Welcome To My Book Blog

A place to update and discuss facts surrounding the controversial, tragic death of legendary Hollywood film actress, wife and mother, Natalie Wood who drowned mysteriously Nov. 29, 1981 off Catalina Island. Thank you for visiting.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Vote: Do you think the Natalie Wood case should officially be reviewed?

Is it time to review the Natalie Wood case? You decide. Your opinion matters. Please vote before Oct. 9, 2009 (to the left) and/or leave any comment you'd like here.

Goodbye Natalie Goodbye Splendour: Natalie Wood case timeline that was cut from the published book

At the “Advance for Nurses” Web site (http://nursing.advanceweb.com/Article/Historic-Trauma-Cases-Natalie-Wood.aspx) Natalie Wood is considered a historic trauma case, and her autopsy is used as an example. Although this timeline was cut from the book (not by my choice), the authorities never presented one.
The site includes the information from Coroner Noguchi that Natalie’s jacket had dragged her down. The timeline is straight from the website we are not connected with: ironically, it includes information the lead detective in the case told me was fabricated information: that there were scratch marks on the dinghy. Detective Rasure told me that the coroner fabricated the scratches to match the coroner's theory.
The Web site, however, offers a timeline the officials on the Wood case had never put together. The dinner hour may be slightly off, but the remaining hours are accurate.
Timeline of Natalie Wood’s Disappearance (All Times PST)
Sat., Nov. 28, 1981
4 p.m. Wagner, Wood, Walken and Davern drink at the bar in Doug’s Harbor Reef restaurant in Two Harbors on Catalina Island
5 p.m. Quartet moved to the dining room for dinner
10 p.m. Party returns to Wagner and Wood’s yacht, the Splendor
10:45 p.m.–12 a.m. Time during which Wood is believed to have gone missing
11:05 p.m. Time woman on yacht 80 yards away from the Splendor tells police she heard a woman screaming
11:25 p.m. Time woman on nearby yacht says the woman’s screams stopped.
Sun., Nov. 29, 1981
1:30 a.m. Wagner calls the restaurant and asks the manager if Wood is there
2:30 a.m. Restaurant manager alerts harbormaster that Wood is missing
2:45 a.m. Harbormaster meets with Wagner on the Splendor
3:25 a.m. Wagner concedes the Coast Guard should be called in
5:30 a.m. Splendor’s dingy found about one mile from the yacht with oars inside and scratch marks on one side
7:45 a.m. Wood’s body found about 100 yards from dinghy
8:00 a.m. City of Los Angeles coroner is called

The timetable fit Dennis’s story to the minute.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Correction to radio show interview

On the Jack Roberts show this a.m. they were talking about Robert Conrad: I thought they had said Robert Culp when they mentioned he was in a movie with Natalie: and I said he was with her in Bob&Carol&Ted&Alice... my mistake, but only because I mis-heard them. Just correcting myself here. It is certainly not a relevant error to the purpose of GNGS.

Radio CRN National

This Jack Roberts show is at 8:40 AM PACIFIC time (sorry) which is 11:40 AM Eastern time. Cable Talk, Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour Cable Radio Network - CRN National w/Host Jack Roberts

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Lana Wood

Lana Wood Jumps on Board

Should Goodbye Natalie Goodbye Splendour set a new standard in the literary world?

Following are three posts by readers who have commented on GNGS. I appreciate each one, and am proud that readers are recognizing our truest purpose in having gone the polygraph route for our book: I appreciate these readers. Your comments are welcome.

From "LoraC" at Amazon.com Review Comments page to review by parothd of Goodbye Natalie Goodbye Splendour)
Just some observations here and perhaps even some fodder for those who wish to defend Wagner's actions (or inactions) on the night Natalie Wood died and offer alternative ways to interpret the facts.1. Wagner delayed calling for help for 2 hours after he told Davern that Natalie was missing. He only called for help from the restaurant workers, and it took another 2 hours for them to convince Wagner to call the Coast Guard. The delay is documented. How can it be reasonably explained?2. Wagner denied for years that a fight took place that night, but now he admits to a fight that enraged him enough to violently smash a wine bottle on the table. Why lie in the first place? Which leads to the question: If Wagner felt the circumstances required lies and evasions (which he obviously did), if he felt something was "not right," WHY did he himself not demand an investigation to find out what really happened? There were two other men on board, and given the high tension, as well as the improbability of Natalie leaving in the dinghy, why (unless he already knew the answer) did Wagner not look to them for an explanation? Why did he not at least wake up Walken to help look for Natalie??3. Wagner said Natalie "often took the dinghy out alone," but in his book, he says when he considered that she may have taken the dinghy out, his first thought was "No way!" Again, why lie?It seems the negative reviewers are still trying to hold Davern accountable for Wagner's behavior, but NO ONE has ever asked Wagner to explain himself . . . and even when he has the golden opportunity to do so in his own book, he skims over the events and fails to address a single inconsistency.


From "Sis-of-4" at Amazon.com Review Comments page to review by parothd of Goodbye Natalie Goodbye Splendour:
Good points, Lora C. I might add something here after viewing Rulli's blog this morning, where she uses last night's Geraldo FOX NEWS show to make a few valid points. Geraldo had a forensics psychiatrist on to ask some valid questions about another book (Mackenzie Phillips' "High on Arrival"). Getting to the point: shouldn't publishers and media begin, as do police, to suggest and sometimes even require a polygraph test to substantiate controversial accounts? Goodbye Natalie Goodbye Splendour may be one of a few, and possibly the very first book to set such a standard. I truly commend the inclusion of a polygraph test to accompany this book. Every kiss-and-tell book, like Wagner's, should offer up the proof, too. It would spare so many people. Yet, Rulli's book is questioned: the only one on the shelves supported by the source's passing of a polygraph test. Amazing!


From Annie at Wall Street Journal's SPEAKEASY:
Maybe a new standard should be set for authors with controversial claims and tell-alls like Mackenzie Phillips’ “High on Arrival” where the accused is already gone. Such a standard, I believe, has been established in another new controversial book just arriving on the scene. “Goodbye Natalie Goodbye Splendour” a book about the mystery death of Natalie Wood comes with a certified polygraph test and everyone it talks about is alive to respond (except for Natalie, thus the polygraph by the former captain, Dennis Davern.) This book by author Marti Rulli is a must read, enhanced by the efforts to substantiate its contents!

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2009/09/23/mackenzie-phillips-on-oprah-details-about-her-relationship-with-dad-john-phillips/tab/comments/#comment-7893

Mackenzie Phillips could have provided a polygraph test result:

Tonight I watched Geraldo At Large on FOX NEWS. One segment was about Mackenzie Phillips. She was not a guest. There was a panel, of which one guest was a forensics psychiatrist who questioned the validity of Mackenzie Phillps' recent account in her new book, "High on Arrival" (of a consentual sexual relationship with her late father). The doctor suggested Mackenzie Phillips' story would be more credible had it arrived with a "passed" polygraph attached. He also said that because she reveals her claim after her father has passed on removes the opportunity for her father to respond.

Another segment on this same show dealt with breaking news of the sad case of the missing 5-year old, Haleigh Cummings, in Florida. Police are now questioning the father and his 17-year old girlfriend in this case. The police asked the girlfriend to take a polygraph test, and it was reported that she failed it terribly.

Dennis Davern volunteered for the inclusion of his polygraph test results in our book, and we used a certified, licensed polygraphist with decades of experience in criminal testing. We were very pleased with Howard Temple's qualifications and ethics. He wouldn't allow any word in our format to be "interpretive."

Point: the forensic psychiatrist I saw tonight agrees that a polygraph lends credibility to a person with a controversial account to tell. Also, I point out, in the case of the missing girl to which there is an Amber Alert released: the first thing the police suggested of a suspect was a polygraph test. Police do put a lot of credence in the results of a polygraph test. By any means, polygraph tests are not considered a waste of time by most law enforcement.

Dennis Davern and I did include polygraph test results in our book. We also didn't wait for the other surviving members of the fateful Splendour cruise, Robert Wagner and Christopher Walken, to pass on and thus have no opportunity to respond. We did so in hopes of establishing the truth behind Goodbye Natalie Goodbye Splendour.
I will say again: had the authorities in the Natalie Wood case answered questions and investigated thoroughly, this book would never have been necessary.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Monday Radio, Sept 28

9/28, 8:40am EASTERN, Cable Radio Network - CRN National, Live, with Cable Talk, Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour Cable Radio Network - CRN National w/Host Jack Roberts

34 Years Ago

Happy Birthday, Dennis Davern. Thirty-four years ago on this day, Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood purchased their new yacht, Splendour, the yacht you helped (as part of crew) to cruise from Florida to Marina del Rey Harbor in California. Your journey is mentioned in Goodbye Natalie Goodbye Splendour, and you never could have imagined what your journey had in store for you. I'm glad for all of your happy and memorable years as the Splendour Captain, and so sorry for the tragic end to that part of your life. Your story is told now, and I more than anyone can appreciate the closure that brings you. Happy Birthday, Dennis, and many, many more. Marti

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Blog Link

Books of Leaders & Notable People: Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour [AUDIOBO

Our radio hosts ....

Thank you to the many radio hosts who've talked with me and Dennis about Goodbye Natalie Goodbye Splendour. As it is with the media, many show hosts have a certain way they like to discuss and present stories and events with their guests. Today, on SiriusXM/FamilyNet Radio & TV, on the show Mornings with Lorri & Larry, National Syndicated, the hosts seemed extra perceptive about the subject matter of our book.
Yesterday, on WSPM-FM Indianapolis, IN, while being interviewed by Paul Irwin, I could sense Paul's sympathy for the tragedy of Nov. 1981. He told me he was a teenager when he first saw Natalie on the big screen, and, of course, who couldn't "fall in love" with her?"

On Sunday, 9/20, the show WIP-AM in Philadelphia PA, Conversations with Peter Solomon was different. Host Peter listened intently to a review of what happened the fateful night Natalie lost her life, and was rendered virtually speechless while listening.

I will be providing a link soon to the show taped Monday, Sept 21, WBZ-AM Boston MA, The Jordan Rich Show, because Jordan got right to the heart of the story in our book.

I thank our many hosts and appreciate the opportunity to talk about a story that, to this day, is a tough one to hear about. What I especially appreciate is that these interviews are giving Natalie Wood a long overdue voice.

Thank you

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Sept 24 Radio Segment

9/24, 7:20am EASTERN, SiriusXM/FamilyNet Radio & TV, 15 min, Live, with Mornings with Lorri & Larry, National Syndicated Marti Rulli & Dennis Davern

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

A necessary message:

I appreciate the reviews readers took the time to submit to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and a few other sites. Feedback is appreciated. I truly understand why some people will never want to believe the hard information in GNGS, but I took no liberties with this book. I insisted upon Dennis’s polygraph test, and if he had failed it, I would have included that result in the book. But Dennis passed every question and issue put to him, and our polygraphist scrutinized each and every word to avoid “interpretation.”
One reviewer noticed something interesting over the years: in every TV or documentary interview Dennis gave before the release of GNGS, Detective Rasure was interviewed behind Dennis calling him a liar. A question we keep being asked: Why didn’t you go to the police? explains itself. The police didn’t want to revisit this case.

In 2008 I was told about a "Natalie Wood death forum" online that discussed the Natalie Wood case. One woman who had posted there I truly appreciated (and still do) is Gail A., a monitor of a private Natalie Wood fan chat. Gail is a Natalie fan with a vast knowledge of Natalie biographical information. She shared some wonderful Natalie anecdotes with me and she explained that she had mixed emotions about the Natalie case after having read Gavin Lambert’s Natalie biography in 2004. Prior to that book, she hadn’t believed Dennis in interviews, but it was Lambert’s information that made her reevaluate the case, as well as her inability to comprehend the 4-hour wait to call for help for Natalie. It is true: the Coast Guard was not contacted until 4 hours after Natalie went missing.

I explain my friendship with Gail because there is someone virtually stalking her over the Internet and misinterpreting Gail's association with GNGS. Gail was not my co-author. Gail was a valuable reader. It is beyond inappropriate that she be attacked. I never "interviewed" Gail, yet she is being cited as one of my sources. She is also being accused of posting every drop of information being talked about in relation to this book, as well as being called derogatory names. Other reviewers are being accused of being Gail. This is inconceivable, and frustrating to real people who have real opinions.
Please see chapter 40, page 303 for the few brief paragraphs I offer explaining how Gail and the Wood death forum are what incited me to finish GNGS. Dennis Davern deserved his turn at this story being talked about incessantly over the Internet three decades later!
Please, if you are a negative reviewer, I appreciate your opinions, but stay focused with your posts and reviews. The Natalie Wood case affects people to extremes. I think the reason for that goes far beyond specific details of Nov. 1981. Again, for both sides of the spectrum on this story, had crucial details been thoroughly investigated, we wouldn't be here discussing this story so many years later.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

TV Interviews

I will know (and post here) soon when interviews we taped will air. All interviewers were extremely respectful and interested in our story. Had the authorities and medical examiner's office worked together and done a thorough investigation in 1981, and/or paid attention to information offered through the years by the three surviving members of that 1981 cruise (as opposed to what they offered to authorities immediately after Natalie's body was discovered), GNGS would never have been necessary.

New Radio Interviews

Sept 21 - 3:40 PM Eastern -- KTRS-AM Hosts: John Brown Trish Gazall (Live) Sept 23 - 4:35 PM Eastern, WRXK FM Fort Meyers-Naples, FL Hosts: Stan & Harry (Live) Sept. 30 - 9:10 AM Eastern, WPHM-AM Detroit MI, Morning Show (Live) Sept. 30 - 10:00 AM Eastern (taping) National Syndicated WESTWOOD ONE with Dirk Van Oct. 23 - 2 PM Eastern, WSPM-FM Indianapolis, IN, w/Paul Irwin (taping)

Sunday Morning Radio Show

SUNDAY - 9/20, 7am EASTERN, WIP-AM Philadelphia PA, 30 min, Live, with Conversations with Peter Solomon WIP-AM Philadelphia

Friday, September 18, 2009

Geraldo At Large POSTPONED

The producers of the Geraldo At Large show have asked us to reschedule as they are still in the process of preparing the segment for GNGS and will need more time. New date TBA

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Personal Message

Thank you Stacy for keeping William informed. Best wishes, Marti

TV Interviews

Today we ended up taping the CBS Early Show rather than going live. I apologize to all who watched.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Media

There are many newspapers, magazines, and tabloids reading GNGS and planning to write their reviews or stories about it. Our scheduled media release date was to be Sept. 15th, but some publications have scooped the 15th date and have printed their own sensationalized interpretations of the contents of GNGS.
Following is a part of the media schedule that Dennis and I have signed on to participate with.
Pre-released embellished and exaggerated claims of the contents in GNGS have nothing to do with Dennis Davern and myself. You will see that when you read GNGS. Here's ONLY what we are currently scheduled for:

Television:
CBS Early Show Sept 15th

Geraldo at Large! Fox from 10-11 PM. Sat., Sept 19th


RADIO SCHEDULE

Sept 16th, 8:50am (Wednesday)
EASTERN, KTRH-AM Houston TX, 15 min, Live, with KTRH
Morning News 15 minutes live

Sept. 16th, 12:40pm (Wednesday)
EASTERN, Lifestyle Talk Radio, 20 min, Live, with The Lifestyle Show, National
20 minutes live

Sept. 16th, 4:30pm (Wednesday)
EASTERN, Sirius Satellite Network, 15 min, Live, with Jay Thomas Show, National
15 minutes live

Sept. 17th, 8:40am (Thursday) EASTERN, Cable Radio Network - CRN National National,
10 min, Live,

Sept. 18th, 7:40am (Friday) EASTERN, WMJI-FM Cleveland OH, 10 min, Live, with Lanigan and Malone Show, 10 minutes live

Sept. 20th, 7am EASTERN, (Sunday)
WIP-AM Philadelphia PA, 30 min, Live, 30 minutes live

Sept 21, 2pm EASTERN, (Monday)
WBZ-AM Boston MA, 15 min, Taped, with The Jordan Rich Show, 15 minutes

Sept. 24th, 7:20am EASTERN, (Thursday)
SiriusXM/FamilyNet Radio & TV, 15 min, Live

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Natalie Wood

Natalie Wood was the first actress I ever called a favorite. I was 10 years old when I became a fan. My reaction to her death felt like a punch to the stomach when I heard she had, of all things, been found drowned in the ocean! I had seen her in interviews talking about her fear of water, and read about her fear in articles. That, above all else, was the first thing that caused me to be vastly curious about the details surrounding how something so tragic could have happened. I did not ask, nor seek, to be in the position of writing about her...a task I sometimes felt was beyond me. Your messages and comments (mostly via email) are truly appreciated. Thank you. Marti

Media

Goodbye Natalie Goodbye Splendour has now officially been released to the media. I am proud to have a review scheduled for the Nov. issue of Woman's Day magazine (on stands Oct. 6),