Natasha
Page 60
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