'Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind': Natasha says stepdad Roberg Wagner had no hand in mother's death
HBO's new documentary on the life and career of Hollywood icon, Natalie Wood, titled 'Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind', comprises a series of personal accounts put forward by her family and close friends. Wood passed away in a drowning accident when she was vacationing in the Catalina Islands on her yacht, with her husband, Robert Wagner, and 'Brainstorm' co-star Christopher Walken on 29 November 1981.
The cause of her death was originally ruled as an "accident" and investigation into her untimely death was closed days after her funeral. For years, her death has been shrouded in secrets, taking into account that the circumstances surrounding her death just didn't add up. In 2011, the 30-year-old case was reopened and Wood's husband was considered a "person of interest" after many witness statements emerged potentially pointing to Wagner being a suspect.
However, Wagner publically supported the new investigation, deeming the death of his late wife as a tragic accident and his stepdaughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner, agreed with him. She entirely rubbished the claims that built up over the years that Wagner may have had something to do with her mother's death.
“I know he didn't,” Natasha said to ABC News in 2016. “I think it was an accident.”
Natasha said she didn't spend time thinking about what may have happened that day that ended with her losing her mother. But she asserts that her 'Daddy Wagner' had no hand in her mother's death and he still mourns her to this day.
“For so many years we were advised to ignore or not talk about it,” said Natasha in her new memoir, "But enough is enough. I know that if my mom had been in any kind of distress, he would have given his life for her.”
“It’s true,” Wagner, 90, said. “She said that because she knows me and she knows that I never would have done anything to hurt her mother.”
In 'Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind', Natasha asks her father to describe the happenings of that fateful night. He recalls having dinner and drinking with Christopher Walken, returning to the boat and the argument that ensued between the two, during which Wood had gone below the deck to her bedroom. He got emotional as he recounted not finding her and the dinghy when he went down to their bedroom and fought back tears when he spoke about finding her body, “That night has gone through my mind so many times,” he says.
Gregson Wagner has come to terms with the fact that she may never know in “complete certainty” how her mother ended up in the water since she was alone when she died. “It was a terrible, terrible accident,” she wrote in her memoir, “And the only thing to blame was too much alcohol that night.”
“Natasha really wanted to focus, not how Natalie left us, but how she lived,” said Wagner. “And I think she captured that. It was a long time coming and I’m so proud of her. Believe me, it wasn’t easy. It was something in her heart and soul that she wanted to do.”
'Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind' premiered on 5 May at 9 pm on HBO Max.