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Biography
Natalie Wood was born on July 20, 1938 in San Francisco, California
with the birth name of Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko. Her parents
were Russian émigrés who hardly spoke any comprehensible English,
but they changed the family name to Gurdin after becoming US
citizens. When she was just four years old, Natalie appeared in her
first film called _Happy Land (1943)_ (qv) which was released in
1943. A production company had come to Santa Rosa where the Gurdins
were living at the time and she won a bit part of a crying little
girl who had just dropped her ice cream cone. With stars in her
eyes for her daughter, Mrs. Gurdin packed the family and moved
south to Los Angeles in the hopes that more films would come her
daughter's way. Unfortunately, they did not, at least not at first
and the family continued to scrape by much as they had done in
Santa Rosa. Three years later in 1946, Natalie appeared in her
second film entitled _Tomorrow Is Forever (1946)_ (qv). She was
only seven at the time, and flunked her first screen test for the
role. After being convinced by her mother to give her another test,
the studio heads were impressed and awarded the role to Natalie. In
1947's MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET, Natalie won movie patrons hearts as
Susan Walker in a film that is considered a Christmas classic to
this day. For a child actress, Natalie stayed very busy appearing
in no less than 18 films in the late 40s and early 50s. Not all the
films she appeared in were successful. As a matter of fact two were
duds. In 1948, Natalie appeared in SCUDDA HOO! SCUDDA HAY! a film
best left undeveloped and in the can. The other was THE SILVER
CHALICE. Years later co-star Paul Newman took out an ad and
apologized for the movie when it made it to television. When she
was 17, Natalie appeared in 1955's _Rebel Without a Cause (1955)_
(qv) with stars 'James Dean' (qv), 'Sal Mineo' (qv), and 'Dennis
Hopper' (qv). She played Judy, a rebellious high school student who
was more concerned with hanging out with the wrong crowd rather
being a sweet teenager like her contemporaries. The result was her
first Academy Award nomination and a defining moment in her
development as an adult actress. She appeared in SPLENDOR IN THE
GRASS, WEST SIDE STORY (both in 1961), GYPSY (1962), and LOVE WITH
A PROPER STRANGER (1963). While Natalie was reported to be unhappy
making WEST SIDE STORY, the film did win Oscars for Best Picture,
Best Direction, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress.
In short, the film was a smash hit. Although she wasn't nominated
for an Academy Award in that one, Natalie did receive nominations
for her roles in SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS and LOVE WITH A PROPER
STRANGER. Unfortunately, she won neither. After THIS PROPERTY IS
CONDEMNED in 1966, Natalie stayed away from filming for three years
giving herself time for herself and to consider where she was
going. When she did return her star quality had not diminished a
bit, when she played Carol Sanders in BOB & CAROL & TED & ALICE.
From that point on Natalie didn't work as much. She spent most of
her time raising her family. She made a few television appearances,
but nothing of substance with the exception of the TV mini-series
"From Here to Eternity". After making THE LAST MARRIED COUPLE IN
AMERICA (1980), Natalie began work on BRAINSTORM in 1981 with
Christopher Walken. She did not live to see it released. On
November 29, 1981, Natalie was sailing on the yacht she shared with
her husband, Robert Wagner, and their friend Walken, when Natalie
drowned while trying to board the dinghy tied up alongside the
yacht. She was 43 years old. Natalie had made 56 films for TV and
the silver screen and it's hard to say what she could have done
while making her comeback. Brainstorm was finally released in 1983.
Biography courtesy of the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com).
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Movie
Credits
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it at Amazon.com
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Here's Looking at You, Warner Bros. (1991)
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[ Goldie Hawn ] [ Barbra Streisand ]
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Brainstorm (1983)
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[ Louise Fletcher ] [ Viveca Lindfors ]
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Willie and Phil (1980)
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[ Jerry Hall ] [ Kristine Debell ] [ Margot Kidder ]
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Memory of Eva Ryker, The (Made for TV) (1980)
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[ Morgan Fairchild ]
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Last Married Couple in America, The (1980)
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[ Catherine Hickland ]
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Hart to Hart (1979)
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Cracker Factory, The (Made for TV) (1979)
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[ Juliet Mills ]
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Meteor (1979)
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[ Sybil Danning ] [ Bibi Besch ]
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Salute to Bette Davis, A (Made for TV) (1977)
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[ Jane Fonda ] [ Mia Farrow ]
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Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Made for TV) (1976)
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[ Jessica Lange ] [ Toni ]
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Peeper (1975)
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James Dean, the First American Teenager (1975)
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[ Leslie Caron ]
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I'm a Stranger Here Myself (1974)
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Affair, The (Made for TV) (1973)
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Candidate, The (1972)
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[ June Wilkinson ]
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Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969)
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[ Dyan Cannon ] [ Celeste Yarnall ]
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Penelope (1966)
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[ Anna Bergman ]
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This Property Is Condemned (1966)
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Great Race, The (1965)
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Inside Daisy Clover (1965)
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Sex and the Single Girl (1964)
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[ Lauren Bacall ] [ Barbara Bouchet ]
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Love with the Proper Stranger (1963)
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[ Dyanne Thorne ]
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Gypsy (1962)
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Splendor in the Grass (1961)
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West Side Story (1961)
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All the Fine Young Cannibals (1960)
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[ Pearl Bailey ]
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Cash McCall (1959)
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Marjorie Morningstar (1958)
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Kings Go Forth (1958)
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James Dean Story, The (1957)
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[ Jayne Mansfield ]
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Bombers B-52 (1957)
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Searchers, The (1956)
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[ Lana Wood ]
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Burning Hills, The (1956)
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Cry in the Night, A (1956)
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Girl He Left Behind, The (1956)
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One Desire (1955)
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[ Anne Baxter ]
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Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
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Silver Chalice, The (1954)
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[ Piera ] [ Pier Angeli ]
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Star, The (1952)
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Rose Bowl Story, The (1952)
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Just for You (1952)
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[ Julie Newmar ]
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Blue Veil, The (1951)
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[ Joan Blondell ]
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Dear Brat (1951)
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No Sad Songs for Me (1950)
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[ Viveca Lindfors ]
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Our Very Own (1950)
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[ Ann Blyth ]
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Jackpot, The (1950)
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Never a Dull Moment (1950)
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[ Irene Dunne ]
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Green Promise, The (1949)
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Father Was a Fullback (1949)
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Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! (1948)
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[ Marilyn Monroe ]
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Chicken Every Sunday (1948)
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Driftwood (1947)
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Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
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[ Jane Leeves ] [ Mary McCormack ] [ Elizabeth Perkins ]
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Ghost and Mrs. Muir, The (1947)
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[ Gene Tierney ]
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Tomorrow Is Forever (1946)
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[ Claudette Colbert ]
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Bride Wore Boots, The (1946)
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[ Barbara Stanwyck ]
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Moon Is Down, The (1943)
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Happy Land (1943)
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