Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour [Hardcover]

Marti Rulli (Author), Dennis Davern (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2009

Natalie Wood was a Hollywood icon, beloved by millions for her performances in such classics as Miracle on 34th Street, West Side Story and Rebel Without a Cause. Married for the second time to actor Robert Wagner and the mother of young children, Natalie had everything to live for. Her bizarre death on or near the yacht Splendour on a chilly November evening in 1981 has been shrouded in mystery. In his recent best-selling memoir Pieces of My Heart, Robert Wagner told his version of what happened on the yacht Splendour on the night his wife died. But is Wagner's version accurate? Who knows the truth? Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour is the result of a decades-long investigation by journalist Marti Rulli and Dennis Davern, Natalie's friend, confidant, and captain of the Splendour on that controversial night. Painstakingly researched and written from the heart, here is an in-depth examination of Natalie Wood's life -- and death.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Marti Rulli has held executive positions in printing and media. She runs her own advertising business and is a long-time freelance writer.
Dennis Davern was the boat captain for Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood and was on the yacht Splendour on the night of Wood's death. He currently owns and operates a marina and boat maintenance business.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 334 pages
• Publisher: Medallion; 1st ed edition (September 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597776394
• ISBN-13: 978-1597776394
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (84 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #448,670 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Marti Rulli was born and raised in New Jersey. While working in media (newspapers and magazines) for over 25 years, Marti was a freelance writer for various publications. When called upon by her longtime friend, Dennis Davern, the former Captain of the yacht, Splendour, owned by celebrities, to tell Davern's firsthand account of the night legendary actress Natalie Wood died, Marti took on the project as a journalist and as an investigator. "Goodbye Natalie Goodbye Splendour" is Marti Rulli's first book.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

105 of 111 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour, October 12, 2009

By 

Deston Lee "Deston Lee "Yorkistrose"" (Rockford, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour (Hardcover)

Natalie Wood was a beautiful, talented lady - and I stress the word LADY here. It is INCREDIBLE to me to believe that she would leave the Splendour in her nightgown and socks to go ashore for ANY reason. SHE WOULD HAVE PUT ON STREET CLOTHING!!! She was not drunk according to her autopsy and she had a strong sense of who she was. No one with her sense of star power would have been traveling about in her nightgown going ashore. Something never made any sense about the entire debacle and I believe that Davern is telling the truth about what HE knows regarding that night. Too many lies and too many half truths were told during the ineffectual investigation. I gather the men doing the interviews were totally awed by the celebrity of the victim and Robert John Wagner, Jr. There are possibly only TWO people who know what happened to Natalie that night. One is Robert John Wagner Jr. and the other, sadly, is Ms. Wood herself and she can not tell us.

The book is extremely well written. I did feel it dragged a bit in getting to the crux of the story, but it was riveting all the same. Many will judge Davern for not being forthcoming in the first place, but I suppose it is better late than never. He admits to having an alcoholic problem and a deep seated fear of "the powers that be" to explain why he never spoke up before now. Many will hurl insults at him by intimating that he is out to "make a fast buck." I do not believe that is the case here. I believe the ghost of this beautiful, vibrant woman haunts him and well it should.

We still do not know what happened to Natalie that night. We know that credible witnesses heard a woman crying out "Help me. I'm drowning." They were in the slot next to Splendour so they would have heard something in this case. The police never interviewed them or dismissed them completely. The silence that fell after those pitiful cries was ominous and the two people involved still recall with a chill that they truly heard what they heard.

Authorities need to reopen this case and do some REAL investigating this time. How did Natalie get into that water -- a woman so terrified of water that she had nightmares about drowning in it? It is not sensible to believe that she would have gone out on a jet black night with no lights to detach a dinghy from making noises. Something is truly amiss here and it needs to be put right.

I recommend reading the book with an open mind. My first impression when I picked it up was that perhaps this Davern just wanted to make some money off celebrity. However, after reading the book I am convinced that has little if anything to do with it. This high spirited, beautiful woman who was capable of such enormous love for her children and life will not allow him to rest until the truth is told. Natalie deserves the WHOLE truth to be exposed, but will it ever be done? A sad testament to our morals today that such a questionable death can go unsolved for so many years.

73 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Greatest Fear Realized, November 12, 2009

By 

M. Hill (U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour (Hardcover)

For some of us, the explanation of Natalie Wood's death raised more questions than it answered. Rumors of an argument circulated early on which cast doubt on the convenient "...don't know what happened" explanation that both Wagner and Walken provided authorities. Theories have been promulgated but nothing of substance has come to light until this book's release.

There were only four people on the ship the night of Natalie Wood's death - Wood, Robert Wagner, Christopher Walken and Dennis Davern the Captain. Now we have the painful account from Davern, the tortured soul whose life was almost ruined by the secrets he kept for his employer and friend, Robert Wagner. He sat for two lie detector tests and was hypnotized because he realized the skepticism that would face him when he finally revealed what he saw the night of Wood's death. He also realized that the only way to quell his conscience so he could live with himself was to tell the truth, all of it, and without embellishment. He contacted his old friend Marti Rulli and began to ever so slowly tell the story.

A profoundly disturbing book, Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour documents celebrity privilege with crystal clarity. The special treatment that Wagner and Walken received appears to have rolled right over the living and the dead. If nothing else comes from this perhaps it is time to examine this ridiculous habit the public has of placing people on pedestals because of the work they perform. The extreme deference afforded celebrities, here is taken to a truly frightening place. Evidence ignored, interrogations not given and clear discrepancies overlooked. Wagner didn't want the bad publicity and there were plenty of people around willing to accommodate him.

The story is now haunting me and I can't seem to shake it. I am struggling with the injustice and the lack of publicity regarding the new information. Will this compelling story which quietly slipped into view without much fanfare, soon slip away without any serious investigation? This book contains one of the most chilling examples in Hollywood history of apparent celebrity misconduct along with one of the clearest examples of what happens to us when we ignore our moral compass. I sincerely hope this isn't where the story ends.

60 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Give Natalie her Dignity. I believe Dennis., February 26, 2010

By 

Ginger Sugar Blymyer "Ginger Sugar Blymyer" (203 N. Encinal AVe.Meiner's Oaks, Ojai, California 93023) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour (Hardcover)

First of all let me say I was Natalie Woods Hairstylist for seventeen years and knew her very well. I was not with her the last three years of her life and was utterly shocked at what happened. Or what was said to have happened to her. Because I was not there I had to believe what was written. I thought she was drinking too much and fell. I surmised that being drunk Wagner and Dennis just stayed in a fog and let her drown or drift away. It made it sound good for Wagner but leaving Natalie as a drunk.
It took me a long time to read Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour. I don't know why but it did. Once I opened the book I couldn't stop reading. Now remember I was there so much of the time, not on the boat but other places. I began to read and the truth rang out. Dennis's description of his lifeHairdresser to the Stars: A Hollywood Memoir around Natalie was so real and true. It brought back so many years of my life. (I am now 75)
The last conversation while working on Eva Ryker, was so intimate and truthful. Both Natalie and I were suffering our husband's drinking problems. She also was at a turning point in her life. It was time to go out in new directions. At that time people didn't take their children with them to work. Natalie loved her girls and had agreed to be there for them. We even stopped by school to see them in a play.
Three years later she was gone. Reading this book I could understand that the things I sensed in my last conversation had propelled her to a need for change.
I believe what Dennis has described about the weekend. I believe that working with C.W. she became inspired and probably had a buddy who was coaxing her toward her growth while RJ was wanting her under his thumb. How could she break the perfect couple again. I have a feeling that weekend she was tired of the accusations of infideliety. I never saw that in all the time I worked with her. Granted we all were close and intimate on a set. We spent more time together than with our families or mates. But that didn't mean sleeping with each other.
So that weekend it seemed she needed to make a break and meant to have it happen. She didn't care about really making peace. I believe the fight, but the fight should never have ended with bruises on her body and her going overboard. She was so tiny. It is so sad to think of that beautiful little body covered in bruises. I can never imagine her taking out the boat. I do believe what happened is that she went overboard not of her own accord and nobody went to rescue her, just let her float away and drown. I cannot forgive Wagner for that. I do feel sad that her daughters have to understand what happened to their mother, but they were robbed of their life with her. I do believe it is not fair to characterize her as a drunk who fell into the ocean.
It is time to give her back her dignity. I don't know what will come of the truth being told now. But I hope that every person who has asked me "what happened?" as so many do, all the time if they know I worked with her, will read this and perhaps the truth will come to the surface. Thanks Marti Rulli and Dennis for finally bringing the truth to us.