UPDATE, 2:35 p.m. PT Friday:
A purported radio interview with Christopher Walken, during which he allegedly discussed the hours preceding the death of Natalie Wood, has turned out to be a hoax.
The Associated Press, which first ran the story Friday, issued a correction shortly thereafter, noting that the voice actually belonged to a station employee impersonating Walken.
The faux interview took place on ESPN980, a Washington, D.C.-based sports talk radio station. According to Washington-based site TBD.com, the voice actually belongs to Marc Sterne, who does weekly impersonations of the actor on the station's "The Tony Kornheiser Show."
Previously…
Christopher Walken, who was with Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood at the time of Wood's death, opened up about the circumstances surrounding the actress' death during an interview Friday, detailing the "tragedy" that ensued.
Walken told ESPN980 (via the Associated Press) that he was asleep when Wood drowned off the shore of southern California's Catalina Island on Nov. 29. 1981, and was informed of her death when he awoke.
Also read: Sheriff's Department: Robert Wagner Not a Suspect in Natalie Wood's Death
During the interview, Walken recalled a night of boozing and yelling — after which, the actor said, "there was tragedy."
Walken — who was at the time filming the sci-fi movie "Brainstorm" with Wood — spent Thanksgiving weekend with the couple. According to reports, Wagner and Walker got into a drunken, heated argument in the hours before Wood's drowning death.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department announced Thursday that it is re-opening the investigation into Wood's death, which has been the source of much speculation in the past three decades. A spokesperson for the department told media during a press conference Friday morning that Wagner is not a suspect, but added that it decided to re-open the case after receiving new information that was "substantial" enough for them to take a second look at the case.
s