On November 29, 1981 Natalie Wood, her husband Robert Wagner and their friend Christopher Walken took a boat ride to Catalina and had a few drinks. Natalie and her husband reportedly got in an argument on the boat and at one point she left the two men and that was the last time she was seen alive by the two men. It has been reported when Wagner went to bed that night she was not there. That’s because the beautiful actress was dead, she had somehow fallen overboard. The coroner at the time ruled her death accidental, but people have believed that her husband was in some way involved with her no longer be hearing her. Something he has denied numerous times.
Now days short of the 30 year anniversary, a book is about the be released that is co-authored by Dennis Davern, who was the captain of the boat that they were on that fateful night. In that book he tells the story of what he remembers that happened that night and it is not what he originally said. His co-author Marti Rulli spoke with TMZ and she says the captain said there was a very heated argument between the husband and the wife and at one point Wagner smashed a wine bottle against the table and accused Walken of wanting to sleep Natalie. She then says the captain said, “At that point, Walken returned to his cabin and Natalie and Robert went to their state room. According to the Captain, he heard a loud argument between the couple and thumping sounds, and eventually silence.” The captain shortly afterwards went to the deck and was told Natalie was missing. He claims that he wanted to call the Coast Guard, but was told by Wagner not to because he wanted to keep it quiet. Hours later the call was made, but it was too late.
Rulli tells TMZ that captain was not honest with authorities 30 years ago because of what Wagner and his lawyers told him to say. Now the captain is telling his story and the LA Sheriff’s office is listening. They are reopening one of Hollywood’s most notorious deaths and it will be interesting to see what they find out. Will they finally really find out what happened that night? Or will it remain a mystery as it has done since 1981.
Robert Wagner has time and time again said it was accident issued this statement to TMZ about this latest development. He said, “Although no one in the Wagner family has heard from the LA County Sheriff’s department about this matter, they fully support the efforts of the LA County Sheriff’s Dept.” The statement continues, “[The Wagners] trust they will evaluate whether any new information relating to the death of Natalie Wood Wagner is valid, and that it comes from a credible source or sources other than those simply trying to profit from the 30 year anniversary of her tragic death.”
As someone who is really interested in stories of that night, I am curious to find out what they will learn. I have seen a few documentaries of that night and I have been wondering if there was any truth to them, soon we will learn a little more.
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All week we have seen video of Harry Belafonte sleeping/meditating during an interview with a Bakersfield morning news show, that I thought I would end the week showing you pictures of what he looks awake/with eyes wide open.
You know what I think even though he is 84 years old, he is still really sexy!!!
BTW if you missed that talked about interview you can watch it below…
Yesterday The Huffington Post posted video of the original pilot for The Flintstones and that was not the original names of everyone’s favorite animated family. Did you know they were originally going to be called The Flagstones? I didn’t know that, so with a little more research I found out why they didn’t go by that name. In 1994 Joseph Barbera told EW the story behind their last name, ”It turned out there was a comic-strip character with that last name. So we had to come up with a new one. At one time we were going to call it The Gladstones.” I can’t imagine them going by any other name and I am glad they changes it because Flintstones sound more Cavemanish, don’t you agree?
BTW how cool was it to see the original pilot for the show?
Back in May Jerry Lewis said that this year would be his last year doing the annual Labor Day MDA Telethon, but today the MDA announced he will not be part of this year’s show too. They said, “Jerry Lewis is a world-class humanitarian and we’re forever grateful to him for his more than half century of generous service to MDA. We will not be replacing him as MDA national chairman, and he will not be appearing on the Telethon.” They did not say who would replace him as the host of the 24 hour event, but if I were one of the stations slated to air it I would run a Twilight Zone marathon instead. How can you have the Telethon without him. He is the face of MDA, and no one ever can replace him.
The MDA’s decision might be partly because of comments he made this weekend at the TCAs. When asked what his role would be with the telethon, he said “I didn’t mean to sound rude. But you have to assume the question you asked was motivated by something, and it had to be a little emotion. And I have to tell you the truth. September the 5th, the day after that program, I will have an international press conference with press from Reuters and London and China and Taiwan and all over the world, and I will have plenty to say about what I think is important. And that’s the future, not the past. Okay.” Sounds like we will find out what really happened the day after the Telethon that no one will be watching.
This year a lot of TV icons announced that they were leaving their television shows, Regis Phibin, Larry King, Oprah Winfrey and Jim Lehrer to name a few. But the one that has brought a tear to my eye is that Jerry Lewis announced today that this year’s Labor Day MDA Telethon will be his last. In a press release he said, “As a labor of love, I’ve hosted the annual Telethon since 1966 and I’ll be making my final appearance on the show this year by performing my signature song, ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’. I’ll continue to serve MDA as its National Chairman – as I’ve done since the early 1950’s. I’ll never desert MDA and my kids.”
When I was kid I would look forward to watching his telethons ever year and to know that after this year they will go on without him really makes me sad. One of my favorite moments here in LA was actually sitting in the audience during a telethon and watching him work his magic. I was awe stuck. He has done a lot of good and raised a sh!tload of money for Jerry’s Kids and the Muscular Dystrophy Association and it is so sad that this chapter of his life (and ours) is coming to an end.
I know the ratings have decreased each year and yet the dollar amounts they bring in rise every year, so I really hope that the networks decide to continue the telethon without him. It won’t be the same, but it would be nice if they did. I am sure Ryan Seacrest has already made his pitch to take over like he has been doing with everything else.
So this Labor Day make sure to watch the MDA Telethon and give Jerry Lewis the goodbye he so richly deserves. I really hope that a lot of celebrities also come out to make his encore extra special like the telethons have been to us throughout the decades.
