Less than a year after the late President Ronald Reagan took the oath of office in 1981, acclaimed actress Natalie Wood drowned off the coast of California during a post-Thanksgiving getaway with husband and actor Robert Wagner. The couple was on the boat named Splendour, along with actor Christopher Walken and the yacht’s captain, Dennis Davern. Decades after Wood’s drowning death, Davern, and author Kathleen McKenna voiced extreme allegations about Wagner and about the Regan, claiming that he had an unwitting role in covering up Wood’s death.
Podcast guests relay extreme allegations
Guests on the “Fatal Voyage” podcast are making news headlines with their assertions about Wood’s death. Davern, 62, is emphatic that Wagner “is responsible” for Wood’s death, according to The Sun (UK). The boat’s former captain further stated that Wagner halted “efforts” to search for Wood in the water off of California’s scenic Santa Catalina Island. Davern “believes Natalie was killed and thrown over board,[sic]” the Daily Mail (UK) reported. Also, the custody of Hannah Gosselin has rekindled the public dispute with her parents.
Davern and McKenna dropped bombshell allegations during the podcast focused on Wood’s death, Radar Online and Daily Mail reported on August 31.
Ronald Reagan did not merely lend support to a bereaved friend, according to McKenna. He is accused of participating in a nondescript manner of a cover-up following Wood’s death, Radar Online and additional media agencies noted. Also, Hannah Gosselin has shut down her Instagram account.
The thought process leading to the assertions about Wagner and Reagan take a pretty straightforward path, arriving at an intersection when Wood died. Wagner, according to his accusers, was aware that Tinsel Town covered up deaths as far back as the 1920s and the 1930s. Radar cited Publicist Tommy Lightfoot as holding out Gene Harlow’s death for an example.
Hollywood specialized in protecting an image
As matter-of-fact as Lightfoot makes it sound, Hollywood’s specialization was concealing actual facts surrounding the deaths of Hollywood elite.
Wagner, of course, “knew” Hollywood covered up touchy situations, such as someone dying, to assist stars in upholding their “image.” Image motivated Wagner to summon support from the “players” and “studio,” Lightfoot claims. The actor was successful in enlisting others to assist him if Lightfoot is accurate. Sympathy was cast, Wagner reeled the “players,” and the cover-up took center stage. The right people enveloped Wagner, who fell under their protection.
Reagan was ‘powerful’ for Wagner
While McKenna makes it clear that she isn’t a conspiracy theorist, her premise for accusing Reagan of taking part in covering up Wood’s death is that someone “incredibly powerful” must have intervened, resulting in a superficial investigation.
The author firmly believes that Reagan (“The Gipper”) ran interference, making sure no investigation followed the death of Wood. That Regan did “ensure” her death was not investigated, however, does not equate with the former president thinking that his friend, Wagner, killed his wife, Natalie. No, Reagan did not conspire to protect a killer, McKenna postulates. Rather, the former president endeavored to shield his grieving friend. The goal was to damage control to uphold Wagner’s image.
Walken has talked about death
Actor Christopher Walken has rarely addressed the death of his co-star. The duo was filming “Brainstorm” before Wood, 43, died. One instance of Walken speaking about Wood’s drowning death was in 1997.
Walken granted Playboy an interview, stating that an understanding of the “logistics” explains what happened to Wood. Point blank: It was night, it was also raining, and it happened on a boat in bad weather. He elaborated that people slip and fall. Some die, though people “want to die making an effort at something.[sic]” In other words, he states that Wood’s death was due to a slip and fall accident, which was totally unexpected.