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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.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

And the Oscar goes to ..... Natalie Wood!

It would have been nice to one day hear those words, and I'm sure Natalie would've appreciated the honor, but unless the Academy changes their rules, Natalie will never be entitled to an honorary Oscar, either.

In my opinion, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences owes Natalie Wood a long overdue Oscar. I called the Academy in 2008 to inquire if they had ever considered bestowing Natalie with a lifetime achievement award. I was told that it is in their rules (Rule #24) to not consider posthumous special awards. Lifetime achievement awards fall into that category. I was told by Libby Wertin of the Academy that if I would like to voice my opinion, I could e-mail from the link at www.oscars.org/contact/general.html.
I sent an email but never recieved an answer.

Before age thirty, Natalie Wood had earned three Oscar nominations and made over forty movies, some to never be forgotten. True CLASSICS.
Natalie never received the coveted Oscar, but from 1946 until even after her death, Natalie received numerous awards and nominations for her work. (Hope I got these correct)


1946 Won Box Office Magazine’s Most Talented Young Actress of 1946 for Tomorrow Is Forever

1956 Won National Association of Theatre Owners Star of Tomorrow Award

1956 Nominated for Oscar, for Best Actress in Supporting Role, for Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

1957 Won Golden Globe Most Promising Newcomer – Female

1958 Nominated Laurel Awards Golden Laurel for Top Female Dramatic Performance for Marjorie Morningstar (1958) – 5th Place

1958 Laurel Awards Golden Laurel for Top Female Star – 13th Place

1959 Nominated Laurel Awards Golden Laurel for Top Female Star – 7th Place

1960 Nominated Laurel Awards Golden Laurel for Female Star – 9th Place

1961 Grauman’s Chinese Theatre Handprint Ceremony, Inducted in Hollywood’s “Walk of Fame”

1961 Nominated Laurel Awards Golden Laurel for Top Female Star – 14th Place

1962 Laurel Awards Golden Laurel for Top Female Dramatic Performance for Splendor in the Grass (1961) – 3rd Place

1962 Laurel Awards Golden Laurel for Top Female Star – 5th Place

1962 Nominated for Oscar Best Actress in a Leading Role for Splendor in the Grass

1962 Nominated Golden Globe Best Motion Picture Actress – Drama for Splendor in the Grass

1963 Nominated for BAFTA Film Award for Best Foreign Actress for Splendor in the Grass

1963 Nominated for Golden Globe Best Motion Picture Actress Musical/Comedy for Gypsy (1962)

1963 Laurel Awards Golden Laurel for Top Female Musical Performance for Gypsy (1962) – 2nd Place

1963 Laurel Awards Golden Laurel for Top Female Star – 2nd Place

1964 Won Mar del Plata Film Festival Award for Best Actress for Love with the Proper Stranger (1963)

1964 Nominated for Oscar Best Actress in a Leading Role for Love with the Proper Stranger

1964 Won New York Times Film Critics Award for Best Actress for Love with the Proper Stranger

1964 Nominated Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actress – Drama for Love with the Proper Stranger

1964 Laurel Awards Golden Laurel for Top Female Dramatic Performance for Love with the Proper Stranger – 2nd Place

1964 Laurel Awards Golden Laurel for Top Female Star – 3rd Place

1965 Nominated Laurel Awards Golden Laurel for Comedy Performance, Female foe Sex and the Single Girl (1964) – 6th Place

1965 Laurel Awards Golden Laurel for Top Female Star – 6th Place

1966 Won Golden Glode Award for World Film Favorite

1966 Nominated Laurel Awards Golden Laurel for Female Star – 8th Place

1966 Won Henrietta Award for World Film Favorite – Female

1966 Nominated Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actress – Musical/Comedy for Inside Daisy Clover (1965)

1967 Laurel Awards Golden Laurel for Female Dramatic Performance for This Property Is Condemned (1966) – Female Star – 3rd Place

1967 Laurel Awards Golden Laurel for Top Female Star – 3rd Place

1967 Nominated for Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actress – Drama for This Property Is Condemned

1968 Laurel Awards Golden Laurel for Female Star – 12th Place

1970 Laurel Awards Golden Laurel for Female Star – 9th Place

1971 Laurel Awards Golden Laurel for Female Star – 9th Place

1980 Won Golden Globe for Best TV Actress – Drama for From Here to Eternity (1979)

1984 (posthumous) Nominated for Saturn Award Best Supporting Actress, Brainstorm (1983)

1984 (posthumous) Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA, Nominated for Saturn Award, Best Supporting Actress for Brainstorm

1987 (posthumous) Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, Hollywood Walk of Fame

Natalie Wood will forever be a part of American culture and history, immortalized in her classic films and roles. Her missing Oscar detracts nothing from her accomplishments. She was and always will be a true star!

56 comments:

  1. Thank you, Marti, for keeping her memory alive in a positive way as well as being a major force in giving her the justice she deserves.

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  2. Marti,
    In a way it might be best that they don't give out posthumous Oscars. I could just see Wagner getting up there all crocodile tears in his eyes accepting Natalie's like he did with her Walk of Fame.
    It would be just one more thing of Natalie's for him to coast on her fame like he has done all his life. Also sure Katie Wagner would be right there basking in the glory like she always does with that cheesy fake smile plastered across her melon face.

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  3. I've seen a video of Natalie winning the Golden Globe for "From Here to Eternity." She was so lovely to watch...to see the genuine surprise and joy that she showed was truly wonderful.
    I especially love the picture of Natalie and Paul Michael Glaser taken just after she won. Natalie is holding the Award, and the radiant smile on her face is a lovely thing to see--it means a lot to a fan.

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    Replies
    1. She was indeed a beautiful woman and a gifted actress. It is a shame that her life was cut short.

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  4. Anon 8:27, I couldn't agree more!

    I always thought Natalie was the youngest 3-time Oscar nominee, with her first at age 17 and her last at age 25.

    But I recently found out that actress Teresa Wright is. Wright received her first nomination at 23, and her second and third nominations during the same year at 24.

    But that is still a major accomplishment that gets overlooked. Young as she was, Natalie was a true veteran and I don't think there's ever been another person to be so accomplished at such a young age.

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  5. This is a wonderful post as a tribute to Natalie on this special night of the Oscars. Thank you for reminding us how accomplished Natalie was.

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  6. Considering her roles in Splendor, Rebel, and Stranger, Natalie should have one at least one Oscar...it's pretty obvious that the Academy's too political, probably always have been.

    I'm still pissed that Grace Kelly won over Judy Garland in 1954.

    And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

    But I often find comfort in this: They're just statues, I prefer to allow the public to decide certain things. The legend is ALWAYS bigger than the 'academy'.

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  7. Natalie should have won at least one Oscar. As great as she was in "Rebel" I think she should have won for at least "Splendor" or "Stranger". However, she was nominated three times in her tragically short life and career and that says something. But about posthumous awards like Anonymous said, we wouldn't want to see Wagner's fake acceptance on her behalf stuff. Of course, he would make it all about him.

    Marti, you put it well that Natalie will forever be in the hearts of people who watch her films. She touches so many people all these years later because her work and talent is timeless. She accomplished so much in a short time. She is truly an icon and a legend.

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  8. I wouldn't want to see him accept for her. I would rather see her daughters accept and if they refuse, then Lana. RJ would be last on my list. Can you just see him now with the fake tears and voice cracking?
    They don't give out posthumous Lifetime Achievement awards and I doubt that will ever change.

    She absolutely should have won for Splendor in the Grass. She was favored to win to the same degree that Natalie Portman was favored to win last night. IMO, her performance was one of the finest ever given by anyone at anytime.

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  9. She lost the Oscar to Sophia Loren, who also won 21 other awards that year for her performance in "Two Women." As much as I love Natalie, Loren rightfully won. If I could give Natalie an Oscar for any of the films she made during her very short life, it would be for "This Property Is Condemned." Her second best performance, in my opinion, was in the movie "Inside Daisy Clover."

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  10. Hey Courtney-xs3-oh9, we believe Natalie should have won the Oscar and so do many people. There is a joke that goes along with it. It goes like this "Who is Sophia Loren, the answer, the actress who took home Natalie Wood's Oscar."
    Loren rightfully won, in your opinion. Loren was good in Two Women but she did not come close to making the viewer feel her pain as Natalie did in Splendor in the Grass.
    "who also won 21 other awards" Straight from Wikipedia on that one.
    Audrey Hepburn fans would probably say that they feel that she should have won. Whatever the case, at the time, Natalie was favored to win and IMO, she should have.

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  11. Question: What is a "Courtney-xs3-oh9" ? This blog is so hard to follow.

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  12. Some people are very impolite. Marti I think you should create a policy with a checkbox before people post on this blog.

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  13. I have watched the Oscars since I was 12 years old. I've seen many, many mistakes over the years (not by my opinion only) but the biggest mistake in Oscar history, IMO, is that Natalie was NOT nominated for West Side Story. What an oversight, what a mistake, what an unbelievable decision.

    Natalie's songs were dubbed in WSS, yes, but that's like saying an actor shouldn't get a nomination if he doesn't do his own stunts. Singing is singing and acting is acting. I truly believe Natalie is the main reason West Side Story is the classic it is. Sure, it includes classic songs, but so do many other movies. All the Oscars WSS received is because of Natalie's presence in it....even if the voters didn't consciously realize it THEN.

    As for Splendour in the Grass, No question... I agree...someone walked off with Natalie's Oscar. In my opinion, I think she should've been the actress with FOUR wins: Each she WAS nominated for, and for West Side Story where she was unbelievably overlooked.

    Yes, later I saw most of the movies and performances involved in the Oscar contests so that I formed objective opinions, way back when. I thought this same way even before Natalie died. I was waiting for the long overdue night she would've held that golden statuette in her hands. That's why I called the Academy on her behalf. She still deserves it. If they ever honored her now, I believe it should be Lana to receive, but we know the Academy won't be changing their rules in the near future.

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  14. That's not the fault of the Academy. The actors, directors etc, and their PR people and agents choose the film for which they have a better chance of winning and they campaign for that piece of work. Natalie and her people campaigned for the nomination for SITG.

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  15. Yes, I believe an actor or actress can only be nominated once in a category. Since Natalie had top billing in both Splendor and WSS, she could only be nominated for one of them. I think they made the right choice with Splendor.
    But, I agree with you, Marti, Natalie is a big reason why WSS is such a good movie. Like her portrayal of Gypsy, Natalie played the part of Maria better than anyone else I've seen.

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  16. XS3, oh9, justppl, ineedwater, Courtney if you love Sophia so much why not start your own blog about her? It is quite evident from the trash you throw on here and on IMDB under all your screen names that you are not a true fan of the great Natalie Wood as we are. True fans of hers give the Oscar to no one but her! I am a fan of Loren and Van Fleet and Neal but my idol is Natalie. Natalie first always!
    As you are very bigoted, how do you feel about Sophia being the bastard child of unwed parents and also the immense age difference that there was between her and Carlo Ponti and the adultery they shared because Ponti was a married man when they met?

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  17. Let me clarify a statement in my previous post to XS3! I should have put "bastard child" in quotations! This was a description XS3 used in describing one of Susan Sarandon's children with Tim Robbins when XS3 went under the screen name oh9.
    It is not in any way, shape or form how I feel about children. Any children.

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  18. I realize that SITG was the better choice to campaign for, and that especially is a slight to Natalie because all the while the Academy voters knew this woman produced TWO remarkable parts almost simultaneously released. My point is that the Acedamy leaves no room for exceptions or rule-breaking. Once you learn the rules, you can see great reason to occasionally break them, in this case: WWS and SITG. AND, a posthumous award.

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  19. They rarely change the rules or make exceptions. Some of their "Lifetime Achievement" choices are so lame. It's very political.

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  20. When the Academy was first Incorporated an actor or an actress could and were nominated for more than one role in any given year.
    IE: Emil Jannings and Janet Gaynor, the first two award winners were nom'd for more than one role.
    ...and I agree with Marti. On occasion rules should be bent. They certainly have been bent by the Academy in the past on several instances. Not only bent but broken many times!
    Sign me: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
    PS- This is a wonderful tribute to our girl Natalie! Kudos to you once again Marti!

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  21. Just to correct the record, Natalie was nominated for best actress in a supporting role for Rebel Without A Cause. There was no leading actress role in that film.

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  22. Where an actor's billing is placed has nothing to do with the Category they will be nominated in.
    It is the antagonist(s) or protagonist(s) performances that usually receive the Lead nominations.

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  23. Natalie was nominated as Supporting Actress for Rebel, not lead actress.

    Please delete that babbling troll's unrelated comments (anon 9:47). That person needs to take their anger somewhere else.

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  24. anon at 9:47 appears to be only pointing out the hateful deceit the person Courtney is projecting on here and on imdb. I think they only have the interest of Marti and the true fans of Natalie Wood at heart.
    I for one am grateful to anyone that stands up to deceitful people. You should be too!

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  25. Hey Kevinr,
    do you know where can I find the video you talked about, of the Golden Globes in which she got the best actress award?

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  26. She was truly surprised that she won that Globe. Her speech was obviously not prepared.

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  27. Most of you are probably not aware of this, IMDB obviously is not, Natalie was given a posthumous People's Choice Award in 1982. It was a Lifetime Achievement Award although I don't recall what it was specifically called. They did a lovely tribute to her, there was a standing ovation. The award was accepted by Lana. Robert Wagner was asked to accept but he declined. Perhaps it was not prestigious enough for him to accept the invitation as he did when he appeared and spoke when Natalie received her Star on the Walk of Fame, posthumously. That was a big deal as the 100th Anniversary of Hollywood was being celebrated and Natalie was the person chosen to receive a Star on that special day. A miniature replica of her Star was put in a space capsule along with other mementos of Hollywood. How would it have looks if her widower declined the invitation as he did with the People's Choice tribute?

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  28. It most certainly did happen. My, how touchy the Wagner troll is! LOL

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  29. I am not arguing the point as that confrontational poster did but I just went through 800 hits for Natalie Wood on the People's Choice site and I found nothing about a posthumous Award. There were some great film clips of her and lots of information but nothing about this. Can you tell me where you saw this? Please know, I am not doubting you at all I would just like to read it or see the clip for myself. That is all.
    Thanks!

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  30. I saw it. I remember it. I remember Lana walking to the stage and speaking, I remember the audience standing and clapping. I saw it the night it aired. I remember seeing the ballots in a magazine and the picture of Natalie they used was the one in which she was in a seated position wearing a leather jumpsuit. I've never seen mention of it on the Net. Maybe Marti can ask Lana what she recalls about that night.

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  31. The questions and accusations are jostling my memory at bit, LOL, I believe they called it The Hall of Fame Award, something along that line. They stopped that particular award a while back.

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  32. Yes, it is true Lana collected an award for Natalie, but I will have to check with Lana on date and exact type of award. I believe it was mentioned in an article or Suzanne's book, too.
    I will check.

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  33. You Are Correct! That Award Happened! I remember the exact photograph! It was a fairly recent one of Natalie in a leather pants suit taken shortly before her death. Her hair was back off her face but rather tousled in a curly fashion. B/W photograph looking gorgeous. Iwant to say it was US magazine where the ballots and articles were but I can't be positive on that one. The rest, I'd take a polygraph on!
    Lana accepted the award. I saw the award ceremonies. Never fear. I will hunt that article down and the photograph along with it.
    Sign me: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

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  34. Thanks to both of you. Why would anyone make up a story to build up Natalie. She doesn't need it. I thought people be happy to hear how she was honored. I guess I was wrong.

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  35. Anonymous 10:07, I've searched the internet but can't find the video. I thought I saw it on YouTube, but when I looked I could not find it. It appears that it may have been removed.

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  36. Thank you Kevinr. I know who one of the people is that posted here saying that it is true. That is all I need. I'd love to find more on it but I'll take their word for it because they know their Natalie history like we know our own name.
    Thanks again and if you haven't seen the videos The People's Choice site has on Natalie you might want to check it out. Nice and clear and great audio on them. Some of Youtube is really badly copied.

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  37. Watched Splendor in the grass today, and yes in deed she was robbed. Her acting was some of the finest ever and she was so young. I just love going through her movies and watching them all over again and again. Thanks. Pam

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  38. Someone's already pointed this out but Natalie was not nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in Rebel Without a Cause, which is in bold print in your post. She was nominated for best supporting actress.

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  39. This is the third time this has been said. We know,

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  40. I'm assuming that Marti put it in bold print because it was an Oscar nomination. All 3 Oscar nods are in bold print.

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  41. I have made the correction (on the Oscar nomination in the original post). Sorry I've been scarce, as I mentioned last week I had a busy week ahead and it turned out even busier than I expected. Am winding down now, and thanks, Anonymous 3:47 -- I know you'll find the accurate info on Natalie's posthumous award Lana received for her.

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  42. Yes, I saw that video clip of Natalie winning the Golden Globe--she was adorable. But the look on Wagner's face is very telling. He did NOT look happy for her. The envious, jealous creep...

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  43. That's too bad that the clip of Natalie winning is gone from YouTube. I saw it many months back.

    Again, it was very telling (but not surprising) to see Wagner's reaction. He finally managed a smile after some seconds elapsed--he looked like he realized he was supposed to be happy for her. What a jackass.

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  44. Natalie Wood was inducted into the "Hollywood Walk of Fame" on February 1, 1986. Accepting the award was Robert Wagner, in attendance were Maria Gurdin, Katie Wagner, Natasha Gregson Wagner, and Courtney Wagner.

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  45. Lana and Olga were there, also.
    I have this on video.
    The climate between RJ and Lana was as cold as ice.

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  46. Of course he accepted, there was a show to put on.

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  47. You forgot to mention Jill St. John! She was there too. Am I the only one who saw that red haired gold digging mess peeking out of the man hole on Hollywood Blvd. that day?

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  48. anon 3:22
    Even the most dire subjects need a bit of levity every so often just to cleanse the air. Your comment did exactly that.

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  49. Let us not forget the week long tribute that the Film Society of Lincoln Center had for Natalie titled "Natalie Wood: Yesterday's Angel" in August 2009 at the Walter Reade Theater in NYC. I was there. I saw the people, I heard the applause when her name appeared on the screen. Through tears in my own eyes I saw the tears in others as we watched that glorious face light up the screen. I was witness to the lovely and loving tributes to her from her dear friend Dyan Cannon and others.
    She has made an indelible presence on the world and she will never be forgotten no matter how much Wagner wants us to forget her.
    Sign me: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

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  50. 1:06 Great post. I wish I was there. Wagner wants her forgotten because he does not want the world to see him for what he really is under that fake Cary Grant exterior.

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  51. HEY, ANON 7:32, great post. In the video of the Walk of Fame presentation the crowd was applauding as her films were mentioned and they SCREAMED at the mention of Splendor in the Grass!

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  52. That was great but it would have been better if after they screamed their approval of Natalie they turned on Wagner much as the mob did in the final pages of Nathaniel West's "The Day of the Locust".

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  53. "Homer" Wagner getting his comeuppance from the very people he has bull-sh*tt*ed for years. The fans!

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  54. SHE DESERVED THE GOLD LIL STSTUE MANY TIMES! SHE WAS A GREAT ACTRESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  55. Excellent and very exciting site. Love to watch. Keep Rocking. Oscars 2019 time

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