Name: Robert Wagner
Date of Birth: Father of Katie Wagner (born 1964, with Marion Marshall) and Courtney Wagner (born 1974, with Natalie Wood). Best known as Jonathan Hart on TV's "Hart to Hart" (1979) Former stepfather of Natalie Wood's daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner. Made 3 movies with former wife Natalie Wood: All the Fine Young Cannibals (1960), The Affair (1973) (TV) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1976) (TV). Father of the TV hostess Katie Wagner. He sued Aaron Spelling Productions for $20 million... in June 2000, charging that he was cheated out of profits on the Fox series "Beverly Hills, 90210" (1990). He claimed that he was entitled to profits as part of a ten-year-old settlement between producer Aaron Spelling and Fox that gave Spelling the right to produce "Beverly Hills, 90210" in exchange for "Angels 88", a never-produced series in which Wagner had a stake. According to the suit, the conflict dates back to 1973 when he and his wife, Natalie Wood, made a deal with Spelling to submit ideas for pilots to ABC. One idea that the couple submitted led to the show "Charlie's Angels" (1976). Following the terms of their deal, Spelling), Wagner and Wood equally shared profits from the series. In 1988 Spelling developed a new series, "Angels 88". According to the terms of their contract, Wagner was to receive 7.5% profit participation -- whether or not he rendered services. Fox committed to the series, without his knowledge, and then reneged, giving Spelling "Beverly Hills, 90210" instead. Since Spelling was given "Beverly Hills, 90210" in exchange for an asset in which Wagner had an interest, Wagner claimed that he is entitled to the same profit participation on "Beverly Hills, 90210" as he had on "Angels 88". The suit alleges breach of contract and fraud and seeks 7.5% of gross profits from "Beverly Hills, 90210" as well as damages of not less than $20 million. Due to the publication of a memoir by Lana Wood on her sister Natalie Wood's life, Wagner refuses to speak and/or communicate with his late wife's family, after it was implied in the book that Wagner probably played a role in Natalie's tragic drowning off the coast of Catalina Island in 1981. In spring 2000, a Vanity Fair cover shoot featuring all actresses playing Bond girls in every Bond film was broken up after an encounter by Lana Wood and Wagner's present-day wife Jill St. John escalated into a major argument on the set. Wagner's present-day wife, Jill St. John, starred in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever (1971) which also starred his late-wife's real-life sister, Lana Wood. After being submerged at one point in an industrial strength foaming agent during the bathtub scene in The Pink Panther (1963), went blind for four weeks. The studio wanted Wagner replaced, but director Blake Edwards stuck by him and he finished the picture. Is portrayed by Michael Weatherly in The Mystery of Natalie Wood (2004) (TV) Cooperated with Gavin Lambert (author of the novel and screenplay Inside Daisy Clover (1965) that starred Wagner's late wife Natalie Wood on Lambert's 2004 biography "Natalie Wood." A friend of Wood's, Lambert believed that Wood's memory was sullied by the tabloid headlines generated by her tragic death, with the result that no one remembers his friend as a human being, and so wrote the book to correct the public's misconceptions about Wood. On September 21, 2006, he became a grandfather for the first time when his oldest daughter with ex-wife Marion Marshall, Katie Wagner, gave birth to her son, Riley John. The son of a wealthy steel executive. When he was seven, his family moved to Los Angeles, where Wagner attended military academies and the Havard School. In 1949, he graduated Santa Monica High School as Senior Class President. His first acting break came when one of his friends took him to Warner Bros. to meet the head of casting. After an interview and a reading, he was told that the studio would use him in two or three bit parts coming up in the near future. Two days later a strike postponed all production plans, so it was back to school for Robert Wagner. For many years, his bungalow at Universal Studios was a stop on their tour. He was an important star at the studio with a successful run of three television series. Lucille Ball, another star with a long run of success on television had the same bungalow and tour stop prior to Robert Wagner. Spokesman for the Senior Lending Network and the Guardian First Funding Group. He was awarded 2 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Motion Pictures at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard and for Recording at 7001 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. Dedicated his autobiography, "Pieces of My Heart" to his mother and sister, daughters Katie Wagner and Courtney Wagner, former stepdaughter Natasha Gregson Wagner and to his wife, Jill St. John. He thanked them for being, "the meaning of his life". Became friends with Fred Astaire, long before he co-starred on "It Takes a Thief" (1968). Had a long association with Eddie Albert, who was said to be one of his childhood television heroes. His wife Jill St. John, his ex-wife Natalie Wood, and his "Hart to Hart" costar Stefanie Powers were childhood friends and attended ballet classes together as youngsters. Will play Michael Weatherly's characters father in NCIS. Read more Robert Wagner movies (actor)User Comments |
