that can come with it.

(Sources: L.A. Times newspaper, Wikipedia, book Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour)