For us, stars will stop where they are

Tonight, tonight
Won't be just any night
Tonight there will be no morning star.
Tonight, tonight
I'll see my love tonight,
And for us, stars will stop
Where they are.

Today
The minutes seem like hours,
The hours go so slowly,
And still the sky is light…
Oh moon, grow bright,
And make this endless day endless night!



On this day in 1981, Natalie Wood drowned in a mysterious accident. The actress, husband Robert Wagner and actor Christopher Walken were aboard their yacht off California that November night. Natalie's body was found floating off shore the next day.

For years, speculation was rife in the tabloids about exactly what happened. By all accounts, there was a lot of drinking and arguing that night, and it was evident the Wood-Wagner marriage was a rocky affair. The Los Angeles Coroner decided that Wood had died accidentally, "possibly attempting to board the dinghy and had fallen into the water, striking her face." Still, the rumours continued: Was it murder? We will never really know.

Natalie Wood was one of the most beautiful actresses in Hollywood, yet very temperamental. She was a child star in the 1940s, but her rise to fame really began when she starred alongside James Dean in Rebel Without A Cause in 1955.

But it was surely for her role as the innocent Maria in West Side Story that Natalie Wood really became an icon - despite her singing voice being dubbed by the ubiquitous Marni Nixon. One of the greatest musicals ever, the film brought her the type of fame already enjoyed by the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, and affairs with Elvis Presley, Dennis Hopper, Warren Beatty and Michael Caine.

Her long acting career never really hit those dizzy heights again, but she and Robert Wagner remained a favourite celebrity couple until her sad death. To celebrate this wonderful woman, here's a clip from her finest screen appearance.

Tonight from West Side Story

Natalie Wood on IMDB

West Side Story website