Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour

By: Marti Rulli, Dennis Davern

Narrated by: Lindsay Johnson

Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour is the long-awaited, detailed account of events that led to the mysterious death of Hollywood legend Natalie Wood off the coast of Catalina Island on November 28, 1981. It is a story told by a haunted witness to that fateful evening: Dennis Davern, the young captain of Splendour, the yacht belonging to Wood and husband Robert Wagner. Davern initially backed up Wagner's version of that evening's events through a signed statement prepared by attorneys. But Davern's guilt over having failed Natalie termented him. Davern reached out to his old friend, Marti Rulli and little by little, at his own emotional pace, he revealed the details of his years in Wood and Wagner's employ, of the fateful weekend that Natalie died and of the events following her death that prevented him from telling the whole story - until now.

©2009 Marti Rulli (P)2009 Phoenix

Natalie deserves justice and so does her family.

RJ needs to go to prison and pay for his crimes. Excellent job on this injustice that I always wondered about. She was a beautiful lady.

LOVED THIS BOOK!!!

I have nothing bad to say about this book. The story about Natalie Wood has been told and retold but the author made me feel like I was listening to it for the first time. The narrator did a fantastic job. You will not be disappointed if you purchase this book.

Nice Try

This is a nice attempt at shedding light on the murder of Natalie Wood by her husband Robert Wagner, but Sam Perroni does a far better job in his book Brainstorm. This book isn't bad, but it's not great.

Long + wandering at times but thorough

If you enjoy true crime/mysteries, or if you're a fan of Natalie Wood, you will probably enjoy the level of detail and depth of this book. It can be long and circuitous, but I 100% believe Daverne's account of what he witnessed that night. If only he had been forthcoming from the start. The book was longer than necessary and could have been tightened up, but I still enjoyed it. Narration was excellent. Recommend.

May you finally have rest Natalie

I have always wondered about the circumstances around Natalie's drowning. Marti's book takes us through the stories of her dear friend Dennis Davern, the boat captain of Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood's boat, The Splendour. In this book we hear how much he cared for both of them and was torn about speaking out on the events that happened on the dark night that Natalie was found dead in the water.
I was suspicious of Dennis' accounts until he underwent the polygraph tests and hypnosis. *I am still a little concerned that he remembered what he thought while under--Is this normal?* If Dennis' account is completely true, this is one of the most horrific things I have heard.
I cannot believe that a husband waited to search for his wife when he discovered she was missing and not on the actual boat. I cannot believe that he has continued to not tell the full story. I cannot believe he is ok with growing old and dying without telling the truth. I cannot believe that Christopher Walken would rather make up a story that corroborates RJ's (based on what we hear) than choose to "not get involved in married couples' affairs" (as he had instructed Dennis).
I am thankful that, even through years of adversity and disbelief in their stories, Marti and Dennis put this out in the world for everyone to make his own decisions. Even if you don't believe Dennis' account, you cannot deny the evidence of bruises all over Natalie's body, a down jacket which doesn't sink, a broken wine bottle that RJ admits he broke in a fit of rage, and hours of waiting to call for help after you know "the love of your life" is gone.
R.I.P. Natalie.

Informative and True

I liked this book so much that I listened from beginning to end without stopping except to eat etc. The narrator was good! She made Dennis's voice sound a bit rough, sad and kind, and thoughtful. She made Natalie's voice sound sweet and kind. I enjoyed it, but all the while I felt so terrible for Natalie! It is very obvious that Robert Wagner frame way too much, and lets his jealousy get the better of him! I do wonder if he regretted it after he was sober...

A sincere effort, but way too detailed

I suppose if one is absolutely fascinated by the topic the level of detail may be a joy. But for the rest of us, it’s too tedious, too long, too repetitious… A trial to get through.

good read -

I always thought the whole incident smacked of murder. I don't believe it was premeditated but I do believe RJ was guilty. Drinking and ego are a deadly combination. I don't believe RJ's version. Wealthy people and famous people do not do these kinds of things for themselves...no way she was trying to secure the dingy or was taking it out for a ride herself. Why wouldn't she ask Dennis to do it? I see many similarities to how things were handled and how he behaved to O.J.

Cheap and tawdry tale

I think this book is kind of a cheap shot not respectful of the survivors and with a focus to be sensational and a meretricious shot at fame. I kind of felt dirty after reading it, as if I had intruded into someone's life by accident. Nuff said.

Convincing

I have always had doubts about the official version of events we were given surrounding Natalie's death and I was never convinced that Robert Wagner was totally innocent. I was a big fan of Natalie Woods and I remember so clearly in her interviews how afraid she was of the water so it just didn't make sense that she would put herself at risk taking the dingy out late at night by herself.
Listening to Dennis Davern's story I at first was suspicious of his motives but as the book unfolds He and Marti Ruli present a much more convincing explanation of the events than the one we have been fed for so many years.
It starts out slow but then I was hooked and couldn't stop listening.