Robert Wagner Honors Natalie Wood With Heartfelt Tribute on 44th Anniversary of Her Tragic Death
Robert Wagner is honoring his late wife, Natalie Wood, 44 years after her tragic death.
The 95-year-old actor shared an emotional Instagram tribute on Saturday, posting a black-and-white photo of the couple at the 1973 Academy Awards. “Thinking of Nat today. Her warmth, beauty, and love remain with us through our children and grandchildren,” he wrote, adding, “Forever missed, forever cherished. More than love.” He tagged their daughter Courtney Wagner, as well as Wood’s daughter Natasha Wagner and his daughter Katie Wagner.
Wood died in 1981 at age 43 after drowning during a boating trip near Catalina Island. Wagner, Christopher Walken, and the yacht’s captain, Dennis Davern, were aboard the vessel that night. Wood and Wagner were married from 1957 to 1962, later reconciling and remarrying in 1972.
Her death was first ruled an accident, but in 2012 the cause was changed to “drowning and other undetermined factors.” In 2018, Wagner was named a person of interest after the case was reclassified as “suspicious,” following witness accounts of an argument between the couple before she vanished. He was cleared in 2022.
Wood’s sister, Lana Wood, has long maintained she believes Wagner was involved, though not intentionally. Wagner has repeatedly denied any responsibility.
In his 2016 memoir I Loved Her in the Movies, Wagner wrote that he felt his life “was over” after Wood’s death, but said support from his children and friends helped him eventually heal.
