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In 1981 while working on the science-fiction thriller, Brainstorm, Christopher became somewhat involved in a tragedy when his co-star, Natalie Wood, drowned during a Thanksgiving weekend cruise off of Catalina Island in California. Christopher was on the yacht along with Wood's husband, Robert Wagner and the ship's captain the night she died. This terrible event, brought out rumors of a possible affair between Wood and Walken and a supposed argument between the three of them. The drowning proved to be accidental and the rumors swirling around Wood's death eventually subsided.

To date, Walken has worked in more than 100 stage roles and has appeared in over 60 movies of every genre. Some of his more famous film roles have been in At Close Range with Sean Penn, Stephen King's The Dead Zone, Biloxi Blues with Matthew Broderick; King Of New Yorkwith Lawrence Fishburne; Sarah, Plain and Tall with Glenn Close, for which he was nominated for an Emmy; True Romance with Dennis Hopper, and far too many others to name (see Filmography) He is most widely known for portraying villainous or psychotic types of characters such as the archangel Gabriel in The Prophecy, for example - at which he excels. To those who know his work, however, Christopher is percieved more as a chameleon as he is able to transform himself into any character when given the chance. Walken has also appeared three times on Saturday Night Live since 1990 and has recently begun to play more paternal roles such as Uncle Ray in Alicia Silverstone's Excess Baggage and as Brendan Fraser's father, Calvin Webber, in Blast From The Past. Walken also wrote and starred in a rather humorous play about Elvis Presley entitled Him, and he continues to get involved in theater when his schedule allows. As for Christopher's brothers, one became a successful restauranteur, and the other a real estate broker.

Walken's personal life is more practical than one might think. After 30 years, he is still married to Georgianne, now a casting director (she has cast Christopher in the movie Basquiat, in which he played the interviewer). Christopher and Georgianne had decided early on in their marraige not to have children because it would have been difficult with the amount of travel required for their occupations. Christopher says now he is thankful that they did not have kids and he is able to put all of his focus into his work. Not being overly concerned about the financial aspect of his career, Christopher rarely turns down roles offered to him and strives to keep himself constantly working. Because of this, he has averaged nearly five movies per year. He and his wife currently reside alternately in Connecticut with their cats as well as a brownstone apartment in upper west Manhattan. Walken has made it clear that he plans on working as long as he can and does not foresee retirement any time in the near future. He continues to draw a growing number of fans of all ages from around the world. •CR

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