... The Adult Years ... and all grown up and lovely in Gypsy, Love With a Proper Stranger, Sex and the Single Girl, The Great Race (pictured here) and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice.
... that while on a weekend boat trip to Catalina with husband Robert Wagner and Christopher Walken, Natalie Wood fell off the boat at night and tragically drowned. The boat was called Splendor after her movie Splendor in the Grass. You can read the coroner's report on Natalie Wood's death on The Smoking Gun website.
... The Harvard Lampoon is Harvard University's humor magazine. For years they published a "Movie Worsts" issue. In 1966 they selected Natalie Wood as Worst Actress. "Mrs. Natalie Wood Wagner, whose saccharine, whining caricatures of American girlhood have, in film after tedious film, raised her above the obstacles of talented competition, first-draft scripts, pubescent co-stars, and sleepy directors to the top of the Hollywood heap." Geez that was harsh and we're not even sure we understand it. But Natalie Wood turned the tables by actually showing up at the school to collect her award winning everyone's admiration
... that we've heard reports that Natalie Wood slept with director Nicholas Ray to get the part of Judy in Rebel Without a Cause. You can hear her tell her own version of the story (she says it's because the police called her a juvenile delinquent after a car accident.)
... When Natalie Wood played Maria in West Side Story she expected to do her own singing. Marni Nixon has been quoted as saying that she thought it was actually cruel that Natalie Wood was led to believe it would be her voice in the movie. Here is an interesting video which purports to be Natalie's own singing voice before it was dubbed.
On Location
Grauman's/Mann's Chinese Theater Footprints
Natalie Wood is just one of the many legendary celebrities to leave hand and footprints outside the famous Grauman's (now Mann's) Chinese Theater.
Mann's Chinese Theater
6925 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA SEE MAP
Hollywood Walk of Fame Star
In the early 1960's, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce developed the idea of the "Hollywood Walk of Fame." The sidewalks of the most famous streets in the heart of Hollywood were lined with "stars" recognizing celebrities' life-long contributions to the entertainment industry. Receiving a star is still to this day considered a huge honor. Here's where you can find Natalie Wood's star:
Walk of Fame Star (Motion Pictures)
7000 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA
Burial Place of Natalie Wood
Pierce Brothers Westwood Memorial Park
1218 Glendon Ave.
Westwood, CA SEE MAP