Books with icons may be available through Amazon.com. Click on image for more information.
Starring Natalie Wood:
Books about the lady herself
Natalie Wood : A Life by Gavin Lambert. Knopf 2004, ISBN 0375410740. The eagerly awaited biography by Gavin Lambert features Natalie as she was known to her inner circle of friends and family. The author manages to uncover a few new major revelations about Natalie and her struggle with her inner demons.
Natasha : The Biography of Natalie Wood by Suzanne Finstad. Crown Publishing 2001, ISBN 0-609-60359-0. This contraversial biography created quite a buzz when it was released. From its allegations of rape early in Natalie's career to its breakdowns of various accounts of her death, it's a sensational look at the actresses life.
Natalie: A Memoir By Her Sister by Lana Wood. G.P. Putnam's Sons 1984, ISBN 0-440-16268-8. This is the book I read on Natalie Wood. It was also the first book to come out about her. Part hero worship and part sour grapes, Lana's book is always emotional. The focus is on their relationship as it affected Lana's life. Fairly easy to come by in both hardback and paperback editions at better used bookstores. The hardback edition has extra photos. Recommended.
Natalie and R.J.: Hollywood's Star-crossed Lovers by Warren G. Harris. Doubleday 1988, ISBN 0-425-11975-0. Where Lana's book is limited to her own point of view, Harris has interviewed many of the people closest to Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner to present a more comprehensive picture of their lives. While more journalistic in it's approach, the book tells the off again on again love story in a manner as affecting as Lana's book. While it has it's tell all moments, it maintains a journalistic high ground above most celebrity biographies. Harder to come by than the Lana Wood book, but recommended. Two sections of photographs.
Natalie Wood, a Biography in Photographs by Christopher Nickens. Doubleday 1986, ISBN 0-385-23307-8. Packed with hundreds of photos, Nickens gives an overview of Natalie's life that is affectionate if not as in depth as the previous books. Lots of interesting facts and great pictures. This is the only book on Natalie authorized by Robert Wagner. Very rare....in fact, if you find an extra copy, let me know... I need one.
Back to Top
Supporting Roles:
Anthology biographies, film books and biographies of those close to her, in order of useful content
Live Fast, Die Young by Lawrence Frascella and Al Weisel.Touchstone 2006, ISBN 0743260821. A well researched book on the making of Rebel Without a Cause. Natalie's relationship with Nicholas Ray is discussed.
Five For Hollywood by John Parker. The lives of five stars (Dean, Taylor, Hudson, Wood and Clift) of the fifties and early sixties are intertwined in this portrait of Hollywood's silver era. More a snapshot of the time than an in-depth portrait of any of the five.
The Great Movie Actresses by Philip Strick, 1985. This encyclopedia of film stars has an entry on Natalie.
Heart to Heart with Robert Wagner by Diana Maychick and L. Avon Borgo. HC- St. Martin's Press, 1986. PB- Berkley, 1988. ISBN 0-425-10632-2. A biography presumably written with some cooperation from Robert Wagner (he was interviewed, at least.) This book is pretty dry (it reads like a press release.) It has a few bits of interesting information on Natalie, but even when dealing with Robert Wagner it is less interesting than Natalie and R.J.. A few good photos are included.
Hollywood Album by Ivy Crane Wilson. British publication, date unknown. Featuring on living and working in London about (or by?) Natalie Wood, Jean Simmons, Doris Day, Robert Taylor, Roger Moore, Glenn Ford, Gary Cooper, Pat Wayne, Cyd Charisse David Niven, etc. (My information on this book is second hand.)
Hollywood Love Stories by Karney, Robyn. UK, Octopus Books, 1987. ISBN:0706429842 Includes Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller, Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, Laurence Oliver and Vivien Leigh, Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks.
Legends by Tom Shales. Random House, 1989. ISBN 0-394-575210. Brief essays on many of the author's favorite stars. 1 photo.
Miracle on 34th Street, a Hollywood Classic by Sarah Parker Danielson. Brompton Books, 1993. ISBN 0-8317-4284-4. Lots of photo's and behind the scene information on the making of the film. Currently available at Suncoast Video, Media Play, and most book stores. In fact, you should find this one on sale.
The Sexiest Man Alive: A Biography of Warren Beatty by Ellis Amburn. Harper Entertainment 2002. ISBN: 006018566X Several Chapters on Warren and Natalie. This book is mostly recycled tabloid rumors. 1 photo.
Star Mothers by Holt, Quinn and Russel. Simon and Schuster, 1988. ISBN 0-671-64510-2. Stars and the mothers behind them. Lengthy section on Natalie's mom, Maria Gurdin, featuring her recollections on Natalie's career. Photo of the two together.
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (But Don't Have Sex Or Take the Car) by Dick Moore. Harper and Row, 1984. ISBN 0-06-015349-0. The former "Our Gang" star interviewed many ex-child stars about their early lives. Natalie contributed some recollections. Possibly her last major interview.
Warren Beatty, The Last Great Hollywood Lover by John Parker. Carroll and Graf 1993. ISBN 0-7867-0072-6. Several Chapters on Warren and Natalie. 1 photo.
Back to Top
Cameo Appearances:
Books about friends or films, with a brief story or two about Natalie Wood or photo's
NOTE- Almost any James Dean book will have some mention of his friendship with Natalie and their work in I am a Fool and Rebel Without a Cause. Many Elvis Presley books mention the brief time Natalie dated the King. I've tried to keep these to a minimum sampling.
Hairdresser to the Stars: A Hollywood Memoir by Ginger Sugar Blymyer. Xlibris Corporation, 2000 ISBN 0-7388-1269-2. Ginger Blymyer discusses the personalities she worked with in her years as a haridresser in Hollywood. Natalie was a client for much of her career. Here is an excerpt.
Icons and Legends: The Photography of Michael Childers by Michael Childers, David Hockney, Christine Giles, Dave Hickey, and the Palms Springs Desert Museum. University of Washington Press, 2003 ISBN 0-2959-8396-5 . This collection of celebrity photographs contains four nice shots of Natalie Wood fromthe 1970s, including the cover.
The Way We Lived Then : Recollections of a Well-Known Name Dropper by Dominick Dunne. Crown Publishing 1999. ISBN 0-6096-0388-4. Dunne's memoir of life in 1960's Hollywood drops Natalie's name a few times. A few interesting anecdotes about her life and death plus a handful of pictures of her make this worth a look for Natalie Wood fans, and fans of her era of Hollywood will find much more of interest.
Show Me the Magic by Paul Mazursky. ISBN:0684847353. Writer, film director, actor, and producer--his life in Hollywood, a behind-the-scenes look at his cinematic triumphs, from "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice" to "Down and Out in Beverly Hills," and his friendships with Bette Midler, Orson Welles, Natalie Wood, and Peter Sellers.
James Dean, Behind the Scene ed. Adams and Burns. Warner 1990. ISBN 0-8065-1188-5. Behind the scenes photo's of Rebel Without a Cause. Several good shots with Natalie.
James Dean by Marceau Devillers. Grange 1993. ISBN 1-85627-471-3. More good photo's.
James Dean, Little Boy Lost by Joe Hyams. Warner, 1992. ISBN 0-446-51643-0
Last Train to Memphis by Peter Guralnick. Little, Brown and Company, 1994. ISBN 0-316-33220-8. Short overview of Natalie and Elvis dating, from the introduction through Nick Addams to her trip to Graceland. 1 photo.
Elvis Aaron Presley: Revelations from the Memphis Mafia by Alanna Nash with Billy Smith, Marty Lacker and Larry Fike. Harper Collins Publishers, 1995. ISBN 0-06-017619-9. Two brief and very quirky anecdotes from one of Elvis' rat pack.
Dateline: Hollywood (orig. The Hollywood Storyteller) by Mark Drop. Mallard Press 1992. ISBN 0-7924-5540-1. Short sections on the Beatty/Wagner/Wood triangle and Natalie's death. 3 or 4 good photo's make this worth buying if you can find the older edition on sale.
Those Endearing Young Charms by M. Best, 1971 Barnes. This is an encyclopedia of child actors. Natalie is one of just a few to go on to adult stardom. Natalie's entry erroneously credits her with I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, an adult role she turned down. The article is short, but there are several photos of her early roles.
Movie TV Rock 'N' Roll Star Diary Bartholemew, 1959. Collection of articles on young stars of the 50's, including Natalie Wood.
Bette Davis: An Intimate Memoir by Roy Mosley. Donald I. Fine, 1966. ISBN 1-55611-218-1. A couple of odd anecdotes about Natalie and Robert Wagner.
Dreamboats: Hollywood Hunks of the 50's by Maria Ciacca. Excalibur, 1992. ISBN 0-9627226-4-2. Photo essays on male stars feature 5 pictures in which Natalie happens to turn up.
Double Exposure by Roddy McDowall. Silver Lion, 1966. A collection of photo portraits by the author. The Natalie Wood photo is very different from the typical studio glamour shot. McDowall captures the cute, mischievous side of his friend. Also has a blurb by Arnold Schulman on Wood's strengths and weaknesses.
Close-ups ed. Danny Peary. Workman Publishing, 1978. ISBN 0-88365-564-0. This is a book of essays on Hollywood actors and directors written by their peers. Natalie Wood is not featured directly, but she does show up in a few photos and articles with costars from her films.
Frank Sinatra: An American Legend by Nancy Sinatra. 1995. One photo of Natalie visiting backstage with Frank.
Natalie Wood Collection of Pre-Columbian Ceramics from Chupicuaro, Guanajuato, Mexico, at UCLA. Frierman, Jay D., ed. UCLA/Museum and Laboratories of Ethnic Arts and Tech., 1969. Natalie Wood, collected pre-columbian art. This is a paper on her collection, not on Natalie. For researchers of the obscure only.
Back to Top
The End
Unfortunately, here are the inevitable celebrity death books
Coroner by Thomas T. Noguchi, M.D. Pocket Books, 1983. ISBN 0-671-54088-2. If you have to read about Natalie Wood's death, this is probably the book to turn to. As clear a picture of events as can be reconstructed.
Hollywood's Unsolved Mysteries by John Austin. Shapolsky Publishers, Inc., 1990. ISBN 1-56171-065-2. By contrast, here are the "raw and juicy details behind Hollywood's deadliest scandals." They even mention the Rebel Without a Cause curse. You get the picture? Speaking of pictures, this has many photos of Natalie that you wont find in other books (although the printing leaves a lot to be desired.)
Too Young to Die (revised edition) by Patricia Fox-Sheinwold. Bell Publishing, 1982. ISBN 0-517-391376. Some rare photos (including one unflattering teenage shot!) and a filmography accompany the brief article on Natalie Wood.
The Hollywood Celebrity Death Book by James Robert Parish. Pioneer Books, 1993. ISBN 1-55698-369-7. Low budget effort with many inaccuracies and self contradictions. 1 photo of Natalie Wood from Brainstorm.
Wills of the Rick and Famous ed. H. E. Nass. Robson, 1996. The title is self explanatory. Natalie Wood's will is included in this book.
Unsolved! II by Sullivan, George E. Scholastic Incorporated, 1995. ISBN:0590203576. Includes Tylenol poisonings, death of Bruce Lee, Hindenburg disaster, Natalie Wood drowning, death of President Harding, disappearance of Helen Brach, Sam Giancana murder and explosion of the S.S. Maine.
The Stars Speak Back by James August. If you thought the titles above were scraping bottom, then this must be the sewer of celebrity death books. Celebrity deaths as related from beyond the grave by the celebrities themselves, written by a man who is himself .... dead. I wish I was making this up, but it's all here. From here it's one small step to the next category, Fiction.
Back to Top
Fiction and Movie Tie-ins:
Natalie or her characters as characters
A Hollywood Life by David Freeman, 1991. Main character is loosely based on Natalie.
South of Eden, Somewhere Near Salinos by Jack Haldeman. Wood, James Dean, & Sal Mineo are characters. What if Dean had been a full-time auto racer, with Mineo as his mechanic and Wood had been a reporter covering his story? Featured in:
-By Any Other Fame ed. M. Resnick and Greenberg. Daw, 1994. ISBN 0-88677-594-9
-Mondo James Dean ed. Richard Peabody and Lucinda Ebersole. St Martin's Press, 1996. ISBN 0-312-14121-1
Unfinished Lives from a concept by Michael Viner. Dove Books, 1995. ISBN 0-7871-0299-7. An anthology of short speculative "biographies." What might Natalie Wood and others have gone on to do if they had lived?
27 Wagons Full of Cotton and Other One-Act plays by Tennessee Williams. Originally published by New Directions Norfolk, 1945. Current Edition New Directions, 1992. ISBN 0-8112-1215-7. Contains the play This Property is Condemned.
The Bixby Girls, Rosamund Marshall. Doubleday, 1957. Filmed as All the Fine Young Cannibals, a 1960 (third printing Perma M4114) edition has a Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner photo cover.
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice by Patricia Welles. Bantam, 1969. Novelisation based on the screenplay by Paul Mazursky and Larry Tucker. Movie tie-in with cast photos on front and back covers.
The Burning Hills by Louis L'Amour. Jason Press, 1956. Current edition is Bantam Books, 1992 (reissue). ISBN 0-5532-8210-7. Original novel on which the film was based. No known tie in edition.
Cash McCall by Cameron Hawley. 1955. No information on novel, but a rather pricey audio cassette version is in print. Cardinal Books did a movie tie in edition.
The Cracker Factory by Joyce Rebeta-Burditt. MacMillan Publishing Company, 1977. Paperback edition by Bantam.
Fat Chance by Keith Laumer. NEL, 1975. Originally titled "Deadfall." Paperback tie-in for the film it inspired, Peeper.
From Here to Eternity by James Jones. Scribner, 1951. Current edition is Dell Pub, 1998. ISBN 0-3853-3364-1.
The Great Race by Marvin H Albert. Dell, 1965. Paperback for the film, photo cover.
Gypsy : A Musical by Jule Styne, Gypsy Rose Lee, Arthur Laurents, Stephen Sondheim, Jules Styne. Theatre Communications Group. ISBN 1-5593-6086-0. The play is available in Paperback.
Gypsy : A Memoir by Gypsy Rose. Harper & Brothers, 1957. Current edition is Frog Ltd. 1999 (reissue) ISBN 1-8833-1995-1. The original book that inspired the play. In 1962, Dell publishing issued a movie tie edition (Dell Cat #3340) in paperback with a photo section. It features Natalie on the cover with a photo of her, Rosalind Russell and Karl Malden on the back. This edition also contains eight pages of photos of Natalie demonstrating "A Tale of Two Strips."
Inside Daisy Clover by Gavin Lambert. The Viking Press, 1963. Current edition is Serpents Tail, 1996. ISBN 1-8524-2424-9. Note to collectors: In 1964 Bantam issued a movie tie-in version of this book with Natalie on the cover (Bantam Books S2763.)
Kings Go Forth, Joe David Brown. William Morrow & Company, 1956. A paperback tie-in edition was released in 1958 with photos of Sinatra, Wood and Curtis on the cover (Pocket Book C-315).
Love with the Proper Stranger by Arnold Schulman. Popular Library, 1963. Catalog M2048. A movie tie in edition with Natalie and Steve McQueen on the cover. Not to be confused with the novels by Christa Merlin and Suzanne Brockmann with similar titles.
Marjorie Morningstar : A Novel
by Herman Wouk. Doubleday, 1955. a movie tie-in edition was released in paperback (Signet Books T1454, 1957) Current editions Little Brown & Co, 1992 (reissue). ISBN 0-3169-5513-2. The bestselling novel is also currently available in a hardcover edition below-
Large Print Edition (December 1996) G K Hall & Co, 1996. ISBN 0-7838-1993-5.
The Memory of Eva Ryker by Donald A. Stanwood. Dell Publishing, 1979. ISBN 0698108760.
Meteor by North, Edmund H., Franklin Coen. Warner, 1979. ISBN:0446828483. Novelization of the movie.
Miracle on 34th Street by Valentine Davies. Harcourt Brace, 1947. Current reissue by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1991 (reissue) with Tomie dePaola (Illustrator). ISBN 0-15-660455-8. Based on his own original story, Davies' 1947 book is one of the first film novelizations. There is also a 1991 edition that features a few photos from the film.
Penelope by E.V. Cunningham (AKA Howard Fast). Doubleday, 1965. Paperback by Pocket Books, 1966 (movie tie in?)
Sex and the Single Girl by Helen Gurley Brown. Originally published in 1962. The book is currently out of print. The Pocket Books 1964 paperback edition of Brown's non-fiction book is a movie tie-in with Natalie Wood on the cover.
Splendor in the Grass by William Inge and F. Andrew Leslie. Original screenplay published by Bantam Books 1961, which was the movie tie-in edition. Currently in print is the Dramatist's Play Service, 1998 reissue. ISBN 0-8222-1066-5. Available in Paperback.
Tomorrow is Forever by Gwen Bristow. Grosset & Dunlap, 1945. Endpapers printed with movie still featuring: Claudette Colbert, Richard Long Lucille Watson, Sonny Howe, George Brent, Orson Wells, Natalie Wood.
West Side Story Novelization by Irving Shulman. Pocket Books/Cardinal, 1961. Current edition by Pocket Books, 1990. ISBN 0-6717-2566-1. A novel based on the stage play and movie. Available in Paperback and Hardcover.
Back to Top
Online Sources:
I have not dealt with all of these personally
Albris - Used, new and out of print book search.
Abe Books - The World largest source for out of print books.
Back to Top
This page was last updated on April 10, 2004.
