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Natalie Wood: The Legend Behind the Tragedy

Published on Friday, November 25 2011
Written by Super User

Natalie Wood was a young and very in-demand star of Hollywood past. Before her untimely death at age 43, she starred in 56 films for cinema and television. Unlike many actors, she had consistent work. Natalie Wood stood out among other actresses of the time because of her mysterious yet naive on-screen persona.

Natalie's first major film role was the classic Christmas movie Miracle on 34th Street. It made her one of the top child stars of the time. As a child, Natalie appeared in over 20 films. By the time she was 12 years old, she had been dubbed Child Star of the Year by the Children's National Council of New York. Unlike many child stars, though, Natalie seamlessly made the transition to adult roles. She famously appeared with James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause at 16. For the role, she received her first Academy Award nomination, for Best Supporting Actress.

 

 

Her second Academy Award nomination came for her role in Splendor In The Grass, opposite Warren Beatty. Natalie received a Best Actress Oscar nomination, as well as the Golden Globes and the BAFTA Awards. The director of the film, Elia Kazan, described Natalie's performance, saying she "clings to things with her eyes."

Following these roles, Natalie played the iconic Maria in West Side Story. She also starred in Gypsy, Love With The Proper Stranger opposite Steve McQueen (for which she received her third Academy Award nomination), Inside Daisy Clover, and This Property Is Condemned, co-starring Robert Redford. The latter led to another Golden Globe nomination.            

Natalie was twice married to actor Robert Wagner, and their highly-publicized relationship constantly made headlines. Natalie confessed to having a crush on Robert since she was young, so, on her 18th birthday, they went on a studio-arranged date and ended up marrying a year later. They divorced after four years, but a decade later, they reconciled and re-married.

 

 

After becoming pregnant with her first child in 1970, Natalie went into semi-retirement, making few film appearances and cameos until her daughter was old enough to be in school. She later found success on television, with the TV movie The Cracker Factory and the mini-series "From Here To Eternity", with Kim Basinger and William Devane, for which she won a Golden Globe for Best Actress, in 1980. Natalie completed The Memory of Eva Ryker later that year, which would be her last completed project.

At the time of her death (November 29, 1981), Natalie was in the middle of filming the science fiction film Brainstorm, co-starring Christopher Walken. Ultimately, two projects she had scheduled were shelved, and Brainstorm had to be re-written, with sound-alikes used for critical scenes with Natalie's character. 

Natalie's life was peppered with mystery. She was born Natalia Zacharenko to Russian immigrant parents (she could speak Russian fluently) but had to change her name when she became in actress in part because of the Cold War that America was going through with the Soviet Union. When she was 9 years old, she suffered an injury to her left wrist which caused a slight bone protrusion; she was very self-conscious about this and, for the rest of her life, was never seen without a bracelet on her left wrist in order to cover the defect. When she was a teenager, she was allegedly raped by famous Hollywood actor, but she refused to say who or press charges. She told her biographer but she made him swear not to reveal the name until after the culprit died. No name has been revealed yet... Natalie also had a famous fear of water and, according to legend, was even told by a fortuneteller to avoid water at all costs or risk death. This only added to the mystery surrounding her drowning in 1981.

The Wagners' yacht, Splendour, was anchored off of Catalina Island at the time of Natalie's death. Natalie and Robert had an argument, and some time following, it was discovered that Natalie was missing. Her death was initially ruled an accident -- the theory being that she tried to take the dinghy to shore after the argument and slipped and fell into the water. She couldn't swim (and was famously terrified of water) and ultimately drowned. On November 17th, 2011, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department office announced that they had officially re-opened the case due to new information from the yacht's skipper, Dennis Davern.

Though Natalie's life had a tragic ending, her successful career and dynamic presence on-screen has allowed her to have a truly lasting impact on film. It was her ability to portray sweet characters that had a restless characteristic of youth at the time. What young stars of today appear set to have a dynamic career like Natalie's? Our picks are Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning, both of whom have gained praise for having grace and maturity beyond their years and have made the transition from child stars to adult actresses. Both are versatile and consistently have film work and deliver proving, passionate performances, bringing an intensity to their work, reminiscent of Natalie.

Natalie Wood is one of the most highly-regarded Hollywood actresses of all time. Her gripping and emotional performances solidified her place in film history!

 

- Shannon Boyce, YH Staff 

Additional reporting by Katie Marzullo, YH Staff Editor