Alex Carson
Robert Wagner has had a long career in film and on television. He was one of the most recognizable celebrities throughout the 70s, 80s, and 90s. But in recent years, reports have surfaced saying the star has been fading away. In this video, we’re going to look at what Robert Wagner has been up to recently and why he’s getting frailer every day. Be sure to watch to the end to learn why you haven’t seen Wagner in one of his recent roles lately. And don’t forget to like this video and subscribe to the Facts Verse channel so you don’t miss any of our upcoming videos.
According to the National Enquirer, Robert Wagner, the once-strapping star of films like The Towering Inferno and TV shows like Switch and Hart to Hart, is getting more and more frail every day. His health took a turn for the worse when the COVID-19 pandemic kicked in last year. According to insiders, he just sits at home, looking through old photo albums. He gazes at those old pictures for hours on end.
Wagner’s health started to decline when investigators in Los Angeles decided they were going to reopen the probe into Natalie Wood’s death. Wagner insists he had no responsibility for it but according to sources, he’s terrified of getting dragged back into it. He’s obsessing over what people think of him, particularly the daughters he had with Wood. According to people close to him, his memories are starting to fade with age. His mind will wander off and he’ll start to reminisce about his days of being a matinée idol in the 50s and 60s.
The Enquirer story isn’t conclusive though. It can’t seem to make up its mind about whether Wagner’s memory is fading or he’s simply avoiding questions. Another source says that even though it’s been 40 years since Wood drowned, Wagner never seems to get past the questions surrounding her death. It makes it sound as though Wagner is fully aware of what’s going on around him. But other quotes indicate he’s losing his grip on reality entirely. The two narratives paint very different pictures so it’s hard to know which is accurate.
It could be one more story about possible dying celebrities in a long line of them from the National Enquirer. When Gossip Cop ran the story past one of Wagner’s reps, they said he’s never been healthier. They went on the record as saying that he had a physical around his 91st birthday and got a glowing report of being in exceptional health.
Someone with direct access to Wagner likely knows better than a tabloid getting its facts from unnamed sources so take it with a grain of salt. The Hart to Hart star still appears regularly in documentaries. And scheduled to star in the Western drama Trail Blazers later this year. That doesn’t sound like someone who’s suffering from poor health to us.
The Enquirer story puts Wagner in good company. It regularly publishes stories about celebrities being on their deathbeds, who turn out to be perfectly fine. Angelina Jolie, Cher, Matthew Perry, Pope Francis, and Phil Collins were all near death at one time according to the tabloid but they’re all still going strong.
More recently, the tabloid claimed that Liza Minnelli was near the end and she quickly refuted the claims on Facebook. It uses these sensational claims to sell more copies of its magazine so it’s quite likely that Robert Wagner is still doing fine at 91 and will continue to do so for some time.
But Robert isn’t the only Wagner making headlines, as his daughter has also been in trouble with the law. According to Radar Online, she’s under investigation for allegedly stealing some high-priced jewels.
Courtney Wagner, Robert’s 47-year-old daughter with Natalie Wood. And was accused of pocketing five custom-made rings and necklaces by a California gemstone jewelry designer. These pieces were worth nearly $5,000 according to the jeweller’s husband.
This news comes shortly after the newly-appointed L.A. District Attorney, George Gascon, privately pledged to push the long-stalled case against Robert Wagner before a grand jury. It’s been nearly 40 years after Natalie Wood drowned off Catalina Island, California.
The timing of the two probes isn’t lost on investigative writer Marti Rulli, who wrote a book called Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour that triggered a homicide investigation into the West Side Story star’s untimely death. She told Radar that Wagner knows he’s a suspect in the case. And that his charmed life could come crumbling down at any time. She thinks it’s sad that Courtney Wagner has run into trouble with the law. And her mother never would have wanted her to lead the life she has now.
Courtney Wagner got into trouble late last year when the Malibu-based jeweller sold her five custom rings and necklaces. Shortly after, she filed a chargeback with American Express, claiming the jewelry was fake. But even though she filed for the refund. She also kept the gold and precious stone items, according to the jeweller’s husband. He’s a lawyer and wants to remain anonymous to avoid alienating any of the celebrities who work with his firm.
According to Radar Online, they went to the police to file criminal charges against Wagner. The jeweller’s husband said the police officer that took their statement felt the evidence was overwhelming. It even included pictures of Courtney wearing the items and claiming “OMG I LOVE IT” through text messages. Radar tried to reach out to the Sheriff’s Department and the detective investigating the case but they did not return its messages.
Wagner made herself available for an interview with Radar. And said she’s aware of the investigation and she has lawyers involved on her behalf. She insists the jeweller and her husband are make more out of the situation than there really is. And describing it as a typical merchant-customer credit card dispute.
According to Wagner, there’s an ongoing American Express investigation that’s holding up the process. Courtney said it’s still possible she’ll have to keep the jewellery. And end up paying the jeweller after all once the investigation is complete. She thinks the jeweller and her husband are just trying to cause trouble for her. She said quite clearly that there’s nothing fraudulent about the situation.
Courtney last made headlines in 2019 after she appeared in an HBO documentary called More Than Love. In which she came to her father’s defense over the long-simmering allegations that he somehow played a part in her mother’s mysterious drowning death.
Natalie Wood, who was 43 at the time, fell from her yacht Splendour when it moored off the cost of California’s Catalina Island. This followed a vicious fight with Wagner that sparked after a night spent drinking with Christopher Walken, her co-star in the film Brainstorm. Her death initially ruled an accident. But the Los Angeles Coroner’s Office later changed it to “drowning and other undetermined factors”. The change came after the skipper of the Splendour stepped forward to describe the knock-down. And drag-out fight between Wagner and Wood before she disappeared.
In the 2018 podcast Fatal Voyage: The Mysterious Death of Natalie Wood. Lead investigator Detective Ralph Hernandez said he thought it was suspicious enough to make them think something might have happened. He said Wagner was at the swim step when Wood disappeared and witnesses later corroborated that story. They saw them fighting, heard arguing, saw them at the swim step, and then she was gone.
After defeating former District Attorney Jackie Lacey in November, DA Gascon vowed to take another look at the case. Lacey has been accused of not letting a grand jury decide the case based on newly-uncovered evidence for quite some time. When Radar asked Gascon’s office about the case, his spokesman said there is no update so far.
Wagner has vehemently denied any wrongdoing since the original accusations were made nearly 40 years ago. And his daughter Courtney refused to comment about the case when speaking with Radar Online, instead complaining that it only wrote the story about her jewelry case because of her parents’ fame. She said that just makes her feel more guilty about the whole thing. And feeling that she’s creating more of a problem even though she’s not a public figure herself.
This isn’t Courtney’s first brush with the law though. Eight years ago, she was arrested for cocaine and heroin possession. It is after a report of gunshots and a woman’s screams coming from her home in Malibu. Prosecutors eventually decided not to file any charges against her in that case, however.
While Robert Wagner has more acting roles on his upcoming schedule, he has had to step back from some, like NCIS. The show has been a staple of network television for nearly 20 years, premiering in the 2000s and maintaining its popularity ever since. Wagner played the part of Anthony DiNozzo Sr. and showed up occasionally even after the actor playing his son had left the show. He was absent from the show in seasons 17 and 18, however, which the producers explained.
In the context of the show, Field Agent DiNozzo still exists in the NCIS universe even though the actor playing him had left the show. Wagner’s character would provide the team with updates about his son’s life on his occasional appearance. The producers say that he is still eager to play the role of DiNozzo Sr. but he hasn’t appeared in recent episodes because of the COVID-19 protocols that are in place. Given Wagner’s advanced years, the situation would be too much of a risk for the aging actor.
