Who killed movie star Natalie Wood? Her ship's captain/lover tells his story of the night she died

By BOB ANDELMAN

What happened to Natalie Wood on the night of November 29, 1981?

The next morning, as we all know, she was discovered floating in the waters off Catalina Island. But what happened during the night before she died?

That night, Natalie was aboard the Splendour, the boat she and her husband, actor Robert Wagner, owned. Also on board was actor Christopher Walken and the ship's captain, Dennis Davern. Wagner and Davern were drunk. None of the three men has talked in detail about the events of that evening.

Until now.

It's not Wagner or Walken that's talking, however. The ship's captain, Davern, has broken his silence in a new book written with his long time friend, Marti Rulli. Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour is his story, his recollection of that horrible night and the 28 years of silence and guilt that have engulfed his life ever since.

In the interest of full disclosure, before we start, I need to tell you that I first heard about this book through my sister, who lives in the same small South Jersey community as Marti Rulli and has done business with her. But that doesn’t mean every friend of Lori’s gets a shot on this show. You still have to accomplish something, okay?

Marti Rulli's blog

DENNIS DAVERN AUDIO EXCERPT: "As soon as we departed Marina Del Rey, Robert Wagner had jealousy written all over him. Tension was building and it was just terrible... All of a sudden Robert picks up a wine bottle and smashed it in the middle of a coffee table. Glass shattered all over everyone. Christopher Walken exited to his stateroom. Natalie went up to her stateroom. I went to the bridge. You could hear the arguing, the screaming. It was torture." 

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You can LISTEN to this interview with CAPTAIN DENNIS DAVERN and MARTI RULLI, co-authors of GOODBYE NATALIE, GOODBYE SPLENDOUR, by clicking the audio player above!

Copyright 2010 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!

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Brett DelBuono, THE CLEANER, A&E TV series co-star: Mr. Media Interview

The good news: His TV dad is Benjamin Bratt.

The bad news: His TV dad is an avenging angel for God.

Brett DelBuono (pronounced Del-BUno) currently stars as “Ben Banks” alongside Bratt on the A&E original drama, The Cleaner. Judging from the number of teen girls who called and raved about him during this interview, I think he's going to be very, very popular. That, and he's a funny, clever kid; listen for his imitation of his Balls of Fury co-star Christopher Walken!

LISTEN to this Mr. Media interview with "THE CLEANER" co-star BRETT DelBUONO by clicking the BlogTalkRadio.com audio player below!

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Copyright 2008 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!