I was familiar with Natalie Wood, since she was the little girl who starred in the old movie “Miracle on 34th Street.”
Now I’ve got to tell you, that my Mom and Rita Moreno became good friends on the set. They used to talk with each other in Spanish. Well. One day, during one of the breaks, I walked by Rita and my Mom and Rita asked me a question. She asked me if I had gotten Natile Woods autograph yet and I said no.
Rita literally forced me to get it. She said, “just go and knock on her trailer door and ask her for it. So, I did, but I was nervous about it. Natalie had her own trailer, inside the sound stage!
I walked up to the trailer, and I knocked on the door. Some man answered the door and I asked, “could I get Natalie’s autograph?” He said of course and moved to the side to let me in the trailer.
As I stepped in to her trailer, I saw that lovely smile on her face which lit up the room. I had seen her on the set but now she was looking right at me. She stood up to welcome me, wearing her white dress and red belt that she wore in the scene, and extended her hand to greet me. Now I was only twelve, but I knew a good-looking lady when I saw one. Until now, I had never seen such a beautiful lady.
As I walked in, she held my hand, and we walked over to a couch, and we sat down. She asked me how I liked working in the movies and what I thought about it all. I was then interrupted by a second man who asked me if I would like a coke and I said yes. After getting Natalie’s autograph, I thought I should leave, so I got up, and thanked her for the autograph. As we all stood up, Natalie says to me, “would you like these gentlemen’s autograph too?” So, I said sure. I could tell by their giggles that they knew, I didn’t have a clue who they were. They were right, I didn’t have a clue.
It wasn’t until I was about fifteen or sixteen that I discovered who they were. I found the autograph book and started looking through it, I found Natalie Woods autograph and the two gentlemen’s autographs. They were Robert Wagner and Jack Lemmon.
So, I have Natalie’s autograph thanks to the encouragement from Rita Moreno, and I have Robert Wagner and Jack Lemmon autograph because of Natalie Woods kindness. What a moment to remember.
Natalie Wood: 1938 – 1981
Robert Wagner: 1930 -
Jack Lemmon: 1925 - 2001