Zuzu It's a Wonderful Life: Karolyn Grimes

You may know Karolyn Grimes as Zuzu, the little girl in It’s a Wonderful Life who declares, “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.”

You may not realize “Zuzu” spent the last 20 years calling Washington State home.

“I fell in love with the place and decided this is where I wanted to live,’ says Karolyn. She packed up and moved from her longtime home in Kansas City and proceeded to dwell in the quaint towns of Fall City, Carnation and Port Orchard. “I just love it.”

Believe it or not, for most of her life, It’s a Wonderful Life was just another movie to Karolyn. She was only six when it was filmed, but already a veteran actress. Her childhood career spanned 16 movies and she worked with film legends John Wayne, Cary Grant, Bing Crosby, Loretta Young, Betty Grable, David Niven, Fred MacMurray, Danny Kaye and, of course, Donna Reed and Jimmy Stewart.

When it first came out, It’s a Wonderful Life was a box office disappointment that bankrupted Frank Capra’s production company. That didn’t matter to Karolyn. “It was just another job...I didn’t care that it wasn’t a hit.” She went to opening night but fell asleep, and that was that as far as Karolyn was concerned.

While today the film is known as the ultimate Christmas movie, a clerical error meant the copyright wasn’t even renewed on the “dud” and in 1974 the movie entered the public domain. Television stations could show it as many times as they wanted without having to pay a cent. People from around the country started watching it as a treasured holiday tradition. While a court case restored the film’s copyright in 1993, without that clerical error the movie might still be sitting on a shelf in anonymity.

But its television exposure breathed new life into the film. By 1980, “people tracked me down and wanted to interview me,” recalls Karolyn. “I started getting fan mail! And I thought, Jiminy Christmas, I better check this movie out.” Up to that point, not being much of a television-watcher, she had never even seen the movie. “People were knocking on my door. Articles began to appear in Kansas City, and my story slowly spread to other areas.” Interest in “Zuzu” eventually became international.

By then, Karolyn had long ago quit showbiz and her life had not been so wonderful. Her Hollywood career ended in her teens when her mother died from early-onset Alzheimer’s disease and her father was killed in an automobile accident. As an only child, she was sent by the courts to live with a relative in a tiny town in Missouri. It was not a happy home, but Karolyn found solace in the townspeople who encouraged her to pursue an education. She became a medical technician.

Karolyn eventually married and had two little girls. That marriage didn’t last, and she later married a man with three children. They had two more of their own, so Karolyn raised a family of seven. But the dark times were not over; her youngest child committed suicide at age 18, what Karolyn describes as the most devastating time in her life. As she climbed out of that despair, her husband of 25 years died from cancer.

It was at this time that the rebirth of interest in It’s a Wonderful Life had begun. The public’s fascination with all things from the movie gave Karolyn a new life’s focus. She doesn’t have to spend much time thinking back about her pivotal role because in a sense she is still living as Zuzu. Karolyn has become the unofficial ambassador of the movie and travels the world speaking at benefits, festivals and other events.

In fact, Karolyn first visited the Seattle area in 1994 to talk about It’s a Wonderful Life. “I did an appearance at the Rosalie Whyel Doll Museum in Bellevue (now closed), which had a Zuzu doll. I also met the news writer for the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Fred Hutch ‘donated’ me for a big event,” which she co-hosted with Seattle-born Richard Karn, best known for his role on the TV show, Home Improvement. “I had just lost my husband to cancer, and it was a very poignant evening for me,” says Karolyn. “Seattle Times writer Clay Eals thought I had an interesting story and wrote an article about my life,” recalls Karolyn. That visit was portentous in so many ways.

Although she has recently moved to Northern California because of her husband’s job, Washington is still home to Karolyn. “It’s where my heart is,” she says...not the least because her three girls, who followed her up when she moved, still live in the area along with two granddaughters.

Karolyn knows from hearing first-hand stories that It’s a Wonderful Life has positively affected people’s lives. “The movie has saved people from suicide. It shows how important life is, that you can make a difference to others. Each one of us matters.” She believes that when you see George Bailey go through his agonizing journey, it gives you hope. “I think that is what makes the movie priceless. It is a tradition, a living entity that keeps growing in popularity.”

Although she was young during the filming, Karolyn has many fond memories from making the movie. “I was born and raised in Hollywood and had never seen snow before. The snow in the movie wasn’t real, but it was still fun for me. And the giant Christmas tree fascinated me. I was used to a small tree that sat on a table.” She also has wonderful memories of working with the other children. “As an only child in real life, the movie made it feel as if I was from a large family.” In fact, once It’s a Wonderful Life became such a phenomenon, the “children” got together quite a bit and they came to feel like family to Karolyn.

She also has good memories of working with Jimmy Stewart. “That’s the number one question everyone asks: What was it like to work with Jimmy Stewart. You know, Donna Reed was nice, but I never really had a line or interaction with her. I was totally focused on Jimmy; he was the center of my world on that film. He made a point to develop chemistry between us.”

Three years ago, the “Bailey kids” got together at the Academy Awards for a 70th anniversary viewing of the film, where they also showed a home movie of the film’s ‘wrap party.’ “Frank Capra, the crew, the cast and all their families were at that party. Watching the home movie was so exciting; we had never seen it before. It opened with me in a little sun suit with Jimmy Stewart and I could still feel that chemistry we had. I met Jimmy in later years, and we just picked up where we left off. He was a great man and did so many acts of human kindness behind the scenes.”

Karolyn worked with many film legends, including Cary Grant in The Bishop’s Wife. “Cary Grant was fabulous. He loved kids... He read me stories and every day he would pull me around the ice rink on a sled while he practiced his skating for the movie.”

Karolyn has the distinction of being in two classic Christmas movies. She also starred in The Bishop’s Wife with Cary Grant, Loretta Young and David Niven. “Cary Grant was fabulous. He loved kids and hung out with me. He read me stories and every day he would pull me around the ice rink on a sled while he practiced his skating for the movie.”

There is a chance that a sequel to It’s a Wonderful Life may be in the works. Karolyn doesn’t know if the project will go forward or not (she will appear in the film if it does). But a musical stage version of the classic film is scheduled to launch in late 2020, music by none less than Sir Paul McCartney. Karolyn looks forward to the musical and anything related to the film. “My life is pretty much all about It’s a Wonderful Life 12 months a year.” As she and the remaining “Bailey kids” grow older, she reflects on the film’s message.

“The movie means so much to me, and the kids in the film are very much like family. The movie is all about acceptance. When the knees start getting stiff and things start happening that you don’t really care for, acceptance becomes a challenge. But life is what you make of it. Don’t live in gloom; look for the good things in life. That is what I strive for as I grow older. We are given this gift called life. Give of yourself and you get back joy and happiness. In my opinion, that is the secret to growing older.”

MORE INFORMATION

Karolyn Grimes will appear at the Holiday Food and Gift Festival at the Tacoma Dome on October 17 through October 20. For more information about the show, call 1-800-521-7469 or visit holidaygiftshows.com. For more information about Karolyn Grimes, visit Zuzu.net.