Sunday, January 30, 2011
Here, you have it, hear it, from Natalie Wood
My friend Paul
This is a photo of Dennis's brother, Paul Davern, at Splendour's helm. Paul learned how to operate the yacht, too, and spent a few years in California, off and on, while Dennis served as the Splendour Captain. Paul was also very close with the Wagner family and spent ample time at their home, being invited to their parties and welcomed any time as was Dennis. Paul was much closer with Robert Wagner than with Natalie, although Paul adored Natalie and said she was so much fun to be around. Paul was instrumental in helping me with early information I gathered for GNGS. Paul passed away when he was 40, and is missed to this day. Paul suspected foulplay in Natalie's death from day one. Paul knew there was no way to "fall" from the back of the yacht. Dennis opened up to him first, fully trusting his brother. I always trusted Paul's information, too.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Time to get to know Natalie Wood, the most beautiful woman ever ...
Natalie Wood is considered one of the most beautiful women ever, if not thee most beautiful woman ever. Her petite, curvy body enhanced her femininity, her proportioned frame perfect for all fashion, and without a doubt her eyes are the most beautiful dark, soul-reaching eyes any person could ever have. Natalie's beauty and persona was a no-gimmick package. She transcended the screens we watched her films on and touched our hearts. She was fresh, sexy, cute, funny, sparkling, and a spectacular, yet modest beauty. She was a Hollywood star who lives on as a legend in films such as Miracle on 34th Street, Rebel Without a Cause, West Side Story, Splendor in the Grass, Sex and the Single Girl, Gypsy, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, and many more.
Natalie was married twice to actor Robert Wagner, who would most likely be satisfied to never hear the name Natalie Wood again. That's because Robert Wagner lied to the police at Natalie Wood's mysterious death scene. He told police he didn't know what happened when Natalie's bruised body was found floating in the ocean in her nightgown and down coat. Fact is, Wagner did know what happened because he was with Natalie at the time she "disappeared" from their yacht, the Splendour.
Goodbye Natalie Goodbye Splendour is a detailed account, from the witness boat captain, Dennis Davern, of the entire 1981 Thanksgiving weekend Natalie was entertaining her co-star in Brainstorm, Christopher Walken, aboard the Wagner family yacht. Natalie Wood did not "get drunk and fall overboard while tending a noisy dinghy" as her husband, Robert Wagner would like the world to believe.
The stunning and tragic truth runs deep.
Thank you to all new readers of this honest, necessary story told in Goodbye Natalie.
Amazon.com: Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour (9781597776394): Marti Rulli, Dennis Davern: Books
and please sign petition:
Reopen Investigation of Natalie Wood's death Petition
---
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Support is always appreciated ...
There have always been such good and decent people supporting Dennis and myself, people we've turned to, people whose advice was a godsend at crucial deciding points in our mission to get the truth about Natalie Wood's death known.
Dennis's niece, a sharp, educated, intelligent young attorney, always reminded us that "truth is its own defense." We know Wagner's attorneys know it, too, and we figure that's why they probably advise him to remain quiet about "Goodbye Natalie Goodbye Splendour."
Here's what Dennis's niece, Amy, posted on my Facebook account yesterday when I re-posted the Natalie petition there again:
Amy Knapp commented on your link.
Amy wrote: "I have no doubt that the claims and allegations as contained in my Uncle's book,"Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour" are true. Marti Rulli, the author of the book, did a wonderful job in relaying and telling my Uncle Denny's side of this horrific tragedy. The investigation into Natalie Wood's death should be reopened and further examined by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. There are still so many questions that have not been adequately addressed and/or even answered by Robert Wagner, but my Uncle has been continually and unfairly been depicted and scrutinized in the media for the past 30 plus years for only telling authoriites the truth...All I have to say to this is read the book and come to your own conclusions....and for the record my Uncle Denny adored Natalie and there isn't anything he would not have done for her.... I am proud to call Dennis Davern my uncle...I love you, Uncle Denny!"
Dennis's niece, a sharp, educated, intelligent young attorney, always reminded us that "truth is its own defense." We know Wagner's attorneys know it, too, and we figure that's why they probably advise him to remain quiet about "Goodbye Natalie Goodbye Splendour."
Here's what Dennis's niece, Amy, posted on my Facebook account yesterday when I re-posted the Natalie petition there again:
Amy Knapp commented on your link.
Amy wrote: "I have no doubt that the claims and allegations as contained in my Uncle's book,"Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour" are true. Marti Rulli, the author of the book, did a wonderful job in relaying and telling my Uncle Denny's side of this horrific tragedy. The investigation into Natalie Wood's death should be reopened and further examined by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. There are still so many questions that have not been adequately addressed and/or even answered by Robert Wagner, but my Uncle has been continually and unfairly been depicted and scrutinized in the media for the past 30 plus years for only telling authoriites the truth...All I have to say to this is read the book and come to your own conclusions....and for the record my Uncle Denny adored Natalie and there isn't anything he would not have done for her.... I am proud to call Dennis Davern my uncle...I love you, Uncle Denny!"
Monday, January 17, 2011
Natalie Wood Through Time
Thank you to Pam for emailing this amazing video of Natalie Wood
morphing through time. She grew more gorgeous with every "morph"
as she aged. Truly, a legend in her own time and beyond.
Tribute To NATALIE WOOD
I thought I'd been through all of the Natalie videos that fans and commentators have created at YouTube, but this was the first I came across this one, coupled with one of my favorite John Lennon songs. This video brought tears to my eyes.
I had watched the Golden Globes and was thinking about Natalie when Annette Bening won a best actress award for her performance in "The Kids are All Right" -- and at the end of her acceptance speech she thanked "the 1962 Golden Globe winner of the award for most promising new actor" -- her husband Warren Beatty.
It made me think of "Splendor in The Grass" and how Natalie's presence in that movie highly contributed to Warren's popularity. I then recalled when Beatty received a special tribute Oscar earlier this decade and in all the films shown in the tribute, not more than a flash of Natalie Wood was shown. I am especially grateful that Natalie was honored the summer of 2009 at the film festival in New York as "Yesterday's Angel" as she deserves recognition to this day.
While watching the Golden Globe's award show, I also thought that Natalie very likely could have been on that stage handing out an award or even accepting another Golden Globe, herself, had her life not been cut short. Natalie was a remarkably healthy woman when she died. She was a remarkable talent, and this is an excellent YouTube video of this remarkable woman.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
The Red Flags in Natalie Wood's death
In another post's comment it was mentioned that the 4-hour wait to call the Coast Guard should have been the biggest "red flag" in investigating Natalie Wood's death. Although I agree, I can understand how those four hours were confused and misconstrued, being that a local call went out that night at approximately 1:30 with the words, "Someone is missing from out boat." Then, with everyone telling the first responder, Pam Eaker, that they had been searching throughout the entire night, I can also understand how the words "there was an immediate search" got posted on a report. All of this, yes, was very poor police work, but it happened in all of the confusion. Then, because this was a high-profile case that the media would be on top of, the authorities were anxious to close it fast. All of the facts got squeezed into a tidy little quick, "the family dined with a guest, Wood wandered off, husband called for help upon noticing she was gone--tragic case."
It would have taken only a FEW good questions at the scene to have reached more good questions, but those initial good questions were never asked, and then the coroner took over and when the detectives saw that his observations were drawing more media attention, members of the Hollywood community and the police department put a quick stop to it. Basic medical examiner questions, thus answers, were halted.
The red flag I determined most ignored was the condition of Natalie's body. It was full of bruises, most superficial, but many highly questionable ones, like the small circular bruises at her ankles, and the noticeable facial abrasion. Even back in 1981, my first thought was domestic violence. How could this not have been a medical examiner's FIRST thought?
But, the biggest red flag that always struck me was Natalie's KNOWN fear of dark water, especially ocean water. She'd talked about her fear in article interviews and on TV show interviews. Even if the detectives didn't know about her fear, they could have ASKED! All of Natalie's friends and family knew about it. Not one of them were asked a question. Phone records were not checked until Suzanne Finstad took on her investigation. It would've been so easy to have learned that Natalie tried to call her sister Lana and others the Saturday morning before she returned to the Splendour. Hundreds should've been interviewed, not just a few restaraunt workers and guests. Marilyn Wayne was never interviewed!
At the scene, having intervewed a few restaurant waitresses and NOT the Coast Guard Captain who found Natalie is more evidence of a really shoddy case investigation.
The petition will be turned in soon...Here's a suggestion....if you have a Facebook page, post the petition there and ask your FB friends to post it to their friends. Every day someone new is signing. It would be helpful to turn in the petition with 1,000 signatures or more. Thank you to all who've already helped to spread the petition. One last cyber push can help tremendously. We want this case reopened this year, before Natalie's 30th year of injustice arrives in November.
Remember: Natalie's cry from the grave remains: "I am deathly afraid of water, especially water that is dark."
Reopen Investigation of Natalie Wood's death Petition
---
It would have taken only a FEW good questions at the scene to have reached more good questions, but those initial good questions were never asked, and then the coroner took over and when the detectives saw that his observations were drawing more media attention, members of the Hollywood community and the police department put a quick stop to it. Basic medical examiner questions, thus answers, were halted.
The red flag I determined most ignored was the condition of Natalie's body. It was full of bruises, most superficial, but many highly questionable ones, like the small circular bruises at her ankles, and the noticeable facial abrasion. Even back in 1981, my first thought was domestic violence. How could this not have been a medical examiner's FIRST thought?
But, the biggest red flag that always struck me was Natalie's KNOWN fear of dark water, especially ocean water. She'd talked about her fear in article interviews and on TV show interviews. Even if the detectives didn't know about her fear, they could have ASKED! All of Natalie's friends and family knew about it. Not one of them were asked a question. Phone records were not checked until Suzanne Finstad took on her investigation. It would've been so easy to have learned that Natalie tried to call her sister Lana and others the Saturday morning before she returned to the Splendour. Hundreds should've been interviewed, not just a few restaraunt workers and guests. Marilyn Wayne was never interviewed!
At the scene, having intervewed a few restaurant waitresses and NOT the Coast Guard Captain who found Natalie is more evidence of a really shoddy case investigation.
The petition will be turned in soon...Here's a suggestion....if you have a Facebook page, post the petition there and ask your FB friends to post it to their friends. Every day someone new is signing. It would be helpful to turn in the petition with 1,000 signatures or more. Thank you to all who've already helped to spread the petition. One last cyber push can help tremendously. We want this case reopened this year, before Natalie's 30th year of injustice arrives in November.
Remember: Natalie's cry from the grave remains: "I am deathly afraid of water, especially water that is dark."
Reopen Investigation of Natalie Wood's death Petition
---
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Scott Eyman's 2004 Review of Gavin Lambert's Natalie Wood Biography
---
Following is Scott Eyman's 2004 review of Lambert's book, "Natalie: A Life." Eyman also wrote "Lion of Hollywood: The Life of Louis B. Mayer" published in 2005, Simon and Schuster. Eyman is who Robert Wagner chose to write his book, "Pieces of My Heart."
I feel Eyman really missed the mark on the essence of Natalie Wood in this book review of his. Of course, the review is based on a book about Natalie (Lambert's) that, in my opinion, REALLY missed the mark.
Link to review:
Equipped for Stardom, Alas- Natalie Wood's Unhappy Career | The New York Observer
Review of: "Natalie Wood: A Life" by Gavin Lambert. Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
By Scott Eyman, January 25, 2004
A lot of writers will tell you that the last star created by the studio system was Elizabeth Taylor, but a lot of writers are wrong. Years after Elizabeth Taylor, there was Natalie Wood.
MGM gave Elizabeth Taylor Lassie Come Home , National Velvet and Father of the Bride , and had the good sense to loan her to George Stevens for A Place in the Sun . Four films of that quality before you're 20 years old will go a long way toward creating a legend.
But by the time Natalie Wood landed at Warner Bros., after a middling career as a sober little changeling of a child actress, Jack Warner was more interested in shafting his brother Harry out of the studio than he was in nurturing a young actress. He gave her a good part in a very good film ( Rebel Without a Cause ), followed by a bad part in a great film ( The Searchers ), and then she had to make do with hopeless cases like Marjorie Morningstar , The Burning Hills and Bombers B-52 . That segued into a brief musical-blockbuster phase ( West Side Story , Gypsy ), followed by irredeemable disasters like Penelope and Sex and the Single Girl .
Natalie Wood survived a lot of bad movies and retained her appeal-no small achievement. But ever since her drowning death off Catalina Island in 1981, she's been slowly easing into that limbo populated by stars who don't transcend their period.
Which is probably why the estimable Gavin Lambert has written an authorized biography of a woman who managed to become a major star without ever earning the bona fides of a major actress.
She would have been a star in any era, especially the silents-her best features were her luminous eyes and luscious figure. Those glowing eyes were always knowing and bright, but her line readings were often flat and gauche. One very wise friend of mine passed up the chance to meet her at a party because he knew that he would go weak in the knees if he tried to form a coherent sentence in her presence-the same sort of reaction people of an earlier generation had to Lana Turner, a personality pull that supersedes considerations of talent. On a certain level of stardom, with someone who can make people happy just by showing up-Julia Roberts, anyone?-who cares if they can act?
On the evidence of Mr. Lambert's book, Natalie Wood had a life that might gently be termed "uneasy." Born Natasha Gurdin, the fruit of an extramarital affair, she was pushed into show business by her mother, a real-life Mama Rose. Natasha was very Russian, very emotional: She lost her virginity to the bisexual, addictive personality who went by the name of Nicholas Ray and served as another notch on Warren Beatty's bedpost, which seems to have induced a mysterious suicide attempt.
Wood had rotten luck, some of it self-induced. While she was filming the hideous Penelope , Mr. Beatty offered her the role of Bonnie in Bonnie and Clyde , but she turned it down because she didn't want to be separated from her psychiatrist by a long location shoot. She turned down William Wyler's The Collector in order to do Gavin Lambert's own adaptation of his novel, Inside Daisy Clover . Both films were downbeat hothouse flowers, but Wyler wasn't about to be manhandled by the studio, while Inside Daisy Clover was bound to be. For too much of her limited time, Wood was stuck churning out gilded turds like The Great Race .
She knew it, and so put a lot of emotional energy into her relationships. She was a spectacular friend, warm and supportive to her circle, which included Guy McElwaine, Mart Crowley, Howard Jeffrey, Asa Maynor and the late Norma Crane. What Natalie wanted in a friend was humor, intelligence and emotional directness; to qualify, one had to pass what Norma Crane called "the kindness test."
It's all very odd: In life, she was sharp and funny ("What killed your father?" she was asked. "My mother, I think," she replied), but you couldn't say she was a natural screen comedienne. It's almost as if acting was some sort of violation of her essential nature, even as it fed her need for drama, for notice.
Physically, Wood was the quintessential star-emotionally, too. She was nervous and prone to short-term liaisons with inappropriate men: Dennis Hopper, Henry Jaglom, Steve McQueen, Frank Sinatra and, most ridiculous of them all, Ladislow Blatnik, known as "The Shoe King of Venezuela." Then there was Jerry Brown, at the time California's secretary of state, whose equipment Wood described as being "like a wand."
She had a perceptible lack of foundation. Tom Mankiewicz (the wisest of Wood's friends) says that "studio life from an early age had cut Natalie off from so much, and she was eager to make up for it, but I often had the impression that she never knew exactly how to live her life."
Unhappy about her career, Wood took time off to focus on her family. She didn't make a picture for four years. Then the itch hit her and she wanted to go back to work, but suddenly the parts weren't there. "After being put on a pedestal when she was young," said Sydney Pollack, "she became a victim of changing times, when the new stars were 'people like ourselves' rather than iconic." After Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice , she came back to … Peeper , The Last Married Couple in America and Meteor -movies to make you pine for Marjorie Morningstar .
The last time Mr. Lambert saw her, she asked him if she looked her age. She was thinking of Barbara Stanwyck, who had seemed bitter and lonely when Wood had dinner at her house. "To stay on an even keel," Mr. Mankiewicz said, "Natalie needed all her cards, and she was very afraid of losing her beauty card."
Reduced to nothing parts in theatrical movies and ostensibly meaty parts in déclassé TV movies, Wood began planning a comeback on stage as Anastasia.
When Christopher Walken sparked to her on the set of Brainstorm -yet another lousy movie-it seemed like a chance for creative rebirth. He was from New York, handsome, serious about acting, "edgy." He was also younger. The woman who told friends that she had never cheated on Robert Wagner was smitten; Mr. Lambert believes there was an affair. Certainly, she was drinking during working hours and behaving in a less-than-professional manner.
The psychodrama continued on board Wagner and Wood's yacht. Everybody was drinking; Mr. Wagner isn't entirely clear about exactly when Wood left the cabin, or what a woman who had always been terrified of the water was doing trying to get into a dinghy. The last notation in Wood's daybook reads: "This loneliness won't leave me alone." Song lyric or ruthless self-appraisal?
Wood's vivid personality and turbulent life compel a certain amount of attention, but the career is punctuated by dreary failure. She helps render West Side Story unwatchable on those too-frequent occasions when Jerome Robbins' dancers aren't snapping their fingers. And if you're looking for proof that Jack Warner was way over the hill, there's the otherwise inexplicable fact that he didn't shut down Gypsy after the first week of shooting, recast every part and fire Mervyn LeRoy.
Thanks to the ridiculously furtive Robert Redford-it's as if he were embarrassed to be seen acting-Wood is the best thing in Inside Daisy Clover . And yes, she's very moving in Splendor in the Grass , but Elia Kazan could have drawn good work out of Lash La Rue. (Mr. Lambert reveals that Kazan's first choice for Deanie was the doomed Diane Varsi-not sexy enough; his second choice was Jane Fonda-too sexy.)
For me, the best performance Wood gave was Love with the Proper Stranger , directed by the underrated Robert Mulligan. It's a part-nice Italian girl gets knocked up-that requires being, not acting. Freed up from the big emotional arias that tended to reveal her structural flaws as an actress, Wood's natural likeability and charm came through.
Gavin Lambert's most valuable quality as a biographer-aside from an unforced but erudite style-is empathy. He was Wood's friend as well as a co-worker, but he doesn't engage in special pleading. He has a lovely dry wit (I especially like the way he continually calls Jack Warner "Producer"-which is how the studio was referred to in contractual boilerplate).
Mr. Lambert's book leaves a residue of sadness-not just for the way Natalie Wood died, but for the frustrated, apparently unfulfilled way she lived. In art as in life, choices matter and timing is everything.
---
Following is Scott Eyman's 2004 review of Lambert's book, "Natalie: A Life." Eyman also wrote "Lion of Hollywood: The Life of Louis B. Mayer" published in 2005, Simon and Schuster. Eyman is who Robert Wagner chose to write his book, "Pieces of My Heart."
I feel Eyman really missed the mark on the essence of Natalie Wood in this book review of his. Of course, the review is based on a book about Natalie (Lambert's) that, in my opinion, REALLY missed the mark.
Link to review:
Equipped for Stardom, Alas- Natalie Wood's Unhappy Career | The New York Observer
Review of: "Natalie Wood: A Life" by Gavin Lambert. Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
By Scott Eyman, January 25, 2004
A lot of writers will tell you that the last star created by the studio system was Elizabeth Taylor, but a lot of writers are wrong. Years after Elizabeth Taylor, there was Natalie Wood.
MGM gave Elizabeth Taylor Lassie Come Home , National Velvet and Father of the Bride , and had the good sense to loan her to George Stevens for A Place in the Sun . Four films of that quality before you're 20 years old will go a long way toward creating a legend.
But by the time Natalie Wood landed at Warner Bros., after a middling career as a sober little changeling of a child actress, Jack Warner was more interested in shafting his brother Harry out of the studio than he was in nurturing a young actress. He gave her a good part in a very good film ( Rebel Without a Cause ), followed by a bad part in a great film ( The Searchers ), and then she had to make do with hopeless cases like Marjorie Morningstar , The Burning Hills and Bombers B-52 . That segued into a brief musical-blockbuster phase ( West Side Story , Gypsy ), followed by irredeemable disasters like Penelope and Sex and the Single Girl .
Natalie Wood survived a lot of bad movies and retained her appeal-no small achievement. But ever since her drowning death off Catalina Island in 1981, she's been slowly easing into that limbo populated by stars who don't transcend their period.
Which is probably why the estimable Gavin Lambert has written an authorized biography of a woman who managed to become a major star without ever earning the bona fides of a major actress.
She would have been a star in any era, especially the silents-her best features were her luminous eyes and luscious figure. Those glowing eyes were always knowing and bright, but her line readings were often flat and gauche. One very wise friend of mine passed up the chance to meet her at a party because he knew that he would go weak in the knees if he tried to form a coherent sentence in her presence-the same sort of reaction people of an earlier generation had to Lana Turner, a personality pull that supersedes considerations of talent. On a certain level of stardom, with someone who can make people happy just by showing up-Julia Roberts, anyone?-who cares if they can act?
On the evidence of Mr. Lambert's book, Natalie Wood had a life that might gently be termed "uneasy." Born Natasha Gurdin, the fruit of an extramarital affair, she was pushed into show business by her mother, a real-life Mama Rose. Natasha was very Russian, very emotional: She lost her virginity to the bisexual, addictive personality who went by the name of Nicholas Ray and served as another notch on Warren Beatty's bedpost, which seems to have induced a mysterious suicide attempt.
Wood had rotten luck, some of it self-induced. While she was filming the hideous Penelope , Mr. Beatty offered her the role of Bonnie in Bonnie and Clyde , but she turned it down because she didn't want to be separated from her psychiatrist by a long location shoot. She turned down William Wyler's The Collector in order to do Gavin Lambert's own adaptation of his novel, Inside Daisy Clover . Both films were downbeat hothouse flowers, but Wyler wasn't about to be manhandled by the studio, while Inside Daisy Clover was bound to be. For too much of her limited time, Wood was stuck churning out gilded turds like The Great Race .
She knew it, and so put a lot of emotional energy into her relationships. She was a spectacular friend, warm and supportive to her circle, which included Guy McElwaine, Mart Crowley, Howard Jeffrey, Asa Maynor and the late Norma Crane. What Natalie wanted in a friend was humor, intelligence and emotional directness; to qualify, one had to pass what Norma Crane called "the kindness test."
It's all very odd: In life, she was sharp and funny ("What killed your father?" she was asked. "My mother, I think," she replied), but you couldn't say she was a natural screen comedienne. It's almost as if acting was some sort of violation of her essential nature, even as it fed her need for drama, for notice.
Physically, Wood was the quintessential star-emotionally, too. She was nervous and prone to short-term liaisons with inappropriate men: Dennis Hopper, Henry Jaglom, Steve McQueen, Frank Sinatra and, most ridiculous of them all, Ladislow Blatnik, known as "The Shoe King of Venezuela." Then there was Jerry Brown, at the time California's secretary of state, whose equipment Wood described as being "like a wand."
She had a perceptible lack of foundation. Tom Mankiewicz (the wisest of Wood's friends) says that "studio life from an early age had cut Natalie off from so much, and she was eager to make up for it, but I often had the impression that she never knew exactly how to live her life."
Unhappy about her career, Wood took time off to focus on her family. She didn't make a picture for four years. Then the itch hit her and she wanted to go back to work, but suddenly the parts weren't there. "After being put on a pedestal when she was young," said Sydney Pollack, "she became a victim of changing times, when the new stars were 'people like ourselves' rather than iconic." After Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice , she came back to … Peeper , The Last Married Couple in America and Meteor -movies to make you pine for Marjorie Morningstar .
The last time Mr. Lambert saw her, she asked him if she looked her age. She was thinking of Barbara Stanwyck, who had seemed bitter and lonely when Wood had dinner at her house. "To stay on an even keel," Mr. Mankiewicz said, "Natalie needed all her cards, and she was very afraid of losing her beauty card."
Reduced to nothing parts in theatrical movies and ostensibly meaty parts in déclassé TV movies, Wood began planning a comeback on stage as Anastasia.
When Christopher Walken sparked to her on the set of Brainstorm -yet another lousy movie-it seemed like a chance for creative rebirth. He was from New York, handsome, serious about acting, "edgy." He was also younger. The woman who told friends that she had never cheated on Robert Wagner was smitten; Mr. Lambert believes there was an affair. Certainly, she was drinking during working hours and behaving in a less-than-professional manner.
The psychodrama continued on board Wagner and Wood's yacht. Everybody was drinking; Mr. Wagner isn't entirely clear about exactly when Wood left the cabin, or what a woman who had always been terrified of the water was doing trying to get into a dinghy. The last notation in Wood's daybook reads: "This loneliness won't leave me alone." Song lyric or ruthless self-appraisal?
Wood's vivid personality and turbulent life compel a certain amount of attention, but the career is punctuated by dreary failure. She helps render West Side Story unwatchable on those too-frequent occasions when Jerome Robbins' dancers aren't snapping their fingers. And if you're looking for proof that Jack Warner was way over the hill, there's the otherwise inexplicable fact that he didn't shut down Gypsy after the first week of shooting, recast every part and fire Mervyn LeRoy.
Thanks to the ridiculously furtive Robert Redford-it's as if he were embarrassed to be seen acting-Wood is the best thing in Inside Daisy Clover . And yes, she's very moving in Splendor in the Grass , but Elia Kazan could have drawn good work out of Lash La Rue. (Mr. Lambert reveals that Kazan's first choice for Deanie was the doomed Diane Varsi-not sexy enough; his second choice was Jane Fonda-too sexy.)
For me, the best performance Wood gave was Love with the Proper Stranger , directed by the underrated Robert Mulligan. It's a part-nice Italian girl gets knocked up-that requires being, not acting. Freed up from the big emotional arias that tended to reveal her structural flaws as an actress, Wood's natural likeability and charm came through.
Gavin Lambert's most valuable quality as a biographer-aside from an unforced but erudite style-is empathy. He was Wood's friend as well as a co-worker, but he doesn't engage in special pleading. He has a lovely dry wit (I especially like the way he continually calls Jack Warner "Producer"-which is how the studio was referred to in contractual boilerplate).
Mr. Lambert's book leaves a residue of sadness-not just for the way Natalie Wood died, but for the frustrated, apparently unfulfilled way she lived. In art as in life, choices matter and timing is everything.
---
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
The re-opening of Natalie Wood's case remains important.
I've tried to speak with Rasure and Salerno since GNGS's release but to no avail. As I wrote in "Goodbye Natalie Goodbye Splendour" I believe they rushed judgment in this case to avoid a media circus. I don't think there is a conspiracy or a cover-up on the law's side, more an embarrassment they care not to admit. I believe lead detective Rasure made a terrible mistake, and being he was respected, no one deemed it necessary to second-guess him.
The authorities were genuinely saddened by Natalie Wood's death, a high-profile death that was bound to draw media attention. Little did they know, it would go on until this very year. That's because, these days, such a case would never have been closed within days. Today, the detectives would be as scrutinized as the cruise survivors would've been...comedians would be joking about them, and their actions would be all over the media. But, for some godforsaken reason, they are ALL getting a continued pass on this shabbily investigated case. It's easier for them to consider what I have contributed as part of the "farce of Natalie's death" but this case is no farce to me.
Her family, her friends, her colleagues, the media, and those who we would expect to bring Natalie Wood justice can remain "politely quiet" all they want. I and many others will continue to raise our voices about this travesty of justice until something is done about it. Please sign the petition if you haven't already.
Reopen Investigation of Natalie Wood's death Petition
The authorities were genuinely saddened by Natalie Wood's death, a high-profile death that was bound to draw media attention. Little did they know, it would go on until this very year. That's because, these days, such a case would never have been closed within days. Today, the detectives would be as scrutinized as the cruise survivors would've been...comedians would be joking about them, and their actions would be all over the media. But, for some godforsaken reason, they are ALL getting a continued pass on this shabbily investigated case. It's easier for them to consider what I have contributed as part of the "farce of Natalie's death" but this case is no farce to me.
Her family, her friends, her colleagues, the media, and those who we would expect to bring Natalie Wood justice can remain "politely quiet" all they want. I and many others will continue to raise our voices about this travesty of justice until something is done about it. Please sign the petition if you haven't already.
Reopen Investigation of Natalie Wood's death Petition
Friday, January 7, 2011
Dennis Davern's Polygraph Tests
Dennis Davern Polygraph Tests Results: Conducted by Howard Temple, Court Certified Polygraphist, American Polygraph Association Member, over 25 years experience in criminal law.
RESULTS: Dennis Davern passed all questions and issues presented by Howard Temple.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Polygraphist Question: Did you tie the dinghy with two lines at the stern (rear) of Splendour after you returned from dinner at Doug’s Harbor Reef the night of November 28, 1981?
Davern: Yes.
Polygraphist Question: Did you hear Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood having a huge argument in their master stateroom that carried outside to the rear deck of Splendour near 11:00 P.M. on the night of November 28, 1981, and was Robert Wagner with his wife from his smashing of a wine bottle in the main salon until the time he told you she went missing?
Davern: Yes.
Polygraphist Question: Did you see or hear Natalie Wood in the ocean the night of November 28, 1981?
Davern: No.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Polygraphist: Issue 1: Robert Wagner suddenly decided to move the yacht Splendour to the Isthmus on late Friday night, November 27, 1981. Natalie Wood left the yacht with you, and you spent the night with her at the Pavilion Lodge (in Avalon), where you talked, listened to her express anger at her husband, drank wine, and then you slept with Natalie in her bed, with no sexual contact. Is this accurate?
Davern: Yes.
Polygraphist: Issue 2: The cruise resumed on the morning of Saturday, November 28, 1981, and after Natalie made breakfast aboard Splendour, later that afternoon, Natalie and Christopher Walken went ashore and you and Wagner followed a few hours later in the dinghy to meet them at Doug’s Harbor Reef Restaurant for cocktails and dinner. Is this accurate?
Davern: Yes.
Polygraphist: Issue 3: After the bottle smashing (by Wagner) on November 28, 1981, Christopher Walken retreated to his cabin and stayed there. You did not see Walken leave his cabin until early morning, November 29, 1981. Is this accurate?
Davern: Yes.
Polygraphist: Issue 4: When Wagner followed Natalie to their stateroom after the bottle smashing, you heard loud cursing and yelling, and what sounded like things being thrown or pushed around emitting from their stateroom on November 28, 1981. Is this accurate?
Davern: Yes.
Polygraphist: Issue 5: After Natalie was missing on the night of November 28, 1981, Robert Wagner told you he did not want to search for her because he needed to protect his image and did not want to draw attention to the situation, so he did not agree to your suggestion to turn on the searchlight. Is this correct?
Davern: Yes.
Polygraphist: Issue 6: After Natalie Wood was missing from the yacht Splendour on Saturday night, November 28, 1981, Robert Wagner asked you that very night to say nothing to anyone but attorneys about what you had seen and heard. Is this accurate?
Davern: Yes.
Polygraphist: Issue 7: In the months following Natalie Wood’s funeral, Robert Wagner paid for your attorney and for your therapy with his therapist. Is this accurate?
Davern: Yes.
Polygraphist: Issue 8: After Natalie Wood’s funeral, you stayed at Wagner’s home in a monitored atmosphere for months. Wagner’s employees would drive you to your fiancée’s house. One night, while visiting your fiancée, Wagner’s bodyguards physically removed you from your girlfriend’s house and dragged you down the sidewalk, while your girlfriend screamed. Is this accurate?
Davern: Yes.
Polygraphist: Issue 9: Reporters sought you for interviews since Wood’s death. Not until 1985 with the Star magazine did you approve an interview. In all following interviews you granted, you told the truth with details you offered about Natalie’s death, and you have been truthful with Marti Rulli through the years she has worked on a manuscript about Wood’s death. Is this true?
Davern: Yes.
Polygraphist: Issue 10: In discussing Natalie Wood’s death in January 1992 in what you believed was a private setting on the Now It Can Be Told magazine show, you and Marti Rulli were discussing facts about the story, and about why you wanted to discontinue the interview. Is this accurate?
Davern: Yes.
Polygraphist: Issue11: You did not release the dinghy, Valiant, from the Splendour after Natalie Wood went missing from the yacht on November 28, 1981. Is this true?
Davern: Yes.
Polygraphist: Issue 12: There is an investigator named Peter Rydyn who calls himself “the Retributor.” You have no knowledge of this person and have never had any contact or interaction with this person. Is this correct?
Davern: Yes.
Polygraphist Visit, October 21, 2008
Note: Polygraphist asked these two questions in three different formats, and Dennis passed all three versions.
Polygraphist Question: On the night of November 28, 1981, in the main salon where Wagner, Walken, Wood, and you gathered, did Robert Wagner scream, “Do you want to fuck my wife, is that what you want?” when he smashed the wine bottle?
Davern: Yes.
Polygraphist Question: On the night of November 28, 1981, after the argument between Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner carried out to the deck, did you see Natalie on deck wearing her nightgown?
Davern: Yes.
Note: These questions and answers are copyrighted material from Goodbye Natalie Goodbye Splendour. Any publishing, posting, copying, or pasting of this material elsewhere is prohibbited by law.
RESULTS: Dennis Davern passed all questions and issues presented by Howard Temple.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Polygraphist Question: Did you tie the dinghy with two lines at the stern (rear) of Splendour after you returned from dinner at Doug’s Harbor Reef the night of November 28, 1981?
Davern: Yes.
Polygraphist Question: Did you hear Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood having a huge argument in their master stateroom that carried outside to the rear deck of Splendour near 11:00 P.M. on the night of November 28, 1981, and was Robert Wagner with his wife from his smashing of a wine bottle in the main salon until the time he told you she went missing?
Davern: Yes.
Polygraphist Question: Did you see or hear Natalie Wood in the ocean the night of November 28, 1981?
Davern: No.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Polygraphist: Issue 1: Robert Wagner suddenly decided to move the yacht Splendour to the Isthmus on late Friday night, November 27, 1981. Natalie Wood left the yacht with you, and you spent the night with her at the Pavilion Lodge (in Avalon), where you talked, listened to her express anger at her husband, drank wine, and then you slept with Natalie in her bed, with no sexual contact. Is this accurate?
Davern: Yes.
Polygraphist: Issue 2: The cruise resumed on the morning of Saturday, November 28, 1981, and after Natalie made breakfast aboard Splendour, later that afternoon, Natalie and Christopher Walken went ashore and you and Wagner followed a few hours later in the dinghy to meet them at Doug’s Harbor Reef Restaurant for cocktails and dinner. Is this accurate?
Davern: Yes.
Polygraphist: Issue 3: After the bottle smashing (by Wagner) on November 28, 1981, Christopher Walken retreated to his cabin and stayed there. You did not see Walken leave his cabin until early morning, November 29, 1981. Is this accurate?
Davern: Yes.
Polygraphist: Issue 4: When Wagner followed Natalie to their stateroom after the bottle smashing, you heard loud cursing and yelling, and what sounded like things being thrown or pushed around emitting from their stateroom on November 28, 1981. Is this accurate?
Davern: Yes.
Polygraphist: Issue 5: After Natalie was missing on the night of November 28, 1981, Robert Wagner told you he did not want to search for her because he needed to protect his image and did not want to draw attention to the situation, so he did not agree to your suggestion to turn on the searchlight. Is this correct?
Davern: Yes.
Polygraphist: Issue 6: After Natalie Wood was missing from the yacht Splendour on Saturday night, November 28, 1981, Robert Wagner asked you that very night to say nothing to anyone but attorneys about what you had seen and heard. Is this accurate?
Davern: Yes.
Polygraphist: Issue 7: In the months following Natalie Wood’s funeral, Robert Wagner paid for your attorney and for your therapy with his therapist. Is this accurate?
Davern: Yes.
Polygraphist: Issue 8: After Natalie Wood’s funeral, you stayed at Wagner’s home in a monitored atmosphere for months. Wagner’s employees would drive you to your fiancée’s house. One night, while visiting your fiancée, Wagner’s bodyguards physically removed you from your girlfriend’s house and dragged you down the sidewalk, while your girlfriend screamed. Is this accurate?
Davern: Yes.
Polygraphist: Issue 9: Reporters sought you for interviews since Wood’s death. Not until 1985 with the Star magazine did you approve an interview. In all following interviews you granted, you told the truth with details you offered about Natalie’s death, and you have been truthful with Marti Rulli through the years she has worked on a manuscript about Wood’s death. Is this true?
Davern: Yes.
Polygraphist: Issue 10: In discussing Natalie Wood’s death in January 1992 in what you believed was a private setting on the Now It Can Be Told magazine show, you and Marti Rulli were discussing facts about the story, and about why you wanted to discontinue the interview. Is this accurate?
Davern: Yes.
Polygraphist: Issue11: You did not release the dinghy, Valiant, from the Splendour after Natalie Wood went missing from the yacht on November 28, 1981. Is this true?
Davern: Yes.
Polygraphist: Issue 12: There is an investigator named Peter Rydyn who calls himself “the Retributor.” You have no knowledge of this person and have never had any contact or interaction with this person. Is this correct?
Davern: Yes.
Polygraphist Visit, October 21, 2008
Note: Polygraphist asked these two questions in three different formats, and Dennis passed all three versions.
Polygraphist Question: On the night of November 28, 1981, in the main salon where Wagner, Walken, Wood, and you gathered, did Robert Wagner scream, “Do you want to fuck my wife, is that what you want?” when he smashed the wine bottle?
Davern: Yes.
Polygraphist Question: On the night of November 28, 1981, after the argument between Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner carried out to the deck, did you see Natalie on deck wearing her nightgown?
Davern: Yes.
Note: These questions and answers are copyrighted material from Goodbye Natalie Goodbye Splendour. Any publishing, posting, copying, or pasting of this material elsewhere is prohibbited by law.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Happy New Year - Auld Lang Syne by Sissel (Live)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vC8Hffm9BE (Link to video mentioned)
Someone emailed me this. It's beautiful. Take the 6 minutes to watch this, as it will really inspire your New Year.
Someone emailed me this. It's beautiful. Take the 6 minutes to watch this, as it will really inspire your New Year.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Robert Redford on Natalie Wood
Most of you have probably seen this but it has always been interesting to me that Redford makes a point of mentioning Natalie's fear of water and her playfulness on the set while filming (something some people like to think only happened when starring with Walken).
Many celebrities have used various means to let us know they suspect something more than the official answer to Natalie's death. One comedian yelled out on the Chelsea Chandler Show "We know what you did, RJ." Seinfeld and Larry David wrote in a little part about Walken's part on the Splendour in "Curb Your Enthusiasm." A Tony award-winning director is presenting a NY play based on GNGS in 2011. There are many things people in show business do and will continue to do for Natalie's memory, a true memory.
Most of these little signs of support are discreet for now, but I have a feeling that will change drastically.
On the other side of the story, many work hard to keep the propaganda going, too. How did Robert Wagner get the part on NCIS playing the father of the actor (Michael Weatherly) who portrayed him in "The Mystery of Natalie Wood" the TV movie based on Suzanne Finstad's book? Sure makes it appear as if Finstad's
movie was more a memoir than a search for truth. Wagner's attorneys constantly bothered the execs when the movie was being filmed. They were constantly threatened by Wagner's legal team. Finstad was reduced to telling very little about her accurate timeline in her movie, and ended up having to stick with the bogus "banging dinghy" theory. Did Wagner go after the part of Tony's father in NCIS? He claims he was chosen because of the resemblence between he and Weatherly. In any case, subliminal suggestion exists with the choice. Actors care about the next role they will acquire, understandably so. It's more to their advangtage to remain neutral. It's a tough business.
Some people often advise me to "Come out and SAY IT!" I suppose we have to be as careful and discreet as the figures in Hollywood who also want to "say it" or "twist it" but still have to respect the official version until proven otherwise. That's the huge task in front of us: to get the authorities involved. It's sad that "game playing" exists in such a serious, tragic death such as Natalie Wood's. There should be no hestitation whatsoever in reopening this neglected case. One good detective, one decent department, is all it would take.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Sign Natalie Wood Petition
Please sign or pass on this petition before it is submitted.
Reopen Investigation of Natalie Wood's death Petition
In the planning stages for GNGS 2011:
Case detectives and Dr. Thomas Noguchi's silence in the wake of the evidence presented in GNGS leaves a vaccum waiting to be filled by a detailed, profesional review of the medical evidence. A consulting Medical Examiner and Homicide Investigator will review the Wood case.
The brief, superficial investigation conducted by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Dept. will be publicly revealed as insufficient. Wagner and Walken were treated as victims at the scene of Wood's death, and their celebrity status overrode any consideration that they be interrogated and body-checked. Homicide 101 dictates that the majority of suspicious deaths are connected to someone close to the victim. The second rule of homicide demands that investigators follow the evidence. Investigators in the Wood case made the classic error of quickly surmising a scenario or theory and then presented the limited evidence to support their premise. All evidence that pointed in other directions was not pursued, or worse, deliberatley ignored.
An official request will be legally filed to request the case be reopened. The online petition and all of its comments will be submitted to indicate that many "voices" believe the Wood case deserves a review. The online petiton comments are compelling and deserve to be recognized.
These actions will be journaled and documented in plans for an in-depth study into the case to be followed by a major news venue. Key witnesses the investigators ignored and/or did not pursue will participate.
Goal: Results will not come overnight, but by the 30th anniversary of Natalie's death, we will have an official answer from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department about their official stand in the case and all details pertaining to the Wood case will have had professional, released data on findings. Credible, important professionals will be involved in this process.
In the meantime, all segments of media will be informed of our procedures. Whatever you will read in the media will be explained or elaborated at this blog. You will be able to rely on this blog for the truth and details of progress and effort to correct this important part of Hollywood history.
For those interested in the Natalie Wood case, your concern is appreciated. Her case is an important one, especially after 30 years of avoidance of providing Natalie Wood the attention and justice she deserves.
Thank you for caring about this important case. Thank you to each and every one of you who have signed the petition. If you haven't please do so.
Reopen Investigation of Natalie Wood's death Petition
In the planning stages for GNGS 2011:
Case detectives and Dr. Thomas Noguchi's silence in the wake of the evidence presented in GNGS leaves a vaccum waiting to be filled by a detailed, profesional review of the medical evidence. A consulting Medical Examiner and Homicide Investigator will review the Wood case.
The brief, superficial investigation conducted by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Dept. will be publicly revealed as insufficient. Wagner and Walken were treated as victims at the scene of Wood's death, and their celebrity status overrode any consideration that they be interrogated and body-checked. Homicide 101 dictates that the majority of suspicious deaths are connected to someone close to the victim. The second rule of homicide demands that investigators follow the evidence. Investigators in the Wood case made the classic error of quickly surmising a scenario or theory and then presented the limited evidence to support their premise. All evidence that pointed in other directions was not pursued, or worse, deliberatley ignored.
An official request will be legally filed to request the case be reopened. The online petition and all of its comments will be submitted to indicate that many "voices" believe the Wood case deserves a review. The online petiton comments are compelling and deserve to be recognized.
These actions will be journaled and documented in plans for an in-depth study into the case to be followed by a major news venue. Key witnesses the investigators ignored and/or did not pursue will participate.
Goal: Results will not come overnight, but by the 30th anniversary of Natalie's death, we will have an official answer from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department about their official stand in the case and all details pertaining to the Wood case will have had professional, released data on findings. Credible, important professionals will be involved in this process.
In the meantime, all segments of media will be informed of our procedures. Whatever you will read in the media will be explained or elaborated at this blog. You will be able to rely on this blog for the truth and details of progress and effort to correct this important part of Hollywood history.
For those interested in the Natalie Wood case, your concern is appreciated. Her case is an important one, especially after 30 years of avoidance of providing Natalie Wood the attention and justice she deserves.
Thank you for caring about this important case. Thank you to each and every one of you who have signed the petition. If you haven't please do so.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
