Natalie Wood case re-opened

[Civic]

I don't know where you dreamed this up, but this is not the "conventional wisdom" that has been floating around for years. If the rumors are to be believed, you have the who was having sex with whom totally wrong...

If you're implying what I think you are this would explain why Walken kept quiet.

And, since we are dishing the tea here, this would tie in to something I read in a biography of Natalie which indicated that the reason her first marriage to RJ Wagner broke up was because she walked in on him "in the throes of passion" with another guy...

So she married him again? Did she think bisexuality was something he could overcome like cancer?

[milanessa]

True, but there is no statue of limitations on murder. So, the police probably feel obliged to look into any allegations of foul play regarding her death.

I never said they shouldn't.

[Wyliefan]

Was it really Kirk Douglas who raped her?? I knew about the rape, but I never heard who did it.

[Jenny]

Reminds me of the JonBenet Ramsey case where neighbors heard her scream in the middle of the night, did nothing, and again another cold case. The Ramsey's next door neighbor even said that she heard a little girl scream in the middle of the night, and figured it was JonBenet, yet failed to do anything.

Off topic, but where did you get this? I've followed the case from the beginning and have never heard or read anything like this.

[Garden Kitty]

I adore her acting in Splendour in the Grass.

I still think her best acting was Miracle on 34th Street. It's not easy to play a kid that doesn't annoy me.

[Louise]

Off topic, but where did you get this? I've followed the case from the beginning and have never heard or read anything like this.

Just google "JonBenet scream" and you'll get several hits. That investigation was SOOOO bungled. It's hard to know what to believe.

[Jenny]

Just google "JonBenet scream" and you'll get several hits. That investigation was SOOOO bungled. It's hard to know what to believe.

Thanks - I did that after I posted, and it came back to me. The one neighbour who originally said she heard a scream changed her story several times, eventually saying it might have been a few nights earlier. No one else heard it, including several who were closer to the house, so I guess I had just discounted it as irrelevant.

The biggest problem with that case was that it was initially treated as a missing person, so tons of people were allowed to wander all through the house, handle potential evidence, talk to each other etc. That, and the father moving the body. Later politics between different agencies and people certainly didn't help, but even the world's best investigator was going to have a challenge with that one.

Back to Natalie, y'all!

[danceronice]

So she married him again? Did she think bisexuality was something he could overcome like cancer?

Point: just from where *I* am sitting, as long as everyone's honest I don't see the issue with a husband who's not averse to sex with men, too. No one would think it odd if the expectation were f/f/m (that one's not my kink, but I have no problem with the idea of threesomes working the OTHER way. Maybe she decided she didn't either.)

Hm. Wagner's on NCIS again this week (he plays Dinozzo's father-casting gag as Mike Weatherly met the producer of NCIS while Weather was playing Wagner in "The Natalie Wood Story") and...he's suspected of murder. Yeah, dead guy in the trunk instead of dead wife in a thirty-year-old cold case, but still.

[Rex]

I don't know where you dreamed this up, but this is not the "conventional wisdom" that has been floating around for years. If the rumors are to be believed, you have the who was having sex with whom totally wrong.

Rex, where are you? We need you.

Wow, I'm actually wanted?
The details of her death were always rather murky, and I've heard various stories about her tempestuous relationship with Wagner, Beatty and others. I didn't know that she was actually dating Beatty while married to Wagner - that's news to me. But she was no saint. Neither were any of the parties involved. After the OJ and Robert Blake fiascos, nothing in Hollywood surprises me anymore.

But I have heard the story about Kirk's alleged rape of Natalie. She was neither his first nor last victim from what I understand. Horrible, vile jerk of a man, and the fruit hasn't really fallen that far from the tree.

[znachki]

Hmm.. So the Captain didn't feel the need to come forward at the time? But now a book that few would have purchased will get lots more attention.

Not excusing Wagner if this is true, but really...

[Garden Kitty]

Is there a reason that they need a press conference to announce they've reopened the case? Couldn't that wait until after they decide whether or not to press charges ?

[milanessa]

It's Hollywood - it's what they do.

[Jenny]

Is there a reason that they need a press conference to announce they've reopened the case? Couldn't that wait until after they decide whether or not to press charges ?

Press conferences are often called for efficiency - they'd get so many inquiries about this that it's easier just to make one statement and open it up for questions once, and then get back to business.

[ArtisticFan]

Is there a reason that they need a press conference to announce they've reopened the case? Couldn't that wait until after they decide whether or not to press charges ?

Anything that the police do in terms of a case is pretty much open to the public and the media. Therefore, if a reporter or just a concerned citizen saw or heard that the police were digging around for more information there would be many questions about it and why it was happening. Press conferences are often pre-emptive. They are answering questions they know will be asked. They are also responding in their own terms. They can state that their reasoning without the questions that are sure to come.

[AragornElessar]

Ironic that Splendour in the Grass will be showcased on TCM's The Essentials tomorrow night...

[VALuvsMKwan]

Ironic that Splendour in the Grass will be showcased on TCM's The Essentials tomorrow night...

This is its 50th anniversary year, just as with "West Side Story".

Next year marks the same for "Gypsy". Natalie was so wonderful in that - I have read that Gypsy Rose Lee cried watching Natalie perform during the theater striptease numbers because she was so good at capturing GRL's essence.

[skatesindreams]

Latest - from CNN - Police: Wagner Not A Suspect
http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/18/justic...html?hpt=hp_c1

[taf2002]

There can be nothing new after 30 yrs. If the captain really knew something that would make it murder he should be charged with assessory after the fact. And if Natalie was screaming, why didn't he help her? And why wait until now to come forward? All these reality type millionaires probably inspired him. At least he will make money on the talk show circuit.

Even if Kirk Douglas was no longer alive, Hollywood spends so much energy building up PR images that his fans and the press would probably eat Lana alive and not many would believe it. Especially not someone at the head of a family that is considered Hollywood royalty like the Douglas'.

Royalty? Are you sure? Both Kirk & Michael make me want to barf. I've liked many of their performances (esp Spartecus) but they both have such huge heads I'm surprised they fit thru doorways.

[marbri]

Hmm.. So the Captain didn't feel the need to come forward at the time? But now a book that few would have purchased will get lots more attention.

Not excusing Wagner if this is true, but really...

Thinking you might have hit the nail on the head.

[Coco]

Ironic that Splendour in the Grass will be showcased on TCM's The Essentials tomorrow night...

This is one of the most brilliant movies ever made. OK, maybe I just really like it. I thought Woods' acting in this was spectacular.

But what really gets me the most about this movie was all the things left unsaid. The tension is just epic. I don't even think this screenplay could get made today. Producers would want to show the sex and violence, but it was so much more powerful to show the impact of it.