Robert Wagner guilty of murdering Natalie Wood over an affair with Christopher Walken?

"'Natalie was 43 when she died. She was finding it hard to age in Hollywood. She was hitting the bottle. She was insecure about her looks.'

Lana says she believes her sister may have goaded her husband by flirting with Christopher Walken, her co-star in the film Brainstorm which was released posthumously.

Walken was Hollywood's hot new star thanks to his role as a Vietnam veteran in the Oscar-winning film The Deer Hunter.

'It wouldn't have been the first time she'd had an affair with a co-star,' Lana says with a shrug. 'She ran off with Warren Beatty - which ended her first marriage to RJ.

'From when she was a little girl Natalie had to be adored - had to be centre of attention. She and I were always close, despite the eight-year age gap. At the end of her life she was drinking heavily and trying to work out where her life was going.'

Does she have a theory on what happened that dark blustery night 28 years ago?

She says: 'I don't believe RJ's pat answer that Natalie went outside, slipped and - whoops - fell in the water. I believe the captain's story more. I think there was heavy drinking going on. I think RJ got jealous. There was a row. They ended up outside.

'Only RJ and Natalie know what happened next. One is dead and the other one won't talk to me.'"

This story always seemed very suspicious to me, I'm glad the truth is finally starting to come out. Also, I wonder if Walken will comment publicly on this.

P

Lana Wood on her sister, Natalie

My theory has always been that RJ and Walken were the ones having the affair. Natalie walked in on them and freaked and in the ensuing hysteria fell or was accidentally pushed overboard. Consumed by guilt, RJ vowed never to speak of it, and Walken went crazy.

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There were unexplained bumps and bruises on her body.

Again, more bullsh!t. the coroner determined the bump and bruises were caused when Natalie slipped from the swim step trying to get untie the dinghy that was banging up against the yacht and her struggle o try to get onto the dinghy once she hit the water and was being pulled down by the weight of her down jacket.

They need to let this woman rest in peace.

Updated On: 12/6/09 at 04:39 PM

I think if Robert Wagner was into dudes, Natalie probably would've already figured out in the 20+ years she'd known him. I would be surprised if Christopher Walken was the first guy to get him in the sack. I mean, I'm not saying he's unattractive, but he's kind of an acquired taste.

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I didn't even now that Lana Wood even existed before I read this thread but her quotes in the article reek of envy toward Natalie.

RJ has been rumored to be gay for decades.

He was a client of Henry Willson, the agent famous for discovering, representing and closeting the beefcake careers of Rock Hudson, Tab Hunter, Troy Donahue, Rory Calhoun and Dirk and Dack Rambo.

In pieces of my heart, RJ talks about his "affair" with Barbara Stanwyck, who was a grand old Hollywood lesbian. During that time, he lived for 2 years as the "guest" of her co-star and good friend Clifton Webb, who was a great character actor and a big ol' queen.

RJ was also rumored to have had an affair with Paul Newman.

But maybe Lana made all that up.

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From RJ's book:

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At Fox, the elite circle was presided over by Clifton Webb. I worked with Clifton on "Stars and Stripes Forever," a biopic about John Philip Sousa, then "Titanic," and I was invited into his group. Clifton's friends included people like Noel Coward and Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder's partner, who never got much credit from anyone, especially Billy. Charlie was a kind, well-educated, very bright gay man who was fairly deep in the closet.

Clifton lived with his mother Mabelle, who was a total character, and ruled the roost. The father had left very young, and was out of the picture, if he'd ever been in it. Mabelle had opened a dance school in Indianapolis, and she and Clifton gave dancing lessons together. He teamed up with Bonnie Glass and formed a very successful duo that followed in the footsteps of Vernon and Irene Castle. I never saw Clifton dance on the stage, but people who did told me he was a magnificent talent, the equivalent of Astaire but with a fey manner that he managed to get away with. Always high style: white tie and tails. Certainly, he had a major career, starring in shows like Sunny and Irving Berlin's "As Thousands Cheer."

Clifton and Mabelle were completely devoted to each other; Clifton would dance with her at parties. She was outrageous, and would order Clifton around. "We are going to sit here," she would announce, "and then we are going to move over there." Mabelle was always at the head of the table, and Clifton was very respectful of her, although he had his eccentricities as well: he had an African grey parrot he would wrap in a napkin and put in a brandy snifter at the dinner table.

It was as if they were competing to see who could be the most like Auntie Mame. They both had a larger-than-life quality, and the bond between them was very thick. Sometimes too thick. One time Noel Coward called Clifton, and Clifton was going on and on about Mabelle, as he tended to do. And Noel said, "Dear boy, if you want to talk about her, do it on your nickel."

Clifton was gay, of course, but he never made a pass at me, not that he would have. I never saw Clifton with a man; I never knew of Clifton being with a man, or having a lover....

Clifton was very social; he gave wonderful parties, so he had a lot of leverage by dint of his position as well as his commercial cachet. It was Clifton who introduced me to Noel Coward. Noel was playing Las Vegas and Clifton threw a lunch for him. Eventually, everybody else left, and I was alone with Noel. And he said, "Come and sit over here." So I went over and sat down, and he put his hand on my leg.

"Are you by any chance homosexual?" he asked.

"No, I'm not."

And he said, "Ah, what a pity." His hand came off, and that was it. After that, he couldn't have been more of a gentleman, and I always adored him.

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Updated On: 12/7/09 at 11:49 AM

I really don't give a sh!t about Robert Wagner or his sexuality, but his denying of it doesn't make it not true.

Most of the right-wingers caught with their hands in men's pants deny it as well, but that doesn't mean it can't be discussed.

There have been rumors, PJ has said why those rumors exist. I'm not sure I see the hypocrisy.

RJ has had his hair done by the same man since the "Hart to Hart" days, who is a friend of ours. If there's any truth to the addage 'only your hairdresser knows for sure', RJ is not gay or bi.

Case, as they say, closed.

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The thing that has always bothered me about the case was that people on a neighboring boat heard Natalie (or a woman) call for help, and then heard a male voice respond something like "hold your horses, we'll be right there"...or something like that. I believe the people reported this to the authorities but were never followed up with. This kind of corraborates the captain's story.

(the above is from memory so not sure if I have all the details correct, but something like that).

Whatever...

I assumed that was JohnBoy in front.