Robert and Natalie Wood were at the airport in London before they left to present the prizes at the festival.
Natalie Wood's 1981 death has been shrouded in mystery.
In "Little Sister," Lana Wood suggests that Natalie's husband, Robert, might have been involved.
Lana told Insider that it would mean a lot to Natalie if her case was finally resolved.
Lana Wood believes that actor Robert Wagner played a role in the deaths of her sister and her wife.
Lana told Insider that she chose not to say anything. I just wanted to keep my mouth shut.
Lana is doubling down on her accusations against the man who drowned Natalie off the coast of Santa Catalina Island 40 years ago.
"Little Sister: My Investigation Into the Mysterious Death of Natalie Wood" is a new memoir by the former "Bond Girl," who is now 75.
Lana said there had been a lot of things said about Natalie. Nobody was portraying her accurately.
I realized that I needed to have Natalie's back, instead of just saying, "oh, that's nonsense."
There is a death in dark waters.
Natalie Wood, who was nominated for an Oscar for her role in "West Side Story," was found dead in the ocean off Catalina Island in 1981 at the age of 43. She had been on a yacht with her husband, Robert, her co-star, Christopher Walken, and the ship's captain.
Her cause of death was accidental. Los Angeles County Coroner Thomas Noguchi suggested that the actress may have slipped into the water while trying to tie up the dinghy.
Lana was skeptical of the explanation from the beginning. Lana claims that Natalie would never have attempted to re-board the dinghy on her own in the middle of the night because she was afraid of dark waters.
Lana said she lived in anguish for 10 years because her sister's husband refused to provide any information about Natalie's final night.
Lana claims in "Little Sister" that after the death, she was cut out of the entertainment industry and trashed in the press.
Lana's allegations were not immediately responded to by a representative for Wagner.
Natalie Wood and Sister Lana Wood.
The person struggles.
Lana said for years she refrained from blaming the other person for Natalie's death in order to save her relationship with Natalie's two daughters.
The two daughters of Natalie were raised by Robert and his family.
The only parent they had left wasRJ. Lana told Insider that they had nobody. If I was being overly vehement and pointing a finger back then, I was hurting the kids.
Lana was worried about how the girls were handling the grief after their mother died. She didn't have any contact with her nieces.
She said that she wanted to keep her mouth shut so that she could see them and talk to them again. It was positive. That was all.
Natalie's daughters, now 51 and 47, have always stood by their father when it came to speculation about their mother's death. In her book, " More Than Love,"Natasha talked about her faith in the innocence ofWagner.
The circumstances of Natalie Wood's death will never be known because she was alone when she died. She wrote that her father would never have harmed her mother or failed to save her if he knew she was in danger.
Representatives for both of them did not respond to Insider's request for comment.
Lana wanted to believe her brother-in-law was innocent, so she didn't accuse him publicly.
I don't hate him. She told Insider that she's known him all her life. I was hoping that it was an accident.
She said she was kidding.
There is a break in the case.
In 1992, more than a decade after Natalie's death, the yacht's captain, Dennis Davern, contacted Lana, admitting he hadn't told police everything he knew about that fateful night. He said that the holiday had been tense from the beginning and that he remembered that Wagner was angry that Natalie invited Walken.
Lana was told by the captain that he heard a fight at the back of the boat and that Natalie went missing. According to Davern's 2006 memoir, the captain told him not to radio for help in the search for Natalie, out of concern that the publicity would tarnish his image.
Davern didn't reply to Insider's request for comment.
Lana gained access to the original police report after Davern's admissions, sparking her own investigation into the incident. Lana was struck by a number of concerning elements, including reports that the initial investigators had dismissed witness statements and that the authorities had only interviewed Wagner for less than 10 minutes after Natalie's death.
She said that things like that have been haunting her.
A new investigation into Natalie's death was called for by a petition in 2009.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department reopened Natalie's case two years later and detectives labeled her death suspicious for the first time. The most important development in the Natalie's death was when authorities named Wagner a "person of interest". Lana describes her less-than-enthusiastic response to the pivotal update in "Little Sister."
Wood kept waiting to feel excitement, or surprise, or relief. It didn't happen. 'Not a suspect' meant there was still a long way to go before [Wagner] would be properly questioned.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department detective told Insider that Natalie's death is still considered suspicious.
The last person to be with Ms. Woods was her husband, Robert, and investigators would like to interview him. The goal of the investigation is to confirm the truth of how she ended up in the water.
He said that the case will remain open until it is solved.
Natalie Wood and Lana Wood pose for a picture in Los Angeles,CA.
Coming to her own conclusion.
Lana acknowledged that it's likely that her sister's case will never be resolved.
She said she didn't know if it would. I like surprises. I don't know if things will go the right way.
She said that she wished he could simply tell the truth. I have no respect for him.
Lana believes she knows what happened on the back of the Splendour, despite the stall in Natalie's reopened case.
Wood writes that he believes that a blow to the left side of Natalie's face was the cause of her unconsciousness.
"I believe that when he realized what he had done, he panicked and put Natalie in the water to avoid being held responsible for what had happened," she wrote. I believe that everything he did afterwards was to cover up the drunken, jealous, rage-filled moment.
A representative for Wagner did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. The man denied any wrongdoing in Natalie's death.
Natalie's memory is being kept alive.
The resurgence of interest in Natalie's death has been both gratifying and challenging. Lana said she didn't want Natalie forgotten.
Her memoir comes nearly two years after her daughter produced an HBO documentary about her mother. In the hour-long film,Natasha sits across from her stepbrother, who she calls "Daddy Wagner," and discusses the events of November 29, 1981 in an effort to clear the air about rumors that he played a role in her death.
Lana said that the film rubbed her the wrong way and inspired her to publish her own interpretation of events.
It was nice that she wanted to do that. She said that all she knows is what she was told. That upset me.
Lana doesn't think there's much hope for a reunion between her and Natalie's daughters.
She said that if there is, that's wonderful. "If there is, that's the way it has been for a long time now."
She hopes that the new book will help keep the memory of Natalie alive, not just as a movie star, but as a person who had a full life. Maybe even bring about some long-sought after peace.
Lana said that it would mean a lot to Natalie if her case was finally resolved. She could rest.
The original article is on Insider.
