Celebrity Graveland

July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981

Natalia Nikolaevna Zacharenko was born in San Francisco to a Russian immigrant family in July of 1938.  For some reason, her name was changed when she began acting at the age of 5, and the world met Natalie Wood.

A star from early on, her first major role was that of young Susan Walker in the Christmas classic Miracle on 34th St. She earned 3 Academy Award nominations by the time she turned 25, starring in such classics along the way as Rebel Without a Cause, The Searchers, Splendor in the Grass and as the face and body in front of Marni Nixon’s voice in West Side Story.

Wood’s on screen accomplishments were often overshadowed by her personal life.  She married actor Robert Wagner…twice.  The first marriage ended in divorce after 5 or so years.  The second ended in 1981 with, well…with Natalie somehow falling out of a boat, or swimming while drunk, or something.  Who knows? The point is, if there is one lesson to be learned from Natalie’s life, it’s that you should never go swimming while on a boat with Christopher Walken and Robert Wagner.

Burial

Westwood Village Memorial Park – Los Angeles, CA

Specific Location

Section D, #60; In the center lawn of the park, Natalie is about 6 rows down of the north curb to the West of a large tree (see map below).

This entry was posted on February 22, 2013 at 6:59 pm and is filed under Westwood Memorial Park with tags Actors, Rebel Without A Cause, Westwood Memorial Park. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.