The actress who played Zuzu in the iconic Christmas movie ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ spoke about its importance this holiday season amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Karolyn Grimes, 80, was a six-year-old child star when she uttered her famous phrase ‘Every time a bell rings, an angel gains its wings’ while looking at Jimmy Stewart’s character, George Bailey.
Having lost his parents when he was fifteen; her first husband in a hunting accident; her second husband with cancer; and a child to suicide, Grimes said that rediscovering the film he starred in later life was “a gift”.
Grimes called herself one of the ‘most fortunate women in the world’, as she was able to ‘share the messages in this film’, describing her encounters with people who were touched by her story, some of whom had already thought of suicide.
She told the Beaver County Times that she hopes Americans who watch the story of Bailey’s struggle this year will remember how to ‘give and help our neighbor’, even though 2020 is ‘challenging at best’.
Karolyn Grimes played Zuzu, daughter of Jimmy Stewart’s character, George Bailey
Karolyn Grimes, 80, was a six-year-old child star when she appeared in the Christmas classic ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’. She is in the picture above in 2010
The 1946 Christmas classic is based on Philip Van Doren Stern’s ‘The Greatest Gift’ and tells the story of George Bailey, who continually puts aside his own dreams to give back to his community.
However, when a financial crisis pushes him over the edge, an angel named Clarence is forced to intervene to show him how the lives of his loved ones would have changed for the worse had it not been for the gentle gestures he lived through.
“George Bailey gave, gave and gave of himself,” Grimes told the Beaver County Times.
“He gave up all his dreams so he could help other people, and I think this particular year, we kind of lost all of that,” she added about 2020.
‘And I think that maybe it will relive those feelings when we watch, and maybe we will be able to look inside ourselves and give and help our fellow men. I think that’s what the film is really about. ‘
Grimes gave up acting after her parents died and she moved to live with her family in Missouri after appearing in a dozen films and TV shows.
Having raised seven children, she said ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ re-entered her life when she needed it most.
Grimes revealed that despite her memorable role in the film playing George Bailey’s daughter, Zuzu, she didn’t watch it again until she was 40, when she realized she wanted to share her message even more.
Grimes like Zuzu portrayed with actor Jimmy Stewart in ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’
Since then, she has devoted much of her life to preserving the film’s memory – traveling across the country to speak to fans, gathering stories of those who knew Stewart and acting as a consultant to the museum that honors the film in Seneca Falls, New York, which was opened in 2010.
“It was a gift,” said Grimes. ‘There are no two ways to do this. Because I didn’t watch it until I was 40 and, as soon as I watched the film, I realized what a fabulous opportunity it was for me to share the messages of this film.
“So for 10 years I raised a family and made a few appearances here and there and did a lot of research on how to make the film and that kind of thing,” she added.
‘But in 1993 the Target company brought Bailey’s children together for a meeting and we traveled all over the United States.
“They came in droves. They lined up to share their moments of how the film affects their lives, what happened (in) their lives, how they faced suicide, how they were on the bridge and this film helped them deal with all of those things.
‘I was just overwhelmed. I couldn’t believe it, ‘said Grimes of the experience.
‘And it occurred to me that I was probably one of the luckiest women in the world because it was that little girl, Zuzu, because I got a gift, and I’ve been on the road ever since, talking to people and listening to people and sharing (stories de) their lives about how this film affected them.
Karolyn Grimes has traveled the country for decades meeting with fans of the film
She described how the story of George Bailey, played by Jimmy Stewart in the photo above, helped so many people who faced suicide or the same struggles as her character
– And I couldn’t be happier about it. I just feel blessed, ‘she continued.
‘I was blessed, that’s all I can say, because it’s a great joy to be part of this film and to be on the road for it and meet people and take them into my life as I did.
While she only appeared in a few scenes in the film alongside Stewart, Grimes praised him as a star who was very similar to the Bailey character he was playing.
Grimes, pictured here in 1946, said he didn’t watch the movie again until he was 40
‘He (Stewart) was just a man who cared about his peers, and that came as George Bailey,’ she told the Beaver County Times.
‘He passes in the same way. His own personality is in George Bailey. He cares about his fellow men. He helps him in every way he can, and Jimmy Stewart had the ability to help people in many ways and he really did. He just did.
Grimes also described him as ‘a great person to work with’, as he ‘had a way of making you feel important and making you feel like you really were the star of that scene’.
The former child star added that her hope for Americans this Christmas is that they will return to the film and use it to reunite their families.
“I hope that (the viewers) get out of the film that there is some normality in life now because ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ and Christmas is a tradition in many homes in America,” she said.
“And maybe families can’t get together, but maybe they can watch the movie at the same time and communicate over the phone. The film brings families together. It is a tradition and it is something that people do regularly every year and feel lost if they don’t have time to do it.
‘So I hope this year … people (will) take the time to watch the film and enjoy the messages of hope that the film conveys. … We are in a world of Potters and a world of stranger now, and I think that will put our feet on the ground, to watch that movie. ‘