Line #34 Creator/NatalieWood


1	[[quoteright:305:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/3_natalie_wood_1960s_everett.jpg]]
2
3	->''"Stardom is only a by-product of acting. I don't think being a movie star is a good enough reason for existing."''
4
5	Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko (July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981), better known as [[StageNames Natalie Wood]], was an American actress of Russian descent, most famous for her roles in films such as ''Film/RebelWithoutACause'', ''Film/SplendorInTheGrass'' and ''Film/{{West Side Story\|1961}}''.
6
7	She was born to Russian immigrant parents who had fled the deadly civil war that came in the wake of UsefulNotes/RedOctober and settled in UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco. First appearing onscreen at the age of four and owing her "Wood" stage name to Creator/RKOPictures executives who chose it in reference to director Sam Wood, she had a career spanning forty years, from ''Film/TheMoonIsDown'' (1943) to the posthumously-released ''Film/{{Brainstorm}}'' (1983). Her sister Creator/{{Lana\|Wood}} also became an actress.
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9	She is also a relatively rare example of a Hollywood child star who avoided FormerChildStar status and became an A-lister in adulthood (Creator/ElizabethTaylor is another), earning three MediaNotes/AcademyAward nominations (one for [[MediaNotes/AcademyAwardForBestActressInASupportingRole Best Actress in a Supporting Role]] and two for [[MediaNotes/AcademyAwardForBestActressInALeadingRole Best Actress in a Leading Role]]). Critics have theorized that the bulk of Wood's cinematic roles could represent a portrait of 20th-century American womanhood in transition.
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11	She married Creator/RobertWagner in 1957, they divorced in 1962, then remarried in 1972. She married and divorced British talent agent and producer Richard Gregson in the interim and had a daughter with him in 1970, Creator/NatashaGregsonWagner, who became an actress. She had a second child in 1974, with Robert Wagner this time, Courtney Brooke Wagner, who also became an actress.
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13	On November 29, 1981, Wood -- who had a self-admitted fear of water, and never learned to swim -- was found dead in the waters of a cove on Santa Catalina Island, off the coast of Southern California. She seemingly fell into the sea from her and Robert Wagner's yacht during a holiday break from the production of ''Film/{{Brainstorm}}'' with Creator/ChristopherWalken. Both Walken and Wagner were aboard the yacht when the tragedy happened (and Wagner and Wood had a dispute onboard that night), and Wagner was considered a "person of interest" in the case from 2018 to 2022.
14	----
15	!!Her filmography includes:
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17	[[foldercontrol]]
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19	[[folder:Film]]
20	* ''Film/TheMoonIsDown'' (1943) as Carrie
21	* ''Film/TomorrowIsForever'' (1946) as Margaret Ludwig
22	* ''Film/TheGhostAndMrsMuir'' (1947) as young Anna Muir
23	* ''Film/MiracleOnThirtyFourthStreet'' (1947) as Susan Walker
24	* ''Film/TheStar'' (1952) as Gretchen
25	* ''Film/TheSilverChalice'' (1954) as young Helena
26	* ''Film/RebelWithoutACause'' (1955) as Judy
27	* ''Film/TheSearchers'' (1956) as Debbie Edwards
28	* ''Film/SplendorInTheGrass'' (1961) as Wilma Dean "Deanie" Loomis
29	* ''Film/{{West Side Story\|1961}}'' (1961) as Maria
30	* ''Theatre/{{Gypsy}}'' (1962) as Louise Hovick aka "Gypsy Rose Lee"
31	* ''Film/LoveWithTheProperStranger'' (1963) as Angie Rossini
32	* ''Film/SexAndTheSingleGirl'' (1964) as Helen Gurley Brown
33	* ''Film/TheGreatRace'' (1965) as Maggie [=DuBois=]
34	* ''Film/InsideDaisyClover'' (1965) as Daisy Clover
35	* ''Film/{{Penelope\|1966}}'' (1966) as Penelope Elcott
36	* ''Film/ThisPropertyIsCondemned'' (1966) as Alva
37	* ''Film/DownhillRacer'' (1969) - extra in the crowds
38	* ''Film/BobAndCarolAndTedAndAlice'' (1969) as Carol Sanders
39	* ''Film/TheCandidate'' (1972) [[AsHimself as herself]] (cameo)
40	* ''Film/{{Meteor}}'' (1979) as Tatiana Donskaya
41	* ''Film/{{Brainstorm}}'' (1983) as Karen Brace
42	[[/folder]]
43
44	[[folder:Television]]
45	* ''[[Creator/BobHope The Bob Hope Show]]'' (1959) as herself
46	* ''Series/{{Switch\|1975}}'' (1975 and 1978) as the Cruise Ship Passenger / the Girl in the Bubble Bath (cameos)
47	* ''Theatre/CatOnAHotTinRoof'' (1976 TV film) as Margaret "Maggie" Pollit
48	* ''Literature/FromHereToEternity'' (1979 mini-series) as Karen Holmes
49	* ''Series/HartToHart'' (1979) as the Movie Star (cameo in the pilot)
50	[[/folder]]
51
52	!!Tropes and Trivia associated with her works include:
53
54	* TheCameo:
55	** She appeared in some crowd scenes in ''Film/DownhillRacer'' (produced by her then-husband Richard Gregson, and starring her friend Creator/RobertRedford). She also worked uncredited as a production assistant (providing props and wardrobe) and did script revisions on the film.
56	** She appeared [[AsHimself as herself]] in ''Film/TheCandidate'', another film starring Robert Redford.
57	** She briefly appeared in some series starring Robert Wagner when she was married (for the second time) to him, such as ''Series/{{Switch\|1975}}'' and ''Series/HartToHart''.
58	* CareerResurrection:
59	** After ''Film/TheSearchers'', she appeared in a string of failed films. According to Creator/EliaKazan, by 1960, she was considered as "washed up" at just 22. He still cast her in ''Film/SplendorInTheGrass'', which came out in 1961, received critical acclaim and brought Wood her second Oscar nomination. Also in 1961, she starred in ''Film/{{West Side Story\|1961}}'', which was the biggest hit of the year and won the Oscar for Best Picture. This shot her straight back to the A-list.
60	** She attempted a second one after semi-retiring from the movie business in the late [[TheSixties 1960s]]-early [[TheSeventies 1970s]]. She had retired both out of frustration with the studio system and to raise her children. She appeared in some high profile MiniSeries and both the film ''Brainstorm'' and the stage play ''Anastasia'' were meant to cement a return to form. Alas, she died before ''Brainstorm'' was fully completed and ''Anastasia'' never happened as a result.
61	* TheCastShowoff: Her parents being Russian immigrants, she could speak Russian, as utilised in ''Film/TheGreatRace'' and ''Film/{{Meteor}}'' (she played a Soviet translator in the latter).
62	* CreatorBacklash: She hated ''Film/{{Penelope\|1966}}'' so much that right after it released, she cut off her contract from Creator/WarnerBros, fired almost all of her managing staff and didn't appear in another film for three years.
63	* CreatorThumbprint: Her trademark acting move was to switch her head to one side and give a puzzled look to the opposite co-star (and the viewer).
64	* DawsonCasting: Played teens when she was over 20 in ''Splendor in the Grass'', ''West Side Story'', ''Gypsy'' and ''Inside Daisy Clover''.
65	* DiedDuringProduction: She died amidst the production of ''Film/{{Brainstorm}}'', which nearly caused the film to be cancelled.
66	* FormerChildStar: One of few to still have a successful career as an adult.
67	* HeAlsoDid: She worked uncredited as a production assistant on ''Film/DownhillRacer'' (produced by her then-husband Richard Gregson and starring her longtime friend and collaborator Robert Redford), typing up script revisions and shopping for wardrobe and props. Wood also appeared as an extra in some of the crowd scenes.
68	* NonSingingVoice: Her singing was dubbed by Marni Nixon in ''Film/{{West Side Story\|1961}}'', and by Jackie/Robin Ward in ''Film/TheGreatRace'' and ''Film/InsideDaisyClover''. In ''Theatre/{{Gypsy}}'' and ''Film/{{Penelope\|1966}}'', however, she did her own singing.
69	* OneHeadTaller: Was 5'0'' and usually dwarfed by the leading man.
70	* OneTakeWonder: She was known for getting all her lines right on the first take - and she was nicknamed 'One Take Natalie' as a result.
71	* ProductionPosse: She was the actress costume designer Edith Head worked the most with, in ''Love with the Proper Stranger'', ''Sex and the Single Girl'', ''Inside Daisy Clover'', ''The Great Race'', ''This Property Is Condemned'', ''Penelope'' and ''The Last Married Couple in America''.
72	* ReferencedBy:
73	** She's named in Music/GilScottHeron's 1971 [[SpokenWordInMusic poem-turned-song]] "Music/TheRevolutionWillNotBeTelevised":
74	--->''"The revolution will not be brought to you by the Schaefer Award Theatre\
75	And will not star Natalie Woods and Steve [=McQueen=] or Bullwinkle and Julia"''
76	** There's a Creator/MarvelComics [[https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Natalie_Wood_(Earth-616) character]] (part of the ComicBook/NewXMen) [[{{Tuckerization}} named after her]].
77	** Murder victim Dehlia Draycott ([[Creator/LauraElenaHarring Laura Harring]]) from the 2007 ''Film/NancyDrew'' film is a blatant case of NoCelebritiesWereHarmed -- same kind of movie star career, same birth and death dates, same circumstances of death (found dead in the sea).
78	** In ''Film/OnceUponATimeInHollywood'', the death of Cliff Booth's wife Billie — and the ambiguity surrounding it — is a reference to Wood, as is Billie's sister being named Natalie.
79	** In ''Series/TheQueensGambit'', Beth Harmon (Creator/AnyaTaylorJoy) styles one of her haircuts after a newspaper photo of Natalie.
80	* StageNames: She was born as Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko. Her name was later changed to "Gurdin", and when she started to appear in movies, it was changed to "Wood". Her sister was born Gurdin, and also took "Wood" as stage name.
81	* StarMakingRole:
82	** ''Film/MiracleOnThirtyFourthStreet'' brought her much attention whe she was a child actress.
83	** ''Film/RebelWithoutACause'' was this for her post-childhood career. And the death of Creator/JamesDean shortly after left her as the sole focus of much of the contemporary fandom.
84	* ThoseTwoActors:
85	** Wood and Creator/TonyCurtis appeared in three films together (''Kings Go Forth'', ''Film/SexAndTheSingleGirl'', ''Film/TheGreatRace''), although they had [[HostilityOnTheSet acrimonious interactions on set]].
86	** She appeared alongside Creator/RobertRedford three times -- ''Film/InsideDaisyClover'', ''This Property Is Condemned'' and ''Film/TheCandidate''. While the first two pictures were not darlings with critics and she only had a [[TheCameo cameo]] [[AsHimself as herself]] in the third, Wood and Redford were good friends and knew each other since high school. Redford was also the best man of Richard Gregson at his wedding with Wood in 1969.
87	* TimeShiftedActor:
88	** As young Anna Muir in ''Film/TheGhostAndMrsMuir'' (with Creator/VanessaBrown as adult Anna).
89	** As teen Helena in ''Film/TheSilverChalice'' (with Virginia Mayo as adult Helena).
90	** As adult Debbie Edwards in ''Film/TheSearchers'' (with her sister Creator/{{Lana\|Wood}} as young Debbie).
91	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
92	** In 1963, Natalie and French director Serge Bourguignon were to work together on the film version of a novel by Dorothy Baker called ''Cassandra at the Wedding''. Mart Crowley wrote the script for this project. She would have [[PlayingTheirOwnTwin portrayed twins]], one of which was a lesbian, no less. The plans for this production fell through.
93	** Producer Creator/AaronSpelling originally wanted her to play Jennifer Hart in ''Series/HartToHart'' as a StuntCasting to add much publicity to the series since she was the wife of its main star Creator/RobertWagner. Natalie preferred focusing on her theatrical film career instead, although she still did a [[TheCameo cameo]] in the pilot.
94	** She opted to stay away from large theatrical film roles during TheSeventies to raise a family and played in some high profile TV productions. ''Brainstorm'' was supposed to be a 'comeback' theatrical role. Also, the stress of finishing the film after her death drove Creator/DouglasTrumbull away from film directing.
95	** She was also set to appear in ''[[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/05/31/69/053169c9e2e9b60538dadcc37d3ea4d6.jpg Anastasia]]'', a stage play that would have opened on February 12, 1982 in Los Angeles and in which she was set to play Anna Anderson, a famous impostor of UsefulNotes/AnastasiaNikolaevnaRomanova when she was still [[DidAnastasiaSurvive thought to have survived the Russian Revolution]]. To twist the knife further, she said this shortly before her death:
96	--->''"My friends seem much more excited about me doing Anastasia than Brainstorm... and to tell you the truth, I feel the same way."''
97	** Wood had also purchased the film rights to the Barbara Wersba novel ''Country of the Heart'', and was planning to star with Creator/TimothyHutton in this story about a [[TeacherStudentRomance romance between a tough-minded poet and her much younger student]]. This was eventually adapted into a 1990 television film starring Creator/{{Jane Seymour\|Actress}}.
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Context Creator / NatalieWood