Lana Wood
Encyclopedia
Lana Wood is an American actress and producer
. She was born to Russian émigré parents, Nikolai and Maria Zakharenko, and is the younger sister of the late actress Natalie Wood
. Her first major role was at age 9 in the John Wayne
western The Searchers
. She was a regular on the soap opera Peyton Place
. She is best known for her role as Plenty O'Toole
in the 1971
James Bond
film Diamonds Are Forever
. She appeared in a number of small films and television guest roles throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
, while her mother grew up in a Chinese
province. After her parents were married, they settled in Santa Monica, California
, where Lana was born. By this time her parents had legally changed their surname to Gurdin. Her older sister was actress Natalie Wood
. They have a half-sister, Olga Viriapaeff, from their mother's previous marriage.
's western classic The Searchers
(1956), which stars John Wayne
and also features Lana's sister Natalie; Lana and Natalie play the same character at different ages, with similar amounts of screen time. Natalie's stage name was Wood, given to her by the producer of her first film. Maria was asked under what last name Lana should be credited, and Maria agreed it would be best if she could be credited as "Wood," like her sister. As a child, she also made guest appearances in Playhouse 90
(1957), The Real McCoys
(1958) and appeared in the films Marjorie Morningstar
(1958), and Five Finger Exercise (1960).
The Girls on the Beach (1965). After appearing in the short-lived drama series, The Long, Hot Summer
, she landed the role of Sandy Webber in the prime-time soap Peyton Place
, which she played from 1966 to 1967.
In 1971, Lana appeared in the April 1971 Playboy
issue, along with her poetry. Even though Natalie strongly disapproved Lana's posing nude, the publicity was a major reason for her being cast as Bond girl
Plenty O'Toole
in Diamonds Are Forever
(1971). In a scene with Sean Connery
, she appeared wearing only a flimsy pair of see-through panties.
Wood has more than 20 other films and over 300 television
shows to her credit, including The Fugitive
, Bonanza
, Mission: Impossible
, Police Story, Starsky and Hutch
, Nero Wolfe
, Fantasy Island
, and Capitol
. Some of her other film roles have been in the Disney film Justin Morgan Had a Horse (1972) and the western Grayeagle (1977). After appearing in the horror film Demon Rage (1982), she retired from acting, concentrating on her career as a producer.
In 1984, Wood published the controversial tell-all book Natalie, A Memoir by Her Sister, which reached #3 on the New York Times Bestseller List. In 2004, she produced the biopic The Mystery of Natalie Wood. She recently returned to acting and has several projects in production. Lana is a character in the new Steve Alten book "Meg: Hell's Aquarium".
's stepson Jack Wrather Jr, was annulled after a few months. Her second marriage, at age 18, was to Karl Brent. Her third and fourth marriages, in her early 20s, were to Steve Oliver and Allan Balter. Her fifth marriage, at age 26, was to Richard Smedley, by whom she has a daughter, Evan Taylor Maldonado, who was born on August 11, 1974; She and Smedley divorced in 1975. In the 1980s, she had a long-term relationship with actor Alan Feinstein
.
Wood was romantically involved with actors Warren Beatty
, Ryan O'Neal
, Alain Delon
, and Sean Connery
. She talks about these relationships in detail in her autobiography.
On November 29, 1981, Natalie Wood
drowned near Catalina Island
under peculiar circumstances. Lana has said: “The person I loved more than anybody else, with the sole exception of my own daughter, is dead. I cry for her often. I expect I always will." Later, their mother Maria, who had Alzheimer's disease
, moved in with Lana. Maria Gurdin died on January 6, 1998. Lana wrote a book about her experience with Maria, which was not published.
In 1984, Lana published her tell-all Natalie: A Memoir by Her Sister, in which she states that Natalie's widower Robert Wagner
broke off contact with her just after Natalie had died. Lana cooperated with author Suzanne Finstad on a 2002 biography of Natalie.
She has three grandchildren: Nicholas (b. 1998), Daphne (b. 2000), and Max (b. 2002).
Lana currently lives in Thousand Oaks, California
.
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
. She was born to Russian émigré parents, Nikolai and Maria Zakharenko, and is the younger sister of the late actress Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood, born Natalia Nikolaevna Zacharenko was an American film and television actress. After first working in films as a child, Wood became a successful Hollywood star as a young adult, receiving three Academy Award nominations before she was 25 years old.Wood began acting in movies at the...
. Her first major role was at age 9 in the John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
western The Searchers
The Searchers (film)
The Searchers is a 1956 American Western film directed by John Ford, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May, and set during the Texas–Indian Wars...
. She was a regular on the soap opera Peyton Place
Peyton Place (TV series)
Peyton Place is an American prime-time soap opera which aired on ABC in half-hour episodes from September 15, 1964 to June 2, 1969.Based upon the 1956 novel of the same name by Grace Metalious, the series was preceded by a 1957 film adaptation. A total of 514 episodes were broadcast, in...
. She is best known for her role as Plenty O'Toole
Plenty O'Toole
Plenty O'Toole is a fictional character from the film version of Ian Fleming's James Bond novel Diamonds Are Forever . She was portrayed by Lana Wood, younger sister of Natalie Wood....
in the 1971
1971 in film
The year 1971 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 8 - Bob Dylan's hour long documentary film, Eat the Document, premieres at New York's Academy of Music...
James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film Diamonds Are Forever
Diamonds Are Forever (film)
Diamonds Are Forever is the seventh spy film in the Eon Productions James Bond series, and the sixth and final Eon Productions film to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film is based on Ian Fleming's 1956 novel of the same name, and is the second of four James Bond films...
. She appeared in a number of small films and television guest roles throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
Early life
Wood was born Svetlana Nikolaevna Zakharenko to Russian parents, but they grew up far from their homeland: her father lived in Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, while her mother grew up in a Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
province. After her parents were married, they settled in Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
, where Lana was born. By this time her parents had legally changed their surname to Gurdin. Her older sister was actress Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood, born Natalia Nikolaevna Zacharenko was an American film and television actress. After first working in films as a child, Wood became a successful Hollywood star as a young adult, receiving three Academy Award nominations before she was 25 years old.Wood began acting in movies at the...
. They have a half-sister, Olga Viriapaeff, from their mother's previous marriage.
Child actress
As an infant, Lana appeared in Driftwood (1947), but her scene was deleted from the final version of the film. Lana's first credited film role was in director John FordJohn Ford
John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
's western classic The Searchers
The Searchers (film)
The Searchers is a 1956 American Western film directed by John Ford, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May, and set during the Texas–Indian Wars...
(1956), which stars John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
and also features Lana's sister Natalie; Lana and Natalie play the same character at different ages, with similar amounts of screen time. Natalie's stage name was Wood, given to her by the producer of her first film. Maria was asked under what last name Lana should be credited, and Maria agreed it would be best if she could be credited as "Wood," like her sister. As a child, she also made guest appearances in Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California...
(1957), The Real McCoys
The Real McCoys
The Real McCoys is an American situation comedy co-produced by Danny Thomas' "Marterto Productions", in association with Walter Brennan and Irving Pincus's "Westgate" company...
(1958) and appeared in the films Marjorie Morningstar
Marjorie Morningstar
Marjorie Morningstar can refer to:*Marjorie Morningstar , a 1955 novel.*Marjorie Morningstar , a 1958 movie....
(1958), and Five Finger Exercise (1960).
Adult career
Early in her adult career, Lana Wood played bit parts in Natalie's films; but, in the 1960s, her own career took off. One of her roles was in the beach party filmBeach Party film
Beach party movies were an American 1960s genre of feature films created by American International Pictures with their surprise 1963 hit, Beach Party, and copied by virtually every other studio...
The Girls on the Beach (1965). After appearing in the short-lived drama series, The Long, Hot Summer
The Long, Hot Summer
The Long, Hot Summer is a 1958 film directed by Martin Ritt, starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Anthony Franciosa, Lee Remick, Angela Lansbury and Orson Welles...
, she landed the role of Sandy Webber in the prime-time soap Peyton Place
Peyton Place (TV series)
Peyton Place is an American prime-time soap opera which aired on ABC in half-hour episodes from September 15, 1964 to June 2, 1969.Based upon the 1956 novel of the same name by Grace Metalious, the series was preceded by a 1957 film adaptation. A total of 514 episodes were broadcast, in...
, which she played from 1966 to 1967.
In 1971, Lana appeared in the April 1971 Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
issue, along with her poetry. Even though Natalie strongly disapproved Lana's posing nude, the publicity was a major reason for her being cast as Bond girl
Bond girl
A Bond girl is a character or actress portraying a love interest, of James Bond in a film, novel, or video game. They occasionally have names that are double entendres or puns, such as "Pussy Galore", "Plenty O'Toole", "Xenia Onatopp", or "Holly Goodhead"...
Plenty O'Toole
Plenty O'Toole
Plenty O'Toole is a fictional character from the film version of Ian Fleming's James Bond novel Diamonds Are Forever . She was portrayed by Lana Wood, younger sister of Natalie Wood....
in Diamonds Are Forever
Diamonds Are Forever (film)
Diamonds Are Forever is the seventh spy film in the Eon Productions James Bond series, and the sixth and final Eon Productions film to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film is based on Ian Fleming's 1956 novel of the same name, and is the second of four James Bond films...
(1971). In a scene with Sean Connery
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
, she appeared wearing only a flimsy pair of see-through panties.
Wood has more than 20 other films and over 300 television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
shows to her credit, including The Fugitive
The Fugitive (TV series)
The Fugitive is an American drama series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen stars as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death...
, Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
, Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible is an American television series which was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicled the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force . The leader of the team was Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves, except in...
, Police Story, Starsky and Hutch
Starsky and Hutch
Starsky and Hutch is a 1970s American cop thriller television series that consisted of a 90-minute pilot movie and 92 episodes of 60 minutes each; created by William Blinn, produced by Spelling-Goldberg Productions, and broadcast between April 30, 1975 and May 15, 1979 on the ABC...
, Nero Wolfe
Nero Wolfe (1981 TV series)
Nero Wolfe is a television series based on the characters in Rex Stout's classic series of detective stories that aired January 16 – August 25, 1981, on NBC. William Conrad fills the role of the detective genius Nero Wolfe, and Lee Horsley is his assistant Archie Goodwin...
, Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:...
, and Capitol
Capitol (TV series)
Capitol is an American soap opera which aired on CBS from March 29, 1982 to March 20, 1987 for 1,270 episodes. As its name suggests, the storyline usually revolved around the political intrigues of people whose lives intertwined in Washington D.C....
. Some of her other film roles have been in the Disney film Justin Morgan Had a Horse (1972) and the western Grayeagle (1977). After appearing in the horror film Demon Rage (1982), she retired from acting, concentrating on her career as a producer.
In 1984, Wood published the controversial tell-all book Natalie, A Memoir by Her Sister, which reached #3 on the New York Times Bestseller List. In 2004, she produced the biopic The Mystery of Natalie Wood. She recently returned to acting and has several projects in production. Lana is a character in the new Steve Alten book "Meg: Hell's Aquarium".
Personal life
Lana married and divorced five times by age 29. Her first marriage, at age 16, to Bonita GranvilleBonita Granville
Bonita Granville was an American film actress and television producer.-Early life:Born in Chicago, Illinois, Granville was the daughter of stage actors, and made her film debut at the age of nine in Westward Passage...
's stepson Jack Wrather Jr, was annulled after a few months. Her second marriage, at age 18, was to Karl Brent. Her third and fourth marriages, in her early 20s, were to Steve Oliver and Allan Balter. Her fifth marriage, at age 26, was to Richard Smedley, by whom she has a daughter, Evan Taylor Maldonado, who was born on August 11, 1974; She and Smedley divorced in 1975. In the 1980s, she had a long-term relationship with actor Alan Feinstein
Alan Feinstein (actor)
Alan Feinstein is an American actor noted for his 1983 award winning stage performance in A View From the Bridge.-References:...
.
Wood was romantically involved with actors Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty born March 30, 1937) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and director. He has received a total of fourteen Academy Award nominations, winning one for Best Director in 1982. He has also won four Golden Globe Awards including the Cecil B. DeMille Award.-Early life and...
, Ryan O'Neal
Ryan O'Neal
Charles Patrick Ryan O'Neal , better known as Ryan O'Neal, is an American actor best known for his appearances in the ABC nighttime soap opera Peyton Place and for his roles in such films as Paper Moon , Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon , A Bridge Too Far , and Love Story , for which he received...
, Alain Delon
Alain Delon
Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon is a French actor. He rose quickly to stardom, and by the age of 23 was already being compared to French actors such as Gérard Philipe and Jean Marais, as well as American actor James Dean. He was even called the male Brigitte Bardot...
, and Sean Connery
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
. She talks about these relationships in detail in her autobiography.
On November 29, 1981, Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood, born Natalia Nikolaevna Zacharenko was an American film and television actress. After first working in films as a child, Wood became a successful Hollywood star as a young adult, receiving three Academy Award nominations before she was 25 years old.Wood began acting in movies at the...
drowned near Catalina Island
Santa Catalina Island, California
Santa Catalina Island, often called Catalina Island, or just Catalina, is a rocky island off the coast of the U.S. state of California. The island is long and across at its greatest width. The island is located about south-southwest of Los Angeles, California. The highest point on the island is...
under peculiar circumstances. Lana has said: “The person I loved more than anybody else, with the sole exception of my own daughter, is dead. I cry for her often. I expect I always will." Later, their mother Maria, who had Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
, moved in with Lana. Maria Gurdin died on January 6, 1998. Lana wrote a book about her experience with Maria, which was not published.
In 1984, Lana published her tell-all Natalie: A Memoir by Her Sister, in which she states that Natalie's widower Robert Wagner
Robert Wagner
Robert John Wagner is an American actor of stage, screen, and television.A veteran of many films in the 1950s and 1960s, Wagner gained prominence in three American television series that spanned three decades: It Takes a Thief , Switch , and Hart to Hart...
broke off contact with her just after Natalie had died. Lana cooperated with author Suzanne Finstad on a 2002 biography of Natalie.
She has three grandchildren: Nicholas (b. 1998), Daphne (b. 2000), and Max (b. 2002).
Lana currently lives in Thousand Oaks, California
Thousand Oaks, California
Thousand Oaks is a city in southeastern Ventura County, California, in the United States. It was named after the many oak trees that grace the area, and the city seal is adorned with an oak....
.
Filmography
- The SearchersThe Searchers (film)The Searchers is a 1956 American Western film directed by John Ford, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May, and set during the Texas–Indian Wars...
- (1956), Debbie Edwards (younger) - Five Finger Exercise - (1962), Mary
- The Fool Killer - (1965), Alice
- The Girls on the Beach - (1965), Bonnie
- The Long, Hot Summer - (TV) (1965–1966), Eula Harker
- Peyton PlacePeyton Place (TV series)Peyton Place is an American prime-time soap opera which aired on ABC in half-hour episodes from September 15, 1964 to June 2, 1969.Based upon the 1956 novel of the same name by Grace Metalious, the series was preceded by a 1957 film adaptation. A total of 514 episodes were broadcast, in...
- (TV) (1966–1967), Sandy Webber - unknown episodes - For Singles Only - (1968), Helen Todd
- Scream Free! - (1969), Karen
- Black Water Gold - (TV) (1970), Eagan Ryan
- The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again - (TV) (1970), Katie Flavin
- O'Hara, U.S. Treasury - (TV) (1971), Fran Harper
- Diamonds Are ForeverDiamonds Are Forever (film)Diamonds Are Forever is the seventh spy film in the Eon Productions James Bond series, and the sixth and final Eon Productions film to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film is based on Ian Fleming's 1956 novel of the same name, and is the second of four James Bond films...
- (1971), Plenty O'ToolePlenty O'ToolePlenty O'Toole is a fictional character from the film version of Ian Fleming's James Bond novel Diamonds Are Forever . She was portrayed by Lana Wood, younger sister of Natalie Wood.... - Justin Morgan Had a Horse - (1972), Kathleen
- A Place Called Today - (1972), Carolyn Schneider
- QB VII - (TV miniseries) (1974), Sue Scanlon
- Who Is the Black Dahlia? - (TV) (1975), Boarder
- Nightmare in Badham County - (TV) (1976), Smitty
- Corey: For the People - (TV) (1977), Janet Hanley
- Speedtrap - (1977) New Blossom
- GrayeagleGrayeagleGrayeagle is a 1977 western adventure film, written by Brad White, Charles B. Pierce and Michael O. Sajbel, starring Ben Johnson, Iron Eyes Cody, and Lana Wood. The film was directed by director Charles B. Pierce and is rated PG in the USA. The music was composed by Jaime Mendoza-Nava...
- (1977) Beth Colter - A Question of Guilt - (TV) (1978), Elizabeth Carson
- Captain America - (TV) (1979), Yolanda
- Captain America II: Death Too Soon - (TV) (1979), Yolanda
- Born to Be Sold - (1981) (TV) (assistant to executive producer)
- Satan's Mistress - (1982), Lisa
- Murder Me, Murder You - (TV) (1983) - associate producer
- Capitol - (TV series) (1983), Fran Burke - unknown episodes
- The Mystery of Natalie Wood - (TV) (2004) - co-producer
- Wild Michigan - (2008), Opal
- The Book of Ruth: Journey of Faith - (2009), Tani
- Last Wish - (short) (2010), Helen