Book Read Free

Natasha

Page 60

by Suzanne Finstad

SPENT LIFE IN PIGTAILS: 1/56 Modern Screen

  HER REMARKABLE SINCERITY: “‘Blue Veil,’ Wyman Win Human Victory,” Edwin Schallert, Los Angeles Times, 11/17/51

  JIMMY’S MEMORIES: Jim Williams to SF, 12/21/99

  ACT TWO

  CHAPTER 10

  GAGA WITH JIMMY: Maryann Marinkovich Brooks to SF, 11/4/99

  MYSTIQUE, JIMMY HAD A TEMPER: Jacqueline Eastes Perry to SF, 12/12/99

  JIMMY WILLIAMS’ MEMORIES: Jim Williams to SF, 11/17/99, 12/21/99, 12/23/99, 1/2/00

  COULDN’T STAND IT: “Natalie’s Teenage World,” Barbara Henderson, Filmland, July 1956

  DATED COLLEGE BOY: 7/56 Filmland; 8/57 Photoplay; “How Natalie Handles Boys and Older Men,” Modern Screen, February 1957

  NOBODY TOLD ME WHOM TO DATE: “Knock on Wood,” Bridget Byrne, Women’s Wear Daily, 11/26/79

  MARY ANN MARINKOVICH’S MEMORIES: Maryann Marinkovich Brooks to SF

  WENT FOR A COKE: 9/57 Photoplay

  HELD HER SKIRT: Natasha Gregson Wagner, “Intimate Portrait: Natalie Wood”

  IMPRESSED BY BURR: Faye Nuell Mayo to SF

  IMPRESSED BY TAYLOR: Robert Blake outtakes

  CROSBY CHOSE WYMAN: “Leave It to Jane,” Hedda Hopper, Chicago Tribune syndicate, 1/13/52

  NATALIE BEAT O’BRIEN: Maria Gurdin to Phyllis Quinn

  O’BRIEN HAS NO RECOLLECTION: Margaret O’Brien to SF

  NO MORE RESTRICTIONS ON MAKEUP: Lana Wood to SF, 8/24/99

  PROUD OF FIRST ROLE IN LIPSTICK: Helen MacNeil Moriarty to SF

  BOB ARTHAUD’S MEMORIES: Robert Arthaud to SF, 9/29/99

  ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE: “‘Just For You’ Delightful,” Hollywood Reporter, 7/31/52

  DORAN RE ROSE BOWL: Ann Doran to SF

  PERCEIVED DARKNESS AS WEAKNESS: Maryann Marinkovich Brooks to SF

  HAD TO APPEAR A CERTAIN WAY: Lana Wood at Cinematheque

  CUTEST CUTIE: “‘The Rose Bowl Story’ Lively Football Film,” Los Angeles Times, 8/26/52

  JIMMY’S YEARBOOK: 1952 Fulton yearbook, furnished to SF, by Jim Williams

  MUD STILL OPPOSED: Jim Williams to SF

  NATALIE AND TOM IRISH: Tom Irish to SF, 12/1/99

  YOU’RE NOT A LITTLE GIRL: 7/56 Filmland

  READ STREET SIGNS: “Be Neat, Try to Please, Natalie’s Dating Advice,” Lydia Lane, Los Angeles Times, 3/16/58

  DOLLS; SLUMBER PARTY: Maryann Marinkovich Brooks to SF

  HEDDA’S COLUMN: Hedda Hopper, Chicago Tribune Syndicate, 8/2/52

  THRILLED TO WORK: Natalie Wood, American Film Institute’s Salute to Bette Davis, broadcast 3/21/77 on CBS, screened at the Museum of Radio and Television, Beverly Hills, California

  IRISH HAD A PART: Tom Irish to SF

  SHOT IN 24 DAYS: Dale Eunson to SF, 6/15/99

  SAILBOAT SCENE SHOT 8/21: 8/21/52 Daily Variety

  SHOT IN SAN PEDRO; HAYDEN’S BOAT: 8/21/52 Variety; Dale Eunson to SF; Betty Denoon Hayden to SF, 6/10/99

  ALL OF A SUDDEN: AFI Tribute to Bette Davis

  FIRST VERSION: AFI Tribute to Bette Davis

  EXPANDED VERSION-A COMPLETE WRECK; FEARED SHARKS: 12/2/81 New York Daily News

  THROWN IN: 11/26/79 Women’s Wear Daily

  OLGA BELIEVES: Olga Viripaeff to SF, 5/7/99

  MARIA’S VERSION: Olga Viripaeff to SF, 5/7/99; Maria Gurdin to Sue Quinn 1/10/87, Star Mothers

  NOT IN SCRIPT: Dale Eunson to SF

  WAS ON THE BOAT: Betty Denoon Hayden to SF

  BOTH STOOD UP TO HEISLER: Tom Irish to SF

  STUDIO MISTREATED HER: 11/26/79 Women’s Wear Daily

  TOLD A BOYFRIEND: Scott Marlowe to SF, 6/8/99

  INVITED FOR A DRINK: Olga Viripaeff to SF, 5/7/99; Maria Gurdin to Phyllis Quinn

  WHAT A MOUTH; BRACELET: Maryann Marinkovich Brooks to SF, 11/4/99

  SCENE ON STAIRCASE: Bette Davis, A Tribute to a Very Special Lady

  NATALIE REACHED OUT: Ann Doran to SF

  WRAP PARTY; BRACELET: Tom Irish to SF

  DROWNING DREAMS PROPHETIC: Jim Williams to SF

  FAHD MADE BRACELETS: Natalie’s eulogy for Nick Gurdin

  ARROWHEAD WEEKEND: Hollywood Reporter and Daily Variety, 9/8/52

  NATALIE PROFILE: “Divorces Don’t Agree with Natalie’s Notion,” Aline Mosby, UPI “Filmville Fancies,” circa September 1952, unsourced, from University of Southern California Archives

  PRIVATELY CONDONE: Lana Wood to SF, 8/19/99

  CHAPTER 11

  WORST TIME: “Natalie Wood-From Pampered Star to Doting Wife and Mother,” Peer J. Oppenheimer, Family Weekly, Hollywood Citizen- News, 10/18/69

  LOVED THE FEELING: “Natalie Wood Speaking to John Kobal in New York,” Premiere, May 1970

  NO PARTS; WHEN NATALIE WANTED SOMETHING: Jacqueline Eastes Perry to SF, 12/11/99, 3/3/00

  JIMMY WILLIAMS MEMORIES: Jim Williams to SF, 11/17/99, 12/21/99, 12/23/99, 1/2/00

  TOOK 21/2 YEARS: “It’s a Wonderful Whirl,” Natalie Wood, Motion Picture, August 1956

  WASN’T IN THE BUSINESS: Maryann Marinkovich Brooks to SF

  ALL GOOD KIDS; RONNY HOWARD FAMILIES: Rochelle Donatoni Vukonich to SF

  THE VALLEY IN 1952: Robert Redford to SF, 2/16/00

  FIRST GENUINE KISS: 8/56 Motion Picture

  1/2 OF 9TH GRADE: Natalie Wood’s Los Angeles Unified School District official records

  ALL A’S: Lana Wood to SF, 8/19/99

  ROBERT HYATT RECOLLECTIONS: Robert Hyatt to SF

  IDIOT TEENAGER: 1/56 Modern Screen

  PRIDE CONTRACT: In the Matter of the Contracts Between Revue Productions, Inc., and Natalie Gurdin, a Minor, Case No. 615141, Los Angeles Superior Court, filed 6/17/53

  I OBJECTED TO IT: 1/56 Modern Screen

  JEANNE HYATT RECOLLECTIONS: Jeanne Hyatt to SF

  NEVER FELT GUILTY: Shirley Moore Mann to SF, 2/2/00

  IN THE SHADOW: Maria Gurdin to Sue Russell, 1/10/87

  “WAS USUALLY HOME”: Lana Wood to SF, 8/19/99

  SELDOM SAT FOR MEALS: Jim Williams to SF; Jacqueline Eastes Perry to SF

  GURDINS DETESTED JIMMY; AVOIDED CONFLICT: Lana Wood to SF, 8/19/99

  STORYBOOK: Maryann Marinkovich Brooks to SF, 1/10/00

  “WHO WAS THAT GUY?” 5000 LETTERS: “Robert Wagner, Heart to Heart,” Mark Goodman, GQ, March 1986

  ILLUSION OF ROMANCE WITH MOORE, SECRETLY INVOLVED WITH HUGHES: Deposition of Terry Moore, Estate of Howard R. Hughes, Jr., Harris County, Texas, Case #139, 326

  OLGA TALKED TO NATALIE ABOUT JIMMY: Olga Viripaeff to SF, 6/12/99

  WARNED HER SHE’D DIE IF PREGNANT: Robert Hyatt to SF; Maryann Marinkovich Brooks to SF

  PUNCTURE INTERNAL ORGANS THROUGH SEX WITH WELL- ENDOWED MALE: Scott Marlowe to SF; Maryann Marinkovich Brooks to SF

  BRIBED MARY ANN; NOT STRONG ENOUGH; BLAMED HERSELF: Maryann Marinkovich Brooks to SF

  NATALIE ALMOST ELOPED: Olga Viripaeff to SF, 6/12/99

  NATALIE WAS DEVASTATED: Helen MacNeil Moriarty to SF

  NEVER DATED HIGH SCHOOL BOYS: 8/13/63 Look

  CHAPTER 12

  EACH YEAR WAS THE LAST: 11/57 Seventeen

  DISTURBED THOSE DREAMS: Maryann Marinkovich Brooks to SF, 11/4/99

  LOATHED HER MOTHER: Scott Marlowe to SF, 6/8/99

  STAGED A COUP: Margaret O’Brien to SF, 1/26/00; Marie Gurdin to Randal Malone, Malone to SF, 1/14/00 & 1/25/00

  STARTED TO REBEL: Robert Hyatt to SF, 5/5/00

  QUIETED HER NERVES: “Those Rebel Years,” Natalie Wood, Motion Picture, October 1957

  INSOMNIA: Lana Wood to SF, 8/19/99

  COULDN’T FUNCTION; BELIEVED IN MOTHERHOOD; PSYCHIATRIST: Maryann Marinkovich Brooks to SF, 11/4/99

  HEAVY MAKEUP: Robert Hyatt to SF; 3/16/58 Los Angeles Times

  PARSONS REPORTED THE COLLISION: Louella Parsons column, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, 4/5/54

  MONOTONE: “Glorifying the Scandian Boy,” John McCarten, The New Yorker, 4/10/54

  BETTE DAVIS LOOK: Robert Wagner on The Rosie O’Donnell Show, 1999

  UNDE
RLYING RESTLESSNESS: On the Other Hand, A Life Story, Fay Wray, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 1989

  DREADFUL: 1/56 Modern Screen

  DELICATE, VULNERABLE QUALITY: “Rick McKay’s Night on the Town with Fay Wray,” Scarlet Street 1998, issue #27

  SAVILLE CLAIMED TO HAVE SEEN HER: “Natalie’s 2nd Childhood,” Liza Wilson, The American Weekly, 10/31/54

  ORR CLAIMED TO HAVE SEEN HER: William Orr to SF, 5/29/99

  DATES OF NATALIE’S TESTS FOR CHALICE: Warner’s Production Notes for The Silver Chalice, the Warners Collection at USC

  SINATRA ON THE LOT FOR YOUNG AT HEART: Young at Heart file, Academy Library, Warner’s production notes; Daily Variety and The Hollywood Reporter

  SINATRA GOT A KICK OUT OF MARIA: Olga Viripaeff to SF, 6/12/99

  SINATRA INVITED THEM, MARIA ENCOURAGED IT, ETC.: Robert Hyatt to SF, 5/10/99

  URGED HER TO GET CLOSE TO SINATRA: Robert Hyatt to SF, 5/10/99

  MARIA WAS A PIMP; EASILY SEDUCED: Scott Marlowe to SF, 6/8/99

  WOULDN’T SURPRISE HER: Lana Wood to SF, 8/19/99

  THREW HER TO LIONS; SINATRA AFFAIR; ABORTIONS: Maryann Marinkovich Brooks to SF, 11/4/99

  CALLED PEOPLE CLYDE: “Why Sinatra Must Hide His Love for Mia,” Mike Connolly, Screen Stories, October 1965

  GAVE ME THE FEELING: Frank Sinatra, A Tribute to a Very Special Lady

  WAY OF LYING TO NATALIE: Jeanne Hyatt to SF, 5/6/99

  LIKE A GROWN WOMAN: Phoebe Kassebaum to SF, 9/15/99

  INSCRIPTION: Van Nuys High ’54 yearbook belonging to Maryann Marinkovich Brooks

  PLAY SEXY PARTS; SAID SHE WAS 17; MODELED IN SWIMSUIT: Warner’s press releases, The Silver Chalice file, Warner’s Collection at USC

  I HAD AMBITIONS: “Little Girl No More,” Natalie Wood, unsourced article circa summer 1956, USC Warner’s Collection

  SENSE OF MYSTERY: Paul Newman, A Tribute to a Very Special Lady

  FRIENDS WITH PIER: Jim Williams to SF; 10/31/54 American Weekly

  O’BRIEN MEMORIES: Margaret O’Brien to SF

  MARGARET WAS SWEET; WORE LEIGH’S DRESS: Jacqueline Eastes Perry to SF, 12/11/99

  NATALIE HAD PIZZAZZ: Jim Westmoreland to SF, 2/15/99

  WHISPERS IN THE FAMILY, DESTROYED HIS PAPERS: Aaron Pichel to SF, 4/2/99 & 10/18/99

  DEVOTED TO MY DAD: Marlowe Pichel to SF, 3/29/99

  TOLD A PUBLICATION: “The Story of Hollywood’s Newest Sister Act,” Calling All Girls, September 1956

  18; DATING SOUND MAN BELCHER: Louella Parsons column, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, 6/25/54

  JACKIE EASTES’ MEMORIES: Jacqueline Eastes Perry to SF, 12/11/99, 12/12/99, 12/19/99, 1/4/00, 1/6/00, 3/3/00 & “Conversations with Natalie,” notes by Jacqueline Perry

  PINK ROSES: “She Lives a Teenager’s Dream,” Movie Stars, September 1957

  CULTIVATED IMAGE: Lana Wood to SF, 8/19/99

  GOTTEN HER EXPELLED: Phoebe Kassebaum to SF

  ALL-AMERICAN: Margaret O’Brien to SF

  RAD FULTON MEMORIES: Jim Westmoreland (AKA Rad Fulton) to SF, 2/14/99, 2/15/99, 3/8/99

  A “SCENE”: Bob Allen as told to Margaret O’Brien, to SF, 1/26/00

  TOLD DICKIE MOORE; ACCIDENT: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

  ACCIDENT: “Natalie Wood Unhurt As Her Car Overturned,” Los Angeles Citizen-News, 8/26/54; Louella Parsons column, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, 8/27/54; Hollywood Reporter, 9/1/54

  CONTROLLED FEELINGS, NEVER ALLOWED TO BE HERSELF; SISTER’S DRILL, RECORD PLAYER: Lana Wood to SF, 8/19/99

  PASSED OUT AT A PARTY: Steffi Skolsky Splaver to SF, 10/1/99

  SIPPING AT CIRO’S: 6/69 Screen Parade

  5 YEARS BEHIND: Ted Donaldson to SF

  A FEINT, A LOOK: Randal Malone to SF

  LONG LINE OF SUITORS: Robert Wagner, as quoted in 8/75 Cosmopolitan

  FRIENDLY, NO SENSE WHAT HE WOULD BECOME: Ed Jubert to SF, September 1999

  NOT A COOL KID: Phoebe Kassebaum to SF

  REDFORD MET HER AT REGISTRATION: Robert Redford to SF

  NOT BRAGGADOCIOUS; SWEET PERSON: Phoebe Kassebaum to SF

  RELIEVED ABOUT SERIES; ON STRIKE; DIDN’T WANT HER TO MEET WAGNER, WHEN 18: Robert Hyatt to SF

  DADDY LONG LEGS: Hollywood Reporter, 10/15/54

  HEART SHONE THROUGH: “Unforgettable Super-Star Natalie Wood,” Robert Kendall, Hollywood Studio Magazine, March 1982

  SCHEME TO HIRE WILLSON; MARIA CONCERNED: Robert Hyatt to SF; Jeanne Hyatt to SF

  FIRST LOVE SCENE: Interview with Natalie Wood, Jeff Freedman, Interview, October 1978

  STUCK WITH DEAN, NERVOUS, WHAT I EXPECTED, GREASY SPOON, CLASSICAL MUSIC, CHILD ACTOR, READ MOVIE MAGAZINES: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star 158, 159 PRODUCER WAS WORRIED; DEAN DIDN’T GET IT: Mort Abrahams as quoted in James Dean, The Mutant King, A Biography by David Dalton, St. Martin’s Press, 1974, New York

  DEAN ALMOST OD’D: Maryann Marinkovich Brooks to SF

  LIKE BEING A GIRL: “The Girl Most Likely To Succeed in 1962,” David Lewin, Express Photo News, circa 1962, Natalie Wood Collection, British Film Institute

  PART IN TACEY: Louella Parsons column, Los Angeles Examiner, 11/15/54

  NEVER GROW UP: “Little Girl No More”

  CHAPTER 13

  HUDSON WHISTLED: “Little Girl No More”

  MINK STOLE: Sheilah Graham column, 12/29/54

  WORE PRINTS AND PLAIDS: Jacqueline Eastes Perry to SF

  LOVED CLOTHES: Faye Nuell Mayo to SF, 9/15/99

  WANTED TO BE GREAT: 7/71 Pageant

  BOBBY CALLED HER: Robert Hyatt to SF

  NATALIE WEPT, VOICE BUZZING: “Why We Call Natalie ‘Tiger,’ ” Faye Nuell, Motion Picture, October 1956

  FELT EXACTLY THE WAY: 2/11/79 New York Daily News Sunday Magazine

  REBEL BACKGROUND: Nicholas Ray, An American Journey, Bernard Eisenschitz, translated by Tom Milne, Faber & Faber, London/Boston, 1993; Leonard Rosenman to SF, 3/9/99; Stewart Stern, Los Angeles County Museum of Art 45th anniversary tribute to Rebel Without A Cause, 10/26/00

  FELT AN INSTANT COMMUNICATION: 4/64 Screen Stories

  I’M AN ACTRESS: 11/57 Seventeen

  PREFERRED CHARACTERS WITH WHOM SHE IDENTIFIED: 10/79 After Dark

  MARY ANN’S MEMORIES: Maryann Marinkovich Brooks to SF 162, 177 MARIA WAS SUSPICIOUS; LUCKED OUT, DANGLED: Scott Marlowe to SF

  JACKIE’S MEMORIES: Jacqueline Eastes Perry to SF

  FIRST CHOICE WAS O’BRIEN: Margaret O’Brien to SF

  THREATENED TO RUN AWAY: Natalie Wood interview excerpt, “Intimate Portrait: Natalie Wood”

  DECIDED TO PLEASE MYSELF: Natalie Wood, as quoted by Gordon Armstrong, National Publicity Director for Twentieth Century Fox, in publicity materials for Peeper

  NICK THREW UP HIS HANDS: Lana Wood, “Intimate Portrait: Natalie Wood”

  CRITICAL DECISION: “Mrs. Wagner Not Ms. Wood,” Richard Cuskelly, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, 10/13/74

  WANTED TO BE GREAT: 10/78 Interview

  DONE ANYTHING: Second Act, An Autobiography, Joan Collins, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 1997

  OPERA PUMPS, WORRIED ABOUT RAY: “The Girl Who Grew Up Too Fast,” Nick Adams, Modern Screen, May 1956; 8/58 Modern Screen

  TOLD SKOLSKY: Sidney Skolsky collection, Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, Beverly Hills, California

  KNEES SHAKING: Modern Screen circa 10/56

  WASN’T GOING TO CAST NATALIE; NO FILM IN CAMERA: James Dean, The Mutant King

  CONSIDERED HER FOR JUDY’S FRIEND: An American Journey

  THE ULTIMATE STAR: Past Imperfect, Joan Collins, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1978

  LITTLE PRINCE FAVORITE BOOK: 11/68 Cosmopolitan et al.

  JAILBAIT; ADAMS GAVE MUD A KISS; SNAPPED BACK: Jacqueline Eastes Perry to SF

  STAKEOUTS AT THE CHATEAU; DAD ANGRY: Lana Wood to SF, 8/19/99; Lana Wood, “Intimate Portrait: Natalie Wood”

  MARIA SUPPORTED REBEL: Robert Hyatt to SF, 5/10/99; Jeanne Hyatt to SF, 5/6/99

  ROMANTICIZED THE RAY AFFAIR; NOT TO GET THE PART:
Jacqueline Eastes Perry to SF; Maryann Marinkovich Brooks to SF; Margaret O’Brien to SF

  OPENED THE DOOR: 10/84 McCall’s

  FIGURES IN ROMANTIC NOVELS; ASSEMBLY LINE; HATED HER IDOL: Dennis Hopper to SF, 12/21/2000

  NATALIE ON WILD BUNCH: Gigi Perreau to SF

  HOPPER’S COMMENTS: Dennis Hopper to SF, 12/21/00

  DENNIS WAS MADLY IN LOVE: Steffi Skolsky Splaver to SF

  CHORT: 2/57 Modern Screen

  LEANED TO BAKER, REJECTED REMICK: Nicholas Ray notes to Warners, 1/4/55 and 1/5/55, Steve Trilling papers from the Warner Brothers Collection, University of Southern California

  DATED WINTERS: Hollywood Reporter, 2/22/55; Jacqueline Eastes Perry to SF

  WANTED MANSFIELD: Leonard Rosenman to SF; Faye Nuell Mayo to SF; [Note: Dennis Hopper, who read with Mansfield, described it as a “serious” screen test (Hopper to SF, 12/21/2000)]

  TOLD HEDDA: 6/26/55 Chicago Tribune Magazine

  NATALIE’S RAPE: Jacqueline Eastes Perry to SF, 12/11/99; Jacqueline Eastes Perry unpublished manuscript; Dennis Hopper to SF, 12/21/00; Scott Marlowe to SF, 6/8/99 & 8/12/99; Maryann Marinkovich Brooks to SF, 11/4/99; Faye Nuell Mayo to SF, 9/15/99

  BLACKLISTING WOULD BE HER MOM’S CONCERN: Lana Wood to SF, 8/19/99

  HATED HER IDOL; MUSTN’T GO TO BED WITH ANYBODY: Scott Marlowe to SF

  NO WONDER SHE BROKE OUT: 8/75 Cosmopolitan

  SHE WAS IT: Maryann Marinkovich Brooks to SF

  LEFT HER TO DRY; WENT TO GOOGIE’S, DRANK AT VILLA CAPRI, DROVE TO MULHOLLAND, ACCIDENT, NEEDED A SPOKESPERSON: Jacqueline Eastes Perry to SF

  CAR ACCIDENT; NATALIE KEPT SAYING CALL RAY; TOLD RAY THEY CALLED HER A DELINQUENT: Natalie Wood, Nicholas Ray: I’m a Stranger Here Myself, October Films, Inc., produced by James Gutman

  HOPPER COMMENTS: Dennis Hopper to SF

  RAY PHONED GURDINS AND NATALIE ASKED TO SEE HIM: Ray, as quoted in An American Journey and 7/71 Pageant

  CHAPTER 14

  LUCKED OUT; LIVE OR DIE; MADE TRAIN NOISES, DISAPPOINTED AT TAUNTS; WENT ALONG WITH THINGS; WANTED TO MARRY RAY: Scott Marlowe to SF

  ASCRIBED IT TO DIFFERENT PEOPLE: 8/58 Modern Screen, 8/59 Screen Stars; 7/71 Pageant [Natalie at times said it was a doctor; other times that it was a cop]

  HOPPER COMMENTS: Dennis Hopper to SF

  JACKIE’S COMMENTS: Jacqueline Eastes Perry to SF

 

‹ Prev