Lana Wood

Last updated

Lana Wood
Lana Wood - 1982.jpg
Wood in 1982
Born
Svetlana Lisa Gurdin

(1946-03-01) March 1, 1946 (age 78)
Occupations
  • Actress
  • producer
Years active1947–present
Known for
Spouses
Jack Wrather Jr.
(m. 1962;ann. 1963)
Karl Brent
(m. 1964;div. 1965)
(m. 1966;ann. 1966)
Stanley William Vogel
(m. 1968;div. 1968)
Richard Smedley
(m. 1972;div. 1976)
Allan Balter
(m. 1979;div. 1980)
Partner Alan Feinstein (1980s)
Children1
Relatives Natalie Wood (sister)
Robert Wagner (brother-in-law)
Natasha Gregson Wagner (niece)

Lana Wood (born Svetlana Lisa Gurdin; March 1, 1946) is an American actress and producer. [1] [2] She made her film debut in The Searchers as a child actress and later achieved notability for playing Sandy Webber on the TV series Peyton Place and Plenty O'Toole in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever . Her older sister was Natalie Wood.

Contents

Early life

Wood was born Svetlana Lisa Gurdin [3] [4] to Russian immigrant parents, Maria Zudilova (1908 [a] –1998) and Nicholas Zacharenko (1912–1980). They had each left Russia as child refugees with their parents following the Russian Civil War, and they grew up far from their homeland. Her father's family left Vladivostok after her grandfather, a chocolate-factory worker who joined the anti-Bolshevik civilian forces, was killed in a street fight in 1922; [7] they settled in Vancouver, British Columbia, with their relatives, then moved to San Francisco. Lana's maternal grandfather owned soap and candle factories in Barnaul; he left Russia with his family in 1918 after his eldest son was killed by the Red Army, and settled in a Russian community in Harbin, China. [8] Maria married Alexander Tatuloff there in 1925, [5] and they had a daughter, Olga Viripaeff (1928–2015), [9] [10] before divorcing in 1936. [11]

When Nicholas and Maria married in February 1938, she brought her daughter Olga, then known as Ovsanna, to the household, sharing joint custody with her ex-husband in El Cerrito, California. The couple had two daughters together; the first was Natalie, known as "Natasha", the Russian diminutive. The family settled in Santa Monica, near Hollywood, and changed their surname to Gurdin. Svetlana, known as "Lana", was born there. RKO executives David Lewis and William Goetz changed the surname of her elder sister, making her Natalie Wood, after she started her acting career as a child. She was named after director Irving Pichel's friend Sam Wood. [12] When Lana made her film debut in The Searchers (1956), her mother was asked under what last name Lana should be credited. Maria agreed to use "Wood" for Lana, building on Natalie's recognized work.

Through her paternal cousin Kaisaliisa Zacharenko, Wood is distantly related by marriage to baseball player Tim Lincecum. [13]

Career

Wood in 1966 Lana Wood - 1966.jpg
Wood in 1966

In her early career, Wood usually played in films in which Natalie appeared. Starting in the 1960s, her own career took off. After appearing on the short-lived drama series The Long, Hot Summer , she landed the role of Sandy Webber on the soap series Peyton Place . She played the role from 1966 to 1967. She turned down the Karen Black role in Five Easy Pieces (1970), a decision she now cites as the worst mistake she has made in her career. She was cast as a Bond girl, Plenty O'Toole, in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever (1971). In 1970, Wood was approached by Hugh Hefner and she agreed to pose for Playboy . The Playboy pictures appeared in the April 1971 issue, along with Wood's poetry.

Wood has more than 20 other films and over 300 television series to her credit, including The Fugitive , Bonanza , Mission: Impossible , Wild, Wild West , Police Story , Starsky & Hutch , Nero Wolfe , Fantasy Island , and Capitol . After appearing in the horror film Satan's Mistress (1982), she retired from acting, concentrating on her career as a producer, but since 2008 she has returned to acting in a number of low-budget films. Wood is a character in the Steve Alten book Meg: Hell's Aquarium (2009).

She wrote a memoir, Natalie, A Memoir by Her Sister (1984), and another, Little Sister (2021), in which she claimed veteran actor Kirk Douglas sexually assaulted her sister Natalie when she was just 16. [14]

Personal life

Wood with her sister Natalie in 1956 Natalie Wood and Lana Wood 1956.jpg
Wood with her sister Natalie in 1956

Wood has been married six times:

  1. Jack Wrather Jr. – (1962–1963; annulled when she was 16 years old)
  2. Karl Brent – (1964–1965; divorced)
  3. Stephen Oliver – (1966–1966; annulled)
  4. Dr. Stanley William Vogel (1968–1968; divorced)
  5. Richard Smedley – (1972–1976; divorced) one child, Evan Taylor Smedley Maldonado (August 11, 1974 – July 18, 2017), by whom she has three grandchildren. [15]
  6. Allan G. Balter (1979–1980; divorced)

Between marriages, Wood dated actors Dean Stockwell, Adam West, Eddie Fisher, Warren Beatty, Sean Connery, Alain Delon and Ryan O'Neal, as well as talent agent Guy McElwaine, [16] producer Jerome Hellman and composer Leslie Bricusse. [17] For most of the 1980s she was in a relationship with Alan Feinstein. [18] Feinstein was at Natalie's funeral with her. [19]

Wood's sister Natalie was married to actor Robert Wagner until her drowning death on November 29, 1981. She has long been at odds with both Wagner and his third wife Jill St. John, her feud with the latter dating back to when both appeared in Diamonds Are Forever. [20]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1947 Driftwood InfantScene cut
1954 There's No Business Like Show Business Little Laughing GirlUncredited
1955 One Desire Little GirlUncredited
1956 The Searchers Debbie Edwards
1958 Marjorie Morningstar GirlUncredited
1962 Five Finger Exercise Mary
1965 The Fool Killer Alice
1965 The Girls on the Beach Bonnie
1968 For Singles Only Helen Todd
1969Scream Free!Karenaka Free Grass
1970 Black Water Gold Eagan Ryan
1970 The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again Katie Flavin
1971 Diamonds Are Forever Plenty O'Toole
1972 Justin Morgan Had a Horse Kathleen
1972 A Place Called Today Carolyn Schneider
1974Goodnight JackieJackie
1975 Who is the Black Dahlia? Boarder
1975Sons of SassounHasmig
1976 Nightmare in Badham County Smitty
1977 Little Ladies of the Night Maureen
1977 Speedtrap New Blossom
1977 Grayeagle Beth Colter
1977Corey: For the PeopleJanet Hanley
1978A Question of GuiltElizabeth Carson
1979 Captain America II: Death Too Soon Yolanda
1982 Satan's Mistress Lisa
2008Divas of NovellaZeld
2009 The Book of Ruth: Journey of Faith Tani
2010War of HeavenPresident Bailey
2010Deadly RenovationsDr. Nitas
2010Last WishHelen
2013The ExecutiveMargo Steel
2014DonorsNorma
2015BestsellerMarta
2016Killing PoeDean Wood
2016Subconscious RealityImplicit
2017Operation: AssassinationLana Wood
2018Wild FaithOpal
2018InvasionLana Wood
2019The MarshalMs. DarlingOriginal Title: Bill Tilghman and the Outlaws
2020AloneMaria Clemm
2021The Sand Dollar SuicideCordelia Cozzi
2021Drunk and RoudyEdithOriginal Title: Best Years Gone
2022Bestseller 2Marta
2022Dog BoyVera Summers
TBARace to JudgmentSofia Jacalone
TBAVirtueCelia Lovell

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1957Judgment at NurembergJudyEpisode: "Winter Dreams"
1958 Alcoa Theatre PatEpisode: "The Victim"
1958Judgment at NurembergEvie GrayEpisode: "Point of No Return"
1958 Have Gun – Will Travel Becky ColdwellEpisode: "The Teacher"
1958 The Real McCoys Marilyn HarwickEpisode: "The New Neighbors"
1964 Dr. Kildare Judy GaerEpisode: "Man Is a Rock"
1964 Wendy and Me MillieEpisode: "George Burns While Rome Fiddles"
1964 The Fugitive The DollEpisode: "Detour on a Road Going Nowhere"
1965–1966 The Long, Hot Summer Eula Harker23 episodes
1966–1968 Peyton Place Sandy Webber80 episodes
1967 The Wild Wild West Sheila O'ShaughnessyEpisode: "The Night of the Firebrand"
1967 Bonanza Dana DawsonEpisode: "The Gentle Ones"
1969 Felony Squad Sherry MartinEpisode: "The Last Man in the World"
1969 The Wild Wild West Averi TrentEpisode: "The Night of the Plague"
1971 Marcus Welby, M.D. AngieEpisode: "Don't Kid a Kidder"
1971 O'Hara, U.S. Treasury Fran HarperEpisode: "O'Hara, U.S. Treasury"
1971 Monty Nash DianaEpisode: "Code Name: Diana"
1972 Disneyland Kathleen2 episodes
1972 Night Gallery MaidEpisode: "You Can't Get Help Like That Anymore"
1972 Mission: Impossible Marcy CarpenterEpisode: "The Deal"
1973 Police Story June LangEpisode: "Countdown: Part 2"
1974 QB VII Sue ScanlonEpisode: "Part One & Two"
1976 Starsky & Hutch EllaEpisode: "Running"
1976 Baretta Sister OliveEpisode: "Shoes"
1977 Police Story ReneEpisode: "Ice Time"
1978 Police Story GloriaEpisode: "No Margin for Error"
1978 Fantasy Island CecileEpisode: "Fool for a Client/Double Your Pleasure"
1978 The Next Step Beyond Peg EnrightEpisode: "Ghost of Cellblock Two"
1979 David Cassidy - Man Undercover PearlEpisode: "Death Is a Close Friend, Too"
1979 Starsky & Hutch Sidney 'Sid' ArcherEpisode: "Ninety Pounds of Trouble"
1979,1981 Big Shamus, Little Shamus Unknown2 episodes
1981 Nero Wolfe Delia BrandtEpisode: "Might as Well Be Dead"
1983 Capitol Fran BurkeUnknown episodes
1984 The Fall Guy Lana WoodEpisode: "Always Say Always"
1985 The New Mike Hammer Virginia WarburtonEpisode: "Deadly Reunion"
2009Tales from Dark FallSantiEpisode: "The Last Laugh"

Awards and nominations

YearAssociationCategoryNominated workResult
1966 Photoplay Awards Most Promising New Star (Female)Nominated
2019 Burbank International Film Festival Best Faith Based FilmWild FaithWon
Christian Media Association Film ContestBest Justice-Racism / DiscriminationWild FaithWon
2022 Bare Bones International Film and Music Festival Best ComedyDrunk and RoudyNominated
Best RomanceNominated
Maverick Movie Awards Best PictureDrunk and RoudyWon


Footnotes

  1. Wood's mother was born on January 26, 1908, according to the earliest available records. [5] Sometime in the mid-1930s, she shaved four years off her age—giving her birthdate as February 8, 1912, perhaps because her fiancé was younger—and maintained this lie for the rest of her life. [6]

Bibliography

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References

  1. Paul, Louis (2008). "Lana Wood". Tales From the Cult Film Trenches; Interviews with 36 Actors from Horror, Science Fiction and Exploitation Cinema. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. pp. 300–306. ISBN   978-0-7864-2994-3.
  2. "Lana Wood". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . 2009. Archived from the original on November 18, 2009.
  3. Danny Morgenstern, Manfred Hobsch (2006). James Bond XXL. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf. p. 740.
  4. Birth registration at californiabirthindex.org; accessed June 24, 2015.
  5. 1 2 Tatuloff, Alexander (September 17, 1934). Declaration of Intention, no. 89199. U.S. District Court Naturalization Index, 1852-1989.
  6. Finstad, 2001, p. 6.
  7. Finstad, 2001, p. 14.
  8. Natalie Wood's Russian roots excerpts from Natalie Wood: A Life by Gavin Lambert, 2004.
  9. "EXCLUSIVE: Natalie Wood's Sister Blames Captain Dennis Davern For Her Death". rumorfix.com. November 2011. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  10. "Olga Viripaeff's Obituary on San Francisco Chronicle". San Francisco Chronicle. May 30, 2015.
  11. "Interlocutory Divorce Decrees Granted". The San Francisco Examiner. March 17, 1936.
  12. Lana Wood, Natalie: A Memoir by Her Sister, p. 8.
  13. "Obituaries". The Town Talk. May 27, 2005. p. C4.
  14. "Kirk Douglas assaulted Natalie Wood, her sister alleges". BBC News. November 5, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  15. "Late Star's Niece Dies After Massive Heart Attack". RadarOnline . July 19, 2017.
  16. Wood, Lana (2021). Little Sister: My Investigation Into the Mysterious Death of Natalie Wood. HarperCollins. ISBN   978-0063081628.
  17. Ibrahim, Samantha (November 23, 2021). "Bond girl Lana Wood reveals why affair with Sean Connery ended". New York Post.
  18. Profile Archived July 10, 2015, at the Wayback Machine , sun-sentinel.com, July 20, 1985.
  19. Lana Wood, sister of Natalie Wood, is comforted by then boyfriend Alan Feinstein as she leaves Natalie Wood's funeral service, which was held at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery on December 2, 1981. Daughter Evan Smedley holds her mother's hand.
  20. Perry Graham, Nancy (October 11, 1999). "Insider". People.