Natalie Wood

Natalie Wood (born Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko in Russian, Наталья Николаевна Захаренко and later changed at age 4 Natasha Gurdin; San Francisco, California, July 20, 1938 – Santa Catalina Island, California, November 29, 1981) was an American actress of Russian origin who began her film career as a child and she became a Hollywood star as a young adult. Wood received three Oscar nominations before his 25th birthday. She began acting in films at age 4 and was given a co-starring role at age 8 in Miracle on 34th Street (1947). As a teenager, she earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), followed by a role in The Searchers by John Ford (1956). She also starred in the film musicals West Side Story (1961) and Gypsy (1962), and received Academy Award nominations for Best Actress for her performances in Splendor in the grass (1961) and Love with a stranger (1963). Her career continued with films such as Sex and the Single Girl (1964), Inside Daisy Clover (1964) and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969).

Wood was born in San Francisco to Russian immigrants. During the 1970s, she began a career hiatus, having two children with her husband Robert Wagner, whom she married, divorced, and remarried after divorcing her second husband. Natalie Wood appeared in only three films over the decade, but she acted in several television productions, including a remake of the film From Here to Eternity (1979) for which she received an Award Golden Globe. His films represented a "coming of age" for her and Hollywood movies in general. Critics have suggested that Wood's film career represents a portrait of modern American womanhood in transition, as she was one of the few to include child roles and middle-aged characters.

Wood drowned off Santa Catalina Island on November 29, 1981, at the age of 43. The events surrounding her death were explained by conflicting witness statements, prompting the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, at the direction of the coroner's office, to declare her cause of death as 'drowning'. and other undetermined factors" in 2012.

Biography

Her parents had emigrated from Russia (then part of the Soviet Union) shortly before she was born. Soon her father replaced her family name with Gurdín , and at the age of 4 she was registered in her registry as Natasha Gurdín .

Prompted and supported by Maria, her ambitious mother, Natasha became a child movie star who appeared in numerous films with notable success, being one of the few who managed to make the transition from child star to adult actress. This ambition of her mother to be famous is due to the fact that when she was pregnant an old woman who was in the street read her palm, telling her: "Your daughter will be a great star, but you will have to be very careful with the dark waters" #3. 4;. This of the dark waters "she would explain her" later her death. Natalie didn't know how to swim, because her mother warned her all her life about the respect she should have for the water.

When Natalie was 9 years old, she and her mother were walking when they came across a film set. Her mother told her to go sit on the principal's knee and sing him a song. Hearing her beautiful voice and her grace, he made her her first contract for the film: Miracle on 34th Street . ^{[ citation needed ]}

Natalie Wood enjoyed a period of stardom, due to her physique, her expressive ability and the effectiveness of her performances. She was nominated for an Oscar three times, for her performance in Rebel Without a Cause , Splendor in the Grass and Love with a Stranger .

Another of her plays was West Side Story, in which she played the lead role of Maria. Since she had a pretty voice, initially she was the one who sang all of her songs. However, she was eventually dubbed by a professional singer, Marni Nixon.

In these years, at the height of her film career, Natalie Wood was considered the most popular actress in Hollywood along with Elizabeth Taylor. Her track record includes other major films such as John Ford's The Searchers and The Candidate , opposite a young Robert Redford. ^{[citation needed ]}

Death

Wood died on November 29, 1981 when she fell into the water at night from her yacht The Splendor (named after the film that established her as an actress, Splendor in the Grass ). The ship was anchored off Catalina Island, near Los Angeles, and in those days Natalie was finishing the movie Brainstorm, with Christopher Walken, a friend of the couple who was with them when the misfortune occurred. She was 43 years old. Her remains are in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles (California).

In 2011, the police reopened the case when a book by writer Marti Rully was made public, claiming that her husband Robert Wagner was fully involved in the death of the actress. In said book, the writer exhibits a testimony of the captain of the yacht, The Splendor, Dennis Davern, who told the writer that Wagner had intervened in the death of the actress. In 2018, the investigators reclassified his death as "suspicious".

Partial filmography

James Dean and Natalie Wood at "Rebel without cause" (1955).

Natalie Wood in "The Searchers" (1956).

Natalie Wood and Bob Hope at "Bob Hope Chevy Show" (1957).

• Tomorrow Forever (1946)
• The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)
• Driftwood - A Balsa to the Deriva (1947)
• Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
• The green promise (1949)
• No Sad Songs for Me "Amarga Sombra" (1950)
• The Star (1952)
• The silver chalice (1954)
• Rebel without cause (1955)
• The Searchers (1956)
• Marjorie Morningstar (1958)
• All the Fine Young Cannibals (1960)
• Splendor in the grass (1961)
• West Side Story (1961)
• Gypsy (1962)
• Loves with a stranger (1963)
• Sex and the Single Girl (1964)
• The race of the century (1965)
• Inside Daisy Clover (1965)
• This Property is Condemned (1966)
• Penelope (1966)
• Bob " Carol " Ted " Alice (1969)
• The candidate (1972)
• Peeper (1975)
• Meteor (1979)
• The Last Married Couple in America (1980)
• Willie and Phil (1980)
• Brainstorm Project (1983)

Awards and distinctions

Oscar Awards

Mar del Plata Film Festival