It is quite a fact that talks on classic seasonal movie will take rounds during holidays. When it comes to Thanksgiving, actress Natalie Wood will cross the minds of many for the opening scenes of “Miracle on 34th Street” actually take place at Thanksgiving with the annual Macy’s parade. The 1947 movie and Thanksgiving festivities hold special significance for actress Natasha Gregson Wagner. The daughter of Natasha Gregson who’s also an American actress shares her Thanksgiving memories with her late mother.
“I don’t recall the first time my mother showed me ‘Miracle on 34th Street,’ but I remember as a child knowing she was in the cast and enjoyed watching her as a little girl.”
“The first time I saw my mom on the television was on one of those big old square box sets and I actually found it a little scary. I even went around the back to try and figure out how she got inside!”
“She loved Thanksgiving, which was always very festive and our house was filled with a large extended family. But my mom was not a big cook, so a lovely couple, Helen and Gene, would prepare the dinner every year. And the lady who helped raise us, (housekeeper and nanny) Willie-Mae, would make sweet potato puree in a hulled out orange shell topped with marshmallows – delicious!”
“When I was growing up, my mom always burned scented candles and gardenia was her favorite scent. Our ‘Natalie’ perfume (is) gardenia based, too, with my favorite citrus notes added such as orange blossom”
“You’d be surprised,” says Gregson Wagner. “A lot of young people seem to know who my mother was, especially if they grew up with parents watching her movies. But it’s also a modern fragrance that speaks to young women. And for those familiar with my mother, it’s a way to celebrate her life.”
December 2019
One of the prominent child actors then a sensational star of the late ’50s is Natalie wood. Though she was flying high in her career her life ended unusually which still remains a mystery.
It’s almost 40 years and now Dennis Davern had stated that she and her husband was involved in a heated argument in the room they stayed in prior to her death and co-actor Christopher Walken was heartbroken when he saw her missing.
Davern poured his heart out describing the horrific incident which took place in November 1981 in a recent talk show. He said: “It looked like a storm went through that room. Everything was just all over the place, it was a mess. I found one of her earrings, it was thrown somewhere in the corner. “I don’t know if it was just ripped off her ear or what, but there was an earring, the pillows were all over. The room was a mess. There was a full-on fight in that room.”
She was just 43 when she was missing from her yacht Splendour on Catalina Island in southern California. Her demise sent shock waves amidst people and thanks to the media who brought the suspicion to light. She tied the knot with her husband twice who was later named as a person of interest in 2018.
During her filming of the sci-fi movie Brainstorm, she had been in a boat alongside her Wagner Davern and her co-artist Walken. Davern also said that: “Walken didn’t say a word, he just cried. I mean he was devastated standing there, here are all the authorities, this is all on the back of the boat. He was full of tears.”
When Natalie’s case was closed as “accidental drowning” it was later opened again by the Los Angeles Department. Davern had revealed a lot on the mystery in 2011.