Virginia Patton Moss, It's a Wonderful Life actress, dies at 97

Virginia Patton Moss, a former actress best known for her role as Ruth Dakin Bailey in Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life, died Aug. 18 at the age of 97.

A funeral home in Anne Arbor, Mich. confirmed that Patton Moss, who portrayed the wife of George Bailey's (James Stewart) brother, Harry (Todd Karns), died last month in Georgia. Her It's a Wonderful Life costar Karolyn Grimes, who starred as one of George and Mary Bailey's (Donna Reed) children, daughter Zuzu, paid tribute to Patton Moss on Facebook. "We have another angel!" Grimes wrote. "She will be missed!"

Born in 1925 in Cleveland, Patton Moss made her film debut in the 1943 musical comedy Thank Your Lucky Stars. She continued to act in minor roles in Old Acquaintance (1943), Janie (1944), The Last Ride (1944), Hollywood Canteen (1944), The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945), and Canyon Passage (1946) before her turn in It's a Wonderful Life. Patton Moss then went on to lead The Burning Cross (1947) and Black Eagle (1948).

In 1949, after starring in her final film role in The Lucky Stiff, Patton Moss retired from Hollywood and married the late Cruse W. Moss, an automotive executive. The two moved to Ann Arbor to start a family, where Patton Moss worked as a docent at the University of Michigan Museum of Art and was involved in several local organizations. Patton Moss and her husband were married for over 60 years, up until his death in 2018.

Courtesy Everett Collection

In 2012, Patton Moss spoke fondly of working with Capra on It's a Wonderful Life, sharing that the late director kept in touch with her after she retired from show biz. "When you were on the set, you knew your lines, you knew your business," she told local news outlet Patch. "It was a camaraderie, but it was a business. It was a wonderful atmosphere that some other directors didn't produce."

"I have a beautiful letter that [Capra] wrote me because I kept in touch with him and he said, 'I just knew you'd be a wonderful mother with three little bambinos and a wonderful husband,'" Patton continued, adding of her decision to prioritize a family over a movie career, "I couldn't see me doing that for my life. That isn't what I wanted. I wanted exactly what I am. Ann Arbor, Michigan, a wonderful husband, wonderful children, a good part of the community. I work hard for the community."

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