Kirk Douglas assaulted Natalie Wood, her sister alleges

[RandySF]

Ms Wood's sister, Lana, makes the allegations in her memoir "Little Sister", due for release on 9 November.
According to extracts from the book published by the Associated Press, Mr Douglas attacked Ms Wood in the summer of 1955.

The assault allegedly took place while Ms Wood was filming The Searchers.

Lana Wood says that the Hollywood stars' meeting at the famed Chateau Marmont hotel had been arranged by her mother, Maria Zakharenko, who hoped Mr Douglas could help open doors for the young actress.

Mr Douglas, who was in his 30s at the time, was one of Hollywood's most high-profile actors, starring in films such as Spartacus, The Bad and the Beautiful and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.




https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59170667

[JustAnotherGen]

1. It's been known for years

In the entertainment industry. That's why no applause from me as champton of 'liberal causes' when he passed away.

[LizBeth]

2. I read about this years ago and since, have felt only disgust for the man.

And that he was able to walk thru his life to old age without this affecting him at all. What a society we live in.

[MineralMan]

3. "Inside Daisy Clover," an almost forgotten movie of hers,

tells an ugly story of Hollywood's exploitation of young girls and women. It's one of my favorite movies of all time, even with its minor flaws. Worth watching.

I always wondered whether Natalie Wood took that role because of her own experience.

[PatSeg]

9. I always liked that movie as well

Now I also wonder if her experience(s) affected her choice.

[MineralMan]

11. I don't know, actually.

She was a favorite actor of mine. One of the few to go from child actress to an adult one with some success. I have always suspected she fell victim to the 1950s Hollywood penchant for abusing young women who were actresses. "Inside Daisy Clover" was a 1965 film, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe. However, the film was not a box office hit, and probably hit home a bit too closely.

She did some pretty important movies, actually, during her rather short career. Her portrayal as Maria in "West Side Story" almost went unnoticed, despite the success of the movie. She always seems to have just missed achieving true star status.

Her untimely and mysterious death is still really unsolved.

[PatSeg]

16. Also Splendor in the Grass

and This Property is Condemned (about the same time as Daisy Clover and also co-starred Robert Redford). She made quite a few unforgettable movies.

[MineralMan]

17. Yes. I never thought she was a great actor, but she

was good at it and interesting to watch. She wasn't all that glamorous, which made me like her even more. She was, if nothing else, relatable, and that's a very good thing. She had that "girl next door" sort of charm, I thought.

[PatSeg]

18. Oddly enough,

I found her to be a better actor as a child. She was so natural and appealing. As an adult, she often overacted, something I've seen in other child actors when they grew up. Still, she was in some of my favorite movies and was a memorable screen presence.

[MineralMan]

19. Yes. I agree. When I first saw "Miracle on 34th Street," I thought

she was marvelous as the little girl. I also liked her Maria in "West Side Story." Sadly, her voice got dubbed by someone else. She actually had a decent voice on he own, but...

She got really upstaged by Ruth Gordon in "Inside Daisy Clover." Gordon won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in that movie. But, Natalie Wood, I thought, did a great job in her role in that, as well. It was a bit shocking for audiences at the time, I remember, which sort of hurt the box office for the film, but I remember thinking that she understood the character really well. Probably because she could relate to it better than we knew.

Later, she dropped pretty much out of acting for quite some time. I wonder if she was having difficult personal problems during that period. I imagine so.

[PatSeg]

20. Oh yes, she was amazing in "Miracle on 34th Street"

Shortly after "West Side Story", she was able to use her own voice in "Gypsy", which brought her some satisfaction.

It is possible that audiences might not have been ready for "Inside Daisy Clover" at the time. It probably would have done better a few years later. This was when movies like "Sound of Music", "My Fair Lady", and "Mary Poppins" were big box office, as well as superficial romantic comedies with people like Doris Day.

I just found this on IMDB, which confirms that she was having personal problems at the time:

Inside Daisy Clover was made smack dab between two of Natalie Wood's suicide attempts (November 1964 and January 1966). She got through the filming with pills and daily analysis. This makes the fact that her character carries out an abortive suicide attempt all the more poignant.

It must have really been tough for her making that film.

[MineralMan]

21. Ah...yes.

I'm guessing the movie role hit too close to home for safety.

I had forgotten about "Gypsy," another favorite.

[PatSeg]

22. Yes, there were more Natalie Wood movies

than I'd remembered. I loved "Gypsy".

Making "Daisy Clover" must have been torture for her.

[Mr.Bill]

37. I really think Inside Daisy Clover was a great film.

I would have never gone to see it then, (I was 12 and was more interested in Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon beach blanket movies) but I was on an airplane where it was shown. Airplane showings was where movies went if they were unsuccessful at the box office back then.

I've seen it a few more times and, of course I understood it better as I got older.

[XanaDUer2]

4. An actress named Jean Spangler went missing

There was a connection to Douglas at the time.

[obamanut2012]

7. He was "cleared"

Although there was proof in her purse she was meeting him that day.

[XanaDUer2]

8. Yes, weird case

There was suspicions she was having an abortion. Iirc, Douglas was the one who contacted the police to assure them he was not the Kirk referred to in her letter.

She was never found

[shrike3]

36. There was a note to someone named Kirk.

Doesn't prove it was Kirk Douglas, and it's not clear what it meant.

And why was she still carrying it? Whoever Kirk was, he didn't get it. I'm not saying he's innocent, just that I don't think the note really proves anything. Odd case.

[Sneederbunk]

5. Must sell book.

[obamanut2012]

6. Nope, this has been an open secret for years

And, Lana promised her sister she would tell the world after Kirk Douglas died. This is also has been an open secret.

He was well known for raping actresses and staffers.

[USALiberal]

10. Did you do any research???

[hamsterjill]

12. Yeah, I'll wait to hear Kirk Douglas' side...

Oh, wait, that's right. He's not here to defend himself.

Anything for someone to make a buck these days. Telling it now doesn't really solve anything other than that, now does it?

[gldstwmn]

23. Well yes, a publisher hopes to sell a book but

Kirk Douglas allegedly raped Natalie Wood among others. The two are not mutually exclusive. Her sister's point of view is probably pretty compelling.

[BannonsLiver]

26. But but but!111

If she doesn’t sell the book “he’lL gET a PAsS!111”

[gldstwmn]

29. He was already given one. The statute of limitations

was long passed on this crime. He was protected by the Hollywood patriarchy. That's the story. You want to defend Harvey Weinstein too?

[RobinA]

13. In A Previous Life

I was a paralegal for a major computer corporation. Prior to my working there, Kirk Douglass had a lawsuit against the company, I have no idea why. The lawyer who worked on the case stated that Douglass was the most awful human being he had ever met. I have no dog in that hunt, but it did stick with me.

OK, I looked it up. Douglass was a spokesperson for one computer company that merged with another computer company and as such he was no longer the spokesperson after the merger. I worked for the resulting company.

[kimbutgar]

14. I have these books about Hollywood scandals and it is mentioned in several of the books.

[BannonsLiver]

15. I'm sorry to report it's a bit late to cancel Kirk.

Are we running out of the living?

[gldstwmn]

24. The fact that he was given a pass should be forgotten?

[BlueStater]

27. Not that I don't believe her, but why did she wait until he was dead?

Douglas lived to be one-hundred-and-fucking-three. There was plenty of time to expose him when he was alive. If he was really a horrible monster, he deserved to taken down when he was living. Now he’ll never face any sort of justice for what he did. It made zero sense to wait this long to bring this story to public attention.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

32. People knew this when he was alive, and he wasn't brought to justice then.

[XanaDUer2]

28. Wow, lived to 103? Nt

[andym]

30. FYI, Lana Wood also has accused Robert Wagner of murdering Natalie Wood

Here's an older story, but it certainly is in the new book as well. The accusations against famed actors alone will make the book a best seller.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2018/09/14/natalie-wood-murdered-robert-wagner-say-sister-witness-dr-phil/1304231002/

"The death of movie star Natalie Wood four decades ago continues to fascinate the media and now the "Dr. Phil" show has joined in, hosting the yacht skipper who now claims Wood was murdered and Wood's sister who accuses her ex-brother-in-law, actor Robert Wagner, of doing it."

[XanaDUer2]

31. Kick nt

[Raine]

33. I heard this awhile back , he was a sleazy dirtbag. 👎🤢🤮 nt

[book_worm]

34. Natalie's mother was a nut, too

allowing her daughter to meet privately with a older man in a hotel room in hopes that he could further her career.

It must have been tough for her when they met up in later years:

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[XanaDUer2]

35. Total stage mother

What a sad picture

[XanaDUer2]

38. Me too nt