Lana Wood

Infobox actor
name = Lana Wood
birthname = Svetlana Nikolaevna Zakharenko
birthdate = birth date and age|1946|3|1
location = Santa Monica, California
spouse = Allan Balter (div.)
Jack Wrather, Jr. (1962-1962)
Karl Brent (1965-1966)
Steve Oliver (1967-1967)
Richard Smedley (m.1973)

Svetlana Nikolaevna Gurdin (born March 1, 1946), better known as Lana Wood, is an American actress and producer born to Russian émigré parents, Nikolai and Maria Zakharenko.

Biography

Early life

Lana Wood's parents were Russian, but they grew up far from their homeland: her non-biological father lived in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 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, Natalie Wood, was named after director Sam Wood when Natalie first launched her child acting career. When Lana made her film debut with sister Natalie in "The Searchers" (1956), their mother 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 famous sister. Their mother also had a child from her first marriage to an Armenian.

Career

In 1970, Lana Glyde was approached to pose for "Playboy" by Hugh Hefner and agreed. The "Playboy" pictures appeared in the April 1971 issue, along with Wood's poetry. Even though her sister strongly disapproved of Wood's move to pose nude, the publicity was a major reason for her being cast as a Bond girl, Plenty O'Toole, in the 1971 James Bond film, "Diamonds Are Forever".

Wood acted in more than 20 other films and television shows throughout her career, including a regular role as Sandy Webber on the prime time serial "Peyton Place" from 1966-1967. She retired from acting in 1982, concentrating on her career as a producer.

Wood wrote a best-selling memoir, "Natalie, A Memoir by Her Sister", about her famous sister shortly after her death. The book was also an autobiography. Among the tidbits she revealed in the book was an off-the-set affair with Sean Connery during the filming of "Diamonds Are Forever".

Family

She and Natalie have an older half sister, Olga Viriapaeff, from their mother's prior marriage. Lana has one child, Evan, a daughter with Richard Smedley. She has one granddaughter, Daphne, and two grandsons, Nicholas and Max.

Lana Wood has been married five times:
# Jack Wrather - (1962) annulled
# Karl Brent - (1965-1966) divorced
# Stephen Oliver - (1967) divorced
# Allan Balter - (?-?)
# Richard Smedley - (1973-?) divorced

Bibliography

* "Natalie, A Memoir by Her Sister". New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1984. ISBN 0399129030

Filmography

* "The Searchers" - (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 Place" - (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 Forever" - (1971), Plenty O'Toole
* "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
* "Greyeagle" - (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

Bibliography

*cite book|last=Paul|first=Louis|year=2008|title=Tales From the Cult Film Trenches; Interviews with 36 Actors from Horror, Science Fiction and Exploitation Cinema|chapter=Lana Wood|pages=p.300-306|publisher=Wayne State University Press|location=Detroit|isbn=978-0-7864-2994-3

External links

*imdb name|id=0939836|name=Lana Wood