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Author: Jewls Krueger
Natalie Wood was one of the most recognizable actresses of her generation, a rare child star who grew into a successful adult performer. On the morning of November 29, 1981, her body was found floating in the ocean off Santa Catalina Island, about a mile from her family's yacht. She was 43. The coroner ruled the death an accidental drowning, but that finding has been questioned for more than four decades. The case has since been reopened, the death certificate amended, and the file eventually classified as cold. It remains one of Hollywood's most enduring mysteries.
Wood was born Natalie Zacharenko in San Francisco on July 20, 1938, to Russian immigrant parents. She began appearing in films at age four and had her breakout as a child in the holiday classic Miracle on 34th Street (1947).
As a teenager, she earned an Academy Award nomination for Rebel Without a Cause (1955) opposite James Dean, then took a small but memorable role in John Ford's The Searchers (1956). She starred as Maria in West Side Story (1961) and received two more Oscar nominations, for Splendor in the Grass (1961) and Love with the Proper Stranger (1963), making her one of the youngest three-time nominees in Academy history.
Wood married actor Robert Wagner in 1957. They divorced in 1962, and she later married British producer Richard Gregson, with whom she had a daughter, Natasha. After that marriage ended, Wood and Wagner remarried in 1972 and had a daughter, Courtney. At the time of her death she was filming the science fiction film Brainstorm with Christopher Walken.
Wood spent Thanksgiving weekend of 1981 on the Splendour, a 58-foot motor yacht owned by Wagner, anchored off Catalina Island. Three other people were aboard on the evening of November 28: Wagner, her Brainstorm co-star Christopher Walken, and the yacht's captain, Dennis Davern.
The group had been drinking, and accounts describe tension that night. Davern later said an argument broke out. Walken cooperated with investigators and hired a lawyer, and he was never considered a suspect.
Sometime late on November 28 or early on November 29, Wood left the main cabin and ended up in the water. It has never been established how she got there. She was found the next morning about a mile from the yacht, wearing a flannel nightgown, a down jacket, and socks. A small inflatable dinghy was found beached nearby.
The autopsy noted bruises on her body and arms and an abrasion on her cheek, and it found a blood alcohol level of 0.14 percent along with traces of a motion sickness pill and a painkiller. Two people on a nearby boat reported hearing a woman cry for help during the night. Chief medical examiner Thomas Noguchi ruled the death an accidental drowning and hypothermia, theorizing that Wood had slipped while trying to re-board the dinghy. She was buried on December 2, 1981, and the case was closed within days.
Book Recommendation
Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour, by Marti Rulli with captain Dennis Davern, is the firsthand account of the crewman aboard the yacht the night Natalie Wood died. His version, withheld for years, helped reopen the case in 2011. Read it as one participant's perspective on an unsolved death.
Buy on Amazon →By purchasing through this link, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting our work!
The case stayed closed for thirty years. In November 2011, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department reopened it after Davern publicly stated that he had not told police the full truth in 1981. He alleged that Wood and Wagner argued that night and that Wagner discouraged turning on the search lights or calling for help after she disappeared.
In 2012, the coroner amended Wood's death certificate, changing the cause from accidental drowning to "drowning and other undetermined factors." A 2013 addendum noted that some of her bruises could have occurred before she entered the water, though this could not be confirmed.
In February 2018, detectives named Wagner a person of interest, saying he was the last person known to be with Wood before she went into the water. The Los Angeles Times, citing the coroner's file, reported fresh bruises on her forearm, wrist, and knee, a scratch on her neck, and a scrape on her forehead. Wagner has consistently declined to speak with investigators and has denied any involvement.
In May 2022, the Sheriff's Department said all leads had been exhausted and that the case remained open but unsolved, and several outlets reported that Wagner had been cleared of involvement. No charges were ever filed, and the central question of how Wood entered the water has never been answered.
Natalie Wood was found near Blue Cavern Point, a stretch of cliffs and sea caves about a mile east of Isthmus Cove on the west end of Catalina Island. The nearest settlement is Two Harbors, a small, rustic village on the island's narrow isthmus, roughly 22 miles off the Southern California coast.
Today the waters around Blue Cavern Point are a well-known diving and snorkeling area, and Two Harbors draws boaters, campers, and hikers who reach it by ferry from the mainland or by shuttle from Avalon. There is no memorial or marker at the site, and the exact spot is open water. Visitors drawn by the story should remember what it is, the place where a family lost someone, and should enjoy the island respectfully alongside the community that lives and works there.
Experience the Natalie Wood's Drowning Location with expert-led guided tours. Learn the untold stories and historical context from knowledgeable guides.
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