Whenever Natasha Gregson Wagner’s mother is mentioned, the discussion almost always centers on the mysterious circumstances surrounding her death more than 40 years ago.

Her mother was world-famous actress Natalie Wood, and Gregson Wagner knows her death at age 43 will always be scrutinized. But Gregson Wagner also knows that her mom was so much more than the events of that day, and she wants the rest of the world to know it, too.

“My mom was so ahead of her time,” Gregson Wagner tells The Ticker. “She championed for the LGBTQ community, for equal rights between men and women, for mental health, and she never wore any of it on her sleeve, it was just a part of who she was. And I want to champion her. I don’t want her to just be a tragic headline.”

A few years back, Gregson Wagner co-produced a documentary for HBO called Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind. Through dozens of interviews and appearances, the film explores Wood’s life and aims to bring to light the things that made her just as much of a force off-screen as on.

Now, that documentary is the centerpiece of a July film festival intended to raise money for the Bay Theatre in Suttons Bay. Gregson Wagner herself helped secure the rights from HBO for this purpose.

How did this all come about? Gregson Wagner’s husband, actor Barry Watson, grew up in Traverse City. After visiting several times, the Los Angeles couple bought a home in Northport in 2017. Folks at the Bay Theatre Community Organization (the nonprofit that runs the theater) heard she had a home in Leelanau County and sought her out with hopes she’d participate in some sort of event at the Bay.

She happily agreed, and the end result is a Natalie Wood film festival that will include showings of four Wood films starting on July 18. On July 20, Gregson Wagner will be present for an “exclusive red carpet event” at the Bay, which will include a screening of her documentary, stories from Gregson Wagner along with food and drink. Tickets are available on The Bay’s website.

“(Gregson Wagner) has been just absolutely wonderful, willing to do anything and everything,” Bay General Manager Graham Powers tells The Ticker. “It’s because of her that this event has really morphed into something spectacular, and we’re so thankful.”

Gregson Wagner is glad to help. She’s seen several shows The Bay with her daughter, Clover, and could not be happier to support the organization.

“My mom, my stepdad and my real dad were all so philanthropic, and I grew up watching them give back all the time. Being raised in the studio system, you recognize that if you have the opportunity to be noticed, you have the responsibility to give back,” she says. "And so I want to keep my mom’s legacy alive. I want to keep film alive. I want to keep small theaters alive.”

Gregson Wagner also has a deep affinity for Northport and Leelanau County as a whole.

“The simplicity, the natural beauty, the community – we just really love it,” she says. “I always feel like I don’t want to tell too many people about it, and yet I can’t stop talking about it.”

Her biological father is from Wales, and she spent her summers there. Northport evokes memories of those special days from years ago, she says. 

“When we discovered our place in Northport, it reminded me and continues to remind me so much of my dad’s farm in Wales,” she says.

In an interesting twist, her stepfather, famed actor Robert Wagner, was born in Detroit and vacationed in Northport as a child and young man. She and her husband not long ago brought Wagner, now 94, to Northport for the first time in more than 70 years.

Wagner was married to Wood from 1957-62 and again from 1972 until her death in 1981 (Gregson Wagner was born in the interim).

Wood got her start as a child actress and became widely known for her roles in several big-budget Hollywood films from the 1950s into the late 1970s. She died in November of 1981 while on a boat off the coast of California with Wagner and friend/co-star Christopher Walken.

Her body was found a mile away from the boat, and the official cause of death was drowning. How she ended up in the water is unknown, and for years speculation has focused on Wagner’s role in the incident.

Gregson Wagner firmly believes in Wagner’s innocence. In her documentary, she interviews Wagner about that fateful night.

“With the documentary, we weren’t initially planning to even touch on the night she died, because we wanted it to be about her career and her as a human,” she says. “But HBO felt, and we agreed, that if we didn't touch on it then it would be like an elephant in the room that we weren't dealing with. And my dad was so open about wanting to talk about it and clear the air himself.”

More information about the film festival and red carpet event can be found on the Bay’s website.