Natasha : The Biography of Natalie Wood

Natalie Wood was always a star; her mother made sure this was true. A superstitious Russian immigrant who claimed to be royalty, Maria had been told by a gypsy, long before little Natasha Zakharenko's birth, that her second child would be famous throughout the world. When the beautiful child with the hypnotic eyes was first placed in Maria's arms, she knew the prophecy would become true and proceeded to do everything in her power ' everything ' to make sure of it. Natasha is the haunting story of a vulnerable and talented actress whom many of us felt we knew. We watched her mature on the movie screen before our eyes ' in Miracle on 34th Street, Rebel Without a Cause, West Side Story, Splendor in the Grass, and on and on. She has been hailed ' along with Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor ' as one of the top three female movie stars in the history of film, making her a legend in her own lifetime and beyond. But the story of what Natalie endured, of what her life was like when the doors of the soundstages closed, has long been obscured. Natasha is based on years of exhaustive research into Natalie's turbulent life and mysterious drowning in the dark water that was her greatest fear. Author Suzanne Finstad, a former lawyer, conducted nearly four hundred interviews with Natalie's family, close friends, legendary costars, lovers, film crews, and virtually everyone connected with the investigation of her strange death. Through these firsthand accounts from many who have never spoken publicly before, Finstad has reconstructed a life of emotional abuse and exploitation, of almost unprecedented fame, great loneliness, poignancy, and loss. She sheds an unwavering light on Natalie's complex relationships with James Dean, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Raymond Burr, Warren Beatty, and Robert Wagner and reveals the two lost loves of Natalie's life, whom her controlling mother prevented her from marrying. Finstad tells this beauty's heartbreaking story with sensitivity and grace, revealing a complex and conflicting mix of fragility and strength in a woman who was swept along by forces few could have resisted. Natasha is impossible to put down ' it is the definitive biography of Natalie Wood that we've long been waiting for. From the Hardcover edition A Biography Of Actress Natalie Wood, Discussing Her Long Career Which Began As A Child, And Looking At Her Life Behind The Screen, Covering Her Youth, Family, Marriages, And Mysterious Drowning. Nick Adams. -- Corey Allen. -- Duane Alt. -- Don Ameche. -- Pier Angeli. -- Warren Archer. -- Fred Astaire. -- Jim Backus. -- Maryce Bates. -- Waren Beatty. -- Robert Blake. -- Ladislao Blatnik. -- Ann Blyth. -- Doug Bombard. -- Marlon Brando. -- Leslie Bricusse. -- Joyce Burditt. -- Raymond Burr. -- Edd Byrnes. -- Michael Caine. -- Edwin Canevari. -- Gilbert Cates. -- George Cetalopv. -- Montgomery Clift. -- Claudette Colbert. -- Joan Collins. -- Robert Conrad. -- Ben Cooper. -- Tony Costello. -- Norma Crane. -- Bing Crosby. -- Mart Crowley. -- Tony Curtis. -- Dennis Davern. -- Bette Davis. -- James Dean. -- Andy Devine. -- Troy Donahue. -- Ted Donaldson. -- Ann Doran. -- David Dortort. -- Jackie Eastes. -- Eddie Fisher. -- Zelda Fitzgerald. -- Louise Fletcher. -- John Ford. -- John Foreman. -- Rad Fulton. -- William Goetz. -- Ruth Gordon. -- Barbara Gould. -- Elliott Gould. -- Cary Grant. -- Richard Gregson. -- Natasha Gregson. -- Peggy Griffin. -- Maria Gurdin. --^ Edmund Gwenn. -- Roy Hamilton. -- Rex Harrison. -- Sterling Hayden. -- Sterling Hayden. -- Edith Head. -- Katherine Hepburn. -- Dennis Hopper. -- Hedda Hopper. -- Rock Hudson. -- Tab Hunter. -- Jean Hyatt. -- Robert Hyatt. -- Henry Jaglom. -- Bob Jiras. -- Elia Kazan. -- Janet Leigh. -- Vivien Leigh. -- Jack Lemmon. -- John Lindon. -- Kallisfenia Zudilova Liuzunie. -- Beverly Long. -- Mary Anita Loos. -- Perry Lopez. -- Theodore Loy. -- Helen Loy. -- David Mcgiffert. -- Karl Malden. -- Steve Mcqueen. -- Mary Ann Marinkovich. -- Scott Marlowe. -- Marion Marshall. -- Dean Martin. -- Judi Meredith. -- Michelle Mileski. -- Sal Mineo. -- Marilyn Monroe. -- Shirley Moore. -- Robert Mulligan. -- Faye Nuell. -- Margaret O'brien. -- Maureen O'hara. -- Sir Laurence Olivier. -- Doug Oudin. -- Alan Pakula. -- Louella Parsons. -- John Payne. -- Gigi Perreau. -- Irving Pichel. -- Stefanie Powers. -- Elvis Presley. -- Christina Quinn. -- Duane Rasure. -- Nicholas Ray. -- Robert Redford. --^ Debbie Reynolds. -- Jerome Robbins. -- Leonard Rosenman. -- Amargaret Rulli. -- George Seaton. -- Frank Sinatra. -- Roger Smith. -- Bob Stitzel. -- Alexei Tatulov. -- Olga Tatulov. -- Elizabeth Taylor. -- Shirley Temple. -- Thomas Thompson. -- Douglas Trumbull. -- Olga Tatulov Viripaeff. -- Robert Wagner. -- Christopher Walken. -- Jack Warner. -- Marilyn Wayne. -- Orson Welles. -- Jimmy Williams. -- Henry Wilson. -- Robert Wise. -- Nikolai Zakharenko. -- Darryl Zanuck. Paul Ziffren. By Suzanne Finstad. Filmography: P. 389-394. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 395-444) And Index. The New York Times bestselling definitive biography of Natalie Wood, Natasha is the haunting story of a vulnerable and talented actress whom many of us felt we knew. We watched her mature on the movie screen before our eyes—in Miracle on 34th Street, Rebel Without a Cause, West Side Story, Splendor in the Grass , and on and on. She has been hailed—along with Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor—as one of the top three female movie stars in the history of film, making her a legend in her own lifetime and beyond. But the story of what Natalie endured, of what her life was like when the doors of the soundstages closed, has long been obscured. Natasha is based on years of exhaustive research into Natalie's turbulent life and mysterious drowning. Author Suzanne Finstad conducted nearly four hundred interviews with Natalie's family, close friends, legendary costars, lovers, film crews, and virtually everyone connected with the investigation of her strange death. Through these firsthand accounts from many who have never spoken publicly before, Finstad has reconstructed a life of emotional abuse and exploitation, of almost unprecedented fame, great loneliness, poignancy, and loss. She sheds an unwavering light on Natalie's complex relationships with James Dean, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Raymond Burr, Warren Beatty, and Robert Wagner and reveals the two lost loves of Natalie's life, whom her controlling mother prevented her from marrying. Finstad tells this beauty's heartbreaking story with sensitivity and grace, revealing a complex and conflicting mix of fragility and strength in a woman who was swept along by forces few could have resisted. ***Natasha: The Biography of Natalie Wood* is a well-written exploration into the experience, life, and ultimate tragedy of one of Hollywood's most beautiful and gifted stars. It reveals in poignant and often harrowing detail, the abuse and exploitation that the legendary starlet endured to reach the pinnacle of success.** Star-Child (1908-1951) Rebel (1951-1957) Movie Star (1957-1966) Motherhood (1966-1979) Dark Water (1980-1981) 389 393 395 445