Page 31 - ARUBA TODAY

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PEOPLE & ARTS Tuesday 6 February 2018
Renewed Natalie Wood death investigation may be nearing end

By MICHAEL BALSAMO one else played a role after
Associated Press the boat's captain said he
LOS ANGELES (AP) — De- heard the couple
tectives hope the renewed arguing the night of her
interest in the mysterious disappearance. The coro-
1981 drowning death of ner's office later amended
actress Natalie Wood will Wood's death certificate to
bring forward new wit- include "drowning and oth-
nesses who provide the er undetermined factors."
information needed to de- Detectives have reclassi-
termine if the case was a fied Wood's drowning as
crime or tragic accident. a "suspicious death" and
If not, it may be the end say Wagner is a person
of the investigation, a Los of interest in the case. But
Angeles County sheriff's of- the evidence collected
ficial said Monday so far hasn't reached the
For nearly four decades, threshold for a murder in-
speculation has swirled vestigation and there are
around the death of the no immediate plans to file
43-year-old actress who criminal charges, detec-
was nominated for three tives said Monday.
Academy Awards and Several new witnesses
starred in "West Side Sto- have come forward since
ry" and "Rebel Without the case was reopened, in-
a Cause." She was on a cluding one who described
yacht with her husband, hearing yelling and crash-
actor Robert Wagner, ac- ing sounds coming from Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau Capt. Christopher Bergner, left, looks
tor Christopher Walken the couple's stateroom, on as Lt. John Corina, right, discusses the most recent details of the Natalie Wood death investiga-
and the boat captain on officials said. Shortly after tion at a news conference in Los Angeles, Monday, Feb. 5, 2018.
Thanksgiving weekend of that, separate witnesses Associated Press
1981. After a night of drink- who were on a boat that boat's captain, Dennis on the back of the boat, before she went in the wa-
ing, her body was found was in the water nearby, Davern, who had told de- sheriff's homicide Lt. John ter."
floating in the waters off heard a man and woman tectives he heard Wood Corina said Davern told in- Wagner only spoke to de-
Southern California's Cata- arguing on the back of the and Wagner arguing in vestigators. tectives after the drowning
lina Island. boat and believe the voic- their cabin on the boat and "He was the last person with in 1981 and although inves-
Investigators initially ruled es were those of Wood and went to check on them. her, arguing, before every- tigators have tried to ques-
her death as an accidental Wagner, according to de- When he went to their cab- thing went quiet," Corina tion him several time since
drowning. But the case was tectives. in, Wagner told him to go said of Wagner. "He's a per- they reopened investiga-
reopened in 2011 to see Those witnesses corrobo- away before Wagner and son of interest because he tion, he has refused, Corina
whether Wagner or any- rated the account of the Wood ended up arguing was the last person with her said.
Dennis Quaid narrates audiobook of 'The Right Stuff'

By HILLEL ITALIE of Wolfe's prose style, the Balls of Fire!" And "The Right
NEW YORK (AP) — Asked chance to relive the mak- Stuff" helped renew a long-
how it felt to narrate the ing of the film and the time fascination with flying
audiobook of "The Right chance to play, at least and space travel, dating
Stuff," Dennis Quaid slipped in one medium, all of the back to Quaid's childhood
right into character. characters. in the Houston area. During
"Who's the best narrator With film credits including "The Right Stuff," he learned
you ever saw? You're look- "Great Balls of Fire!" The Big to navigate a plane and
ing at him," the actor said Easy" and "Traffic," Quaid eventually got a pilot's li-
with a laugh during a re- says "The Right Stuff" is his cense.
cent telephone interview, favorite. The Oscar-nom- His current acting projects
invoking a signature line as inated film was directed include "I Can Only Imag-
the grinning astronaut Gor- by Philip Kaufman and ine," which comes out in
don Cooper in the 1983 film also starred Ed Harris as March, and playing fellow
production. John Glenn, Sam Shepa- Texan George W. Bush in
Released this week by Au- rd as Chuck Yeager and the FX series "Katrina: Amer-
dible.com, the new edition Fred Ward as Gus Grissom. ican Crime Story." He has
of Tom Wolfe's 1979 prize Wolfe had great memo- no other audiobooks in the
winner about the early ries of meeting Cooper, works, but has some ideas
years of the space pro- with whom he formed a should anyone suggest he
gram is Quaid's first time as long friendship, and Yea- record another.
an audio reader. He called ger, who one night sat with "Mark Twain — 'Huckle-
the experience "daunting," cast members in a Holiday berry Finn,'" he says. "Some
explaining that the book's Inn and told the "whole authors lend themselves
400-plus pages were more story, his story, the stuff that In this April 11, 2017 file photo, Dennis Quaid poses for a portrait to audiobooks better than
in New York.
than he had remembered, wasn't in the book." Associated Press others. It's the rhythm of the
and a pleasure on many Quaid is known for getting speech, and I think Twain
levels. He loved the spark caught up in a role, like learning piano while play- ing Jerry Lee Lewis in "Great would be great to read."q