Natalie Wood Mystery in the News Again

Ed Note: Two years ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing author Marti Rulli about what was then a new book called "Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour.” (Medallion Books, $24.95) for an online web site.

On Friday, the L.A. County Sheriff's Department announced it was and suddenly Rulli's book is in the spotlight again. 

It was Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 29, 1981, and the actress and her actor husband, Robert Wagner, had taken their beloved yacht, Splendour, out for the holiday weekend.  At 1:30 a.m. Wagner radioed that “someone is missing from our boat.” 

Hours later, the world would learn that it had lost its leading lady, Wood, at age 43.

Rulli said when she wrote the book Splendour’s captain, Dennis Davern, had been haunted by that night every day since. Spurred by guilt over letting down his friend Natalie, Davern decided it was finally time to tell all about their last voyage together. The events following her death, the restrictions placed on him during those months, and his grief had prevented him from telling the whole story. Unable to live with himself for not speaking up sooner, Davern leaned on his friend, Rulli about the experience of that day for years.

In the book Rulli writes that Wood and Wagner loved to entertain on their luxury yacht. When Wood invited co-star, actor Christopher Walken, on board it was supposed to be a happy, casual day for them sailing for Catalina Island and Isthmus Cove. At the helm was Davern, a man who had become not only a trusted employee but a friend to Wood and Wagner.

The book explores and asks: 

• Why did it take four hours for Wagner to contact the authorities about Natalie missing from the boat?
• Why was Natalie still wearing her socks after a struggle in the water?
• What about the down coat she wore?  Did it help keep her afloat or pull her down?  There were no marks or scratches on the side of the rubber dinghy indicating Natalie was trying to get in as the coroner claimed.  Why would he lie?
• How did Natalie get bruises on her face?
• Why did coroner Thomas Naguchi lose his job after Natalie’s death?
• Why weren’t any witnesses questioned? People on other nearby boats heard Natalie’s cry for help but yet no one was questioned, even after they voluntarily came forward to help.
• Are celebrity deaths treated differently than your average person?
• Investigations on celebrity deaths are treated very differently today than in years past.
• How would Natalie’s death be handled differently today?
• Many questions have surrounded this night for years… Davern, with Rulli, have begged for the case to be re-opened with his facts and evidence; with the testimony of nearby boaters; with successfully taken lie detector tests to validate his story; with hypnosis to further confirm his facts; and more.

From the 2009 interview with Rulli:

Q: Is Dennis happy the book is now available?

A: Yes, I would say he is relieved. He is behind the story 100 percent and he wants the story out there. He now has had his turn to tell his story; over the years he has been called names, he’s been called the killer and he deserves his turn.

Q: How long did it take to write and research?

A: Twenty-five years, I got a call in December 1983, from a very distraught Dennis. It took me 10 years to get the story from Dennis actually after that initial call.

Q: Why is the death of Natalie Wood so intriguing to so many?

A: Natalie Wood became America’s sweetheart. Audiences watched her grow up on screen. She won the hearts of her fans in Miracle on 34th Street, and her legend grew from that time forward. The scarce details and the secrecy surrounding Natalie’s death throughout the years have always left more questions than answers. And that makes the mystery endure.

Q: Why has it taken so long to tell this story?

A: Dennis and I have attempted since 1983 to present this story. Trying to present it became part of the story. After many years of investigations and research both of us were ready to tackle any debate on the subject.

Q: What was the mood on the cruise that night?

A: It was tense. Robert Wagner acted possessive of Natalie, and she overcompensated by being overly friendly to Walken, which fueled the tension. It appeared to Wagner that Natalie was flirting but she was really acting no differently than she did toward other Splendour guests.

Q: Once the shock of that weekend’s events wore off, why did Dennis not tell authorities the truth about what had happened?

A: Dennis was afraid to be forthcoming; he was confused and shocked, so he followed Wagner’s instructions in the immediate aftermath of Natalie’s death. He also considered Natalie’s family and daughters—how devastating it would be to have Wagner investigated as a suspect in Natalie’s death. It was easiest at the time to keep quiet, but the secrets tore at Dennis’s conscience. Wagner took Dennis under his wing after Natalie died but began to control Dennis’s choices.

Q: Did Dennis experience threats of any kind?

A: A direct threat was made to Dennis by George Kirvey, Wagner’s publicist, when Dennis considered giving an interview about Natalie’s death in 1984. This threat started with career interference and ended with “other things that could happen” if Dennis talked. A private investigator, Milo Speriglio, who was hired by Lana Wood, Natalie’s sister, told of threats toward Dennis. Marilyn Wayne, who says she heard Natalie’s cry for help in the water, also claims to have received a threat in her mailbox. Dennis was afraid of these threats. They made him second guess several times whether or not he should ever talk about his knowledge of the night Natalie died.

Q: What went wrong with the investigation into Natalie’s death?

A: It seemed impossible that Natalie’s death could be anything but accidental because Wagner and Natalie were considered the perfect Hollywood couple. When the detectives saw how Wagner seemed too grief stricken to answer questions, they let him go home. They provided a private helicopter to get Wagner and Walken off the island immediately. Dennis was left to identify Natalie’s body.

Q: Do you you think a crime took place the night Natalie died?

A: The police are well aware of the controversy surrounding Natalie’s death and are now privy to information that had been withheld. They continue to look the other way. Dennis has undergone polygraph tests, hypnosis, and is willing to participate with authorities, and the authorities are well aware of his wish to set the record straight. Yet, Natalie’s case remains closed. Authorities consider it a closed case rather than a cold case.

There is lots of new information about Wood’s death, much of it from her surviving husband. Dennis believes that Natalie did not leave the boat by her own will. He knows that Wagner was with Natalie up until the time she went missing. After searching on board, Dennis wanted to start an immediate search, but Wagner refused to allow him to do so. Dennis expected many questions to be asked of him by authorities, but after he returned to Wagner’s home the day Natalie’s body was discovered, everything was handled by attorneys, including Dennis’s “official” statement, which was written by an attorney hired by RJ. RJ wanted to offer as little information as possible and demanded the same of Dennis. Dennis was in shock, afraid, and did as he was ordered.

Q: What is your opinion of what happened?

A: I know her death was preventable; Dennis doesn’t know how she got into the water but knows that everyone lied about what really happened. They [Dennis, RJ and Chris Walken] said at the time, it was a pleasant weekend. It is up to the authorities.

Q: You did some of your own tests…

A: Yes, the report says she was found wearing her socks. I got into the water myself and socks fall off your feet right away with minimal movement, let alone trying to mount a float away dinghy for 30 minutes. Dennis said she was wearing only a nightgown the last time he saw Natalie and that was it. Two minutes later she is in the ocean wearing a down coat; he doesn’t believe that she grabbed her coat and took off in the dinghy, eventually drowning. I’ve tested a down coat on the water and it is 100 percent buoyant.

Q: What is Dennis doing now?

A: Dennis has his own successful marina business in Florida, is married, has kids and has a nice life. I command how brave he is to come out with this story now. People say he has lived off Natalie’s death which isn’t true at all, he has never been paid for an interview except one in 1985 and it wasn’t for much.

Q: Bottom-line is that people say she got drunk and fell off the boat …

A: That is not what happened and this is a story that needs to be told and Natalie’s legacy deserves to have the truth. This is a very convoluted story, and Dennis takes the story from the minute before she is off the boat. I say it in the book and they left it in the book: it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to take it from that 60 seconds on … she cried for help. It took four hours for RJ to agree for the harbor master to have the coast guard called. He didn’t want to find her and every time Dennis wanted to turn on the search light or find her, RJ said absolutely not. Dennis just obeyed his boss. Ultimately, he allowed Dennis to call two restaurant workers from the restaurant they had dined at on Catalina to look for her. It is my opinion, that if help had been called right away, I believe Natalie could have been saved.