The Strange Death of Natalie Wood

One of Hollywood’s greatest unsolved tragedies.

On November 28, 1981, 43-year-old actress Natalie Wood, her husband, Robert Wagner, and her Brainstorm co-star, Christopher Walken, went on a weekend cruise on Wagner’s yacht.

Natalie’s body was found the next morning, floating in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Catalina Island. She was wearing a flannel nightgown, wool socks, and a down jacket.

More than forty years later, the question remains: how did Natalie die?

Natalie’s sister, Lana Wood — also an actress, who famously played Plenty O’Toole in the James Bond flick Diamonds Are Forever— said in her 1984 biography:

Natalie could not swim well and she was terrified of water.

Her family found the TV news coverage painful to watch. After a helicopter carried her sister’s body back to the mainland, Lana questioned her brother-in-law, Robert Wagner.

“Lana. It was an accident. You must believe me. Do you believe me?

“Yes. But what happened?”

“I don’t know. Chris and I were talking and she went off to bed. She must have fallen overboard or something like that.”

“Didn’t you hear her hit the water?”

“I didn’t hear a thing.”

“Had you all been drinking?”

“Yes, yes, of course. It was after a big dinner on shore, and it was late.”

There was a pause, and then he continued. “I don’t know what happened. If I knew what happened, I’d tell you. Do you believe that?”

Two official theories emerged:

• Natalie heard the dinghy banging against the yacht’s hull. She got up, put on a heavy coat (it was cold and windy at night, especially at that time of year), and tried to secure the small boat. She accidentally tripped and fell overboard. The coat became waterlogged and dragged her under.

Or,

• There was an argument on board the yacht. Natalie tried to get in the dinghy and go back to the shore. She had taken a sleeping pill, so she was a bit wobbly. She fell overboard while trying to untie the boat. No one heard her thrashing in the water, and she drowned.

Coroner Thomas Noguchi declared that Natalie’s death was likely an accidental drowning.

For four decades, however, the autopsy report has been scrutinized and debated.

Natalie’s blood alcohol level was .14 (above the legal limit of .10).

Prescription drugs were found in her system. Darvon, a painkiller. Dalmane for insomnia.

As the years went by, new evidence appeared.

Other boats were nearby.

A witness heard screams.

The yacht’s captain changed his testimony.

Internet discussions, like this one on Reddit, continue to feed the controversy.

Living with grief and unanswered questions, Lana Wood puzzles over the official narrative about her sister’s death.

She hopes that someday the truth will emerge from the murky depths of that fateful night.

Thanks for reading my story! Please share your thoughts in the comments.