Natalie Wood
Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park
Natalie Wood is one of the few successful
child actors who also achieved success as a teen-age star and a leading lady, but is often
remembered primarily for her tragic and mysterious death.
Wood made her film debut at the age of 5, as an extra in “Happy Land” (1943).
The film’s director, Irving Pichel, remembered Wood several years later when he needed a girl
to co-star with Orson Welles and Claudette Colbert in “Tomorrow is Forever” (1946), and signed
Wood for the part. Wood next appeared in “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir” (1947) and “Miracle
on 34th Street” (1947), the holiday classic in which she plays the skeptical child who doesn’t
believe in Santa Claus.
Wood literally grew up on-screen, appearing in “Father Was a Fullback” (1949),
“Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hey” (1948) – one of Marilyn Monroe’s first films – “Never a Dull Moment” (1950),
“The Star” (1952) and “The Silver Chalice” (1954). By the mid-1950s, Wood had graduated to more
substantial roles, including “Rebel Without a Cause” (1955), co-starring with James Dean
and Sal Mineo, which earned her an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress. Wood
also starred as John Wayne’s niece in “The Searchers” (1956).
Unlike many young actors, Wood made a smooth transition into adult roles as a
dark-eyed beauty, co-starring with more-established (and much older) actors including Frank
Sinatra, Tony Curtis, Gene Kelly, Warren Beatty and her future husband, Robert Wagner, in
films including “Marjorie Morningstar” (1958), “Kings Go Forth” (1958), “Cash McCall” (1959),
“All the Fine Young Cannibals” (1960) and “Splendor in the Grass” (1961), which earned her
Wood received her third Academy Award nomination, as Best Actress, for her
performance in “Love With the Proper Stranger” (1963), co-starring Steve McQueen. She also
starred in “Sex and the Single Girl” (1964), “Inside Daisy Clover” (1965), “The Great Race”
(1965), “This Property is Condemned” (1966) and “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice” (1969).
Wood appeared in only a few films in the 1970s, including made-for-television versions
of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” (1976) and “From Here to Eternity” (1979).
Wood and Wagner were married for the first time in 1957, and divorced in 1962.
After a brief marriage to producer Richard Gregson from 1969 to 1971, she and Wagner re-married
in 1972, aboard Wagner’s 55-foot yacht, “The Splendour.”
In 1981, Wood was working with co-star Christopher Walken on a science-fiction
thriller titled “Brainstorm.” In late November, Wood, Wagner and Walken went out to spend
a few days over the long Thanksgiving weekend on “The Splendour” in the Pacific Ocean near
Santa Catalina Island. During one of the nights at sea, Wood tried to leave the yacht and
get into an 11-foot rubber dinghy, but she fell into the water and drowned. Her body was
found floating in the water the next morning, clad in her flannel nightgown, knee-high wool
socks and a down jacket. She was 43.
An investigation into her death revealed that Wagner and Walken had quarreled on
the yacht shortly before Wood attempted to leave in the dinghy, and she may have been trying
to get away from them. When she slipped and fell into the cold water, the weight of her
water-soaked jacket made it difficult for her to climb into the dinghy. Her death was ruled
an accidental drowning.
“Brainstorm” was completed using a stand-in for Wood, and was released to poor
reviews in 1983.
Wood’s grave identifies her as Natalie Wood Wagner, and includes the inscription,
“Beloved daughter, sister, wife, mother and friend – More than love.” Her grave is usually
surrounded by potted plants and flowers, and covered with coins.
Wood was born Natasha Nikolaevna Gurdin on July 20, 1938, in San Francisco, CA.
She died on Nov. 29, 1981, in the waters off Santa Catalina Island, CA.
1938 - 1981
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