The Only Major Actors Still Alive From It's A Wonderful Life
"It's A Wonderful Life" is an unforgettable classic that renews itself every holiday season. The striking narrative articulates strong morals, like the importance of family and an individual's importance in a community, punctuated by almost hallucinogenic imagery of the ground opening up beneath one's feet. It's a heartwrenching picture made all the emotional by the sentimentality of Christmastime. The Frank Capra film is nostalgic for everyone, from older people who watched it as a child to the generations to follow who passed down the tradition to their children. Most kids aren't dying to sit down and watch a black-and-white talkie from studio-era Hollywood, and yet the film's fanbase gains new members every year.
But as the 1946 film ages, so too does its cast, and many of the main cast members have not made it to 2024, including leading man Jimmy Stewart. In fact, most of the adults in the film passed away before the 21st century began. However, between flashbacks and family scenes, there are quite a few children in this film who have lived to see 2024. They're well into old age now, but many of the youngest cast members in "It's A Wonderful Life" are still alive today.
Now, lots of child actors don't work into adulthood, and many of the young actors in this film went on to choose different career paths later in life. However, some of them went on to star in more television shows and films after the 1946 movie. You might even recognize them from a role they played later in life and never knew they were one of the kids in "It's A Wonderful Life." Luckily, I did the digging so you don't have to.
Karolyn Grimes (Zuzu Bailey)
On the most fateful day of George Bailey's life, his daughter Zuzu is suffering from a fever, one of the many problems on a very long list of issues he must face that Christmas Eve. She recovers just fine by the end of the film, but the stress of her illness (compounded with his own trifles) causes Bailey to lash out at Zuzu's teacher. It's the first time we see him get truly angry that day, and one of the last straws that leads him to contemplate suicide. She might not be the brightest star in the film, but Zuzu is an incredibly important character. She brings out George's most compassionate, caring side, as well as his wrath. She is played by Karolyn Grimes, who was only 6 years old at the time and is now 83.
"It's A Wonderful Life" was somewhat of a breakout role for Grimes, and she went on to star in half a dozen films the following year, including the Cary Grant-led comedy "The Bishop's Wife." In the years to follow, she was featured in several Westerns, including John Ford's "Rio Grande," but she stopped acting in 1952. Her parents both died in quick succession while she was a teenager, leaving her orphaned at 15 and forced to move from southern California to middle America, per the National Catholic Register. As an adult, she left the silver screen behind and became a medical technologist. How ironic that she became a healthcare professional when she is best known for being sick!
Ronnie Ralph (Little Sam Wainwright)
One pivotal scene in "It's A Wonderful Life" is a flashback to George's childhood, where he saves his brother from drowning in an ice-covered pond and permanently loses his hearing in one ear. It's here that the audience is introduced to Sam Wainwright, whom George continues to compare himself to for the rest of his life. While Sam goes to college and starts a successful company of his own, George is forced to stay back in their hometown and take over his father's Building and Loan company. Sam is played by Frank Albertson as an adult, but Little Sam is played by Ronnie Ralph. Born in 1933, he was 13 when the film was released in 1946 and is 90 years old today.
Ralph's acting career was rather short-lived, and his small part in "It's A Wonderful Life" was his most significant role. He had several uncredited roles in films from 1945 to 1951, but he has not appeared in a film or television series since '51. Not much is known about Ralph's whereabouts today. The former actor was born in Los Angeles, and it's possible he still resides there today, working somewhere outside the entertainment industry.
Jimmy Hawkins (Tommy Bailey)
The younger children in the Bailey family didn't get a whole lot of screen time, but they did play a very significant role in the film. Tommy Bailey triggers his father's outburst by pestering him for attention. The young child is a driving force of his suicidal ideations but also a source of his gratitude for life in the end. Tommy is played by Jimmy Hawkins, who was only 4 at the time and is 82 today. As an old man, the actor still had fond memories of his time on the set of "It's A Wonderful Life."
"I remember sitting on Mr. Stewart's lap and putting tinsel on him," Hawkins recalled at age 78, per The Republican. "I vividly remember Frank Capra crouching down and directing me. He said, 'See where we are right now?... I want you to say 'Excuse me, excuse me' right here and keep pulling on (Stewart's) coattails.' He was very patient with me."
Hawkins went on to be a rather prominent child star in mid-century Hollywood. Some of his bigger TV roles included Tagg Oakley in "The Annie Oakley Show," for which he appeared in all 81 episodes, and "The Donna Reed Show," which reunited Hawkins with his former on-screen mother (Reed plays Mrs. Bailey). Hawkins appeared in 20 episodes of the sitcom, playing several different roles scattered between 1958 and 1965. His biggest movie role wasn't until his young adulthood when he played Doc in the 1965 Elvis-led film "Girl Happy."
In later decades, Hawkins produced several TV movies, including the "Wonderful Life"-inspired holiday special, "Merry Christmas, George Bailey." He has also authored and co-authored several books inspired by the 1946 film, including a trivia book, a coloring book, and a children's book.
Carol Coombs (Janie Bailey)
At age 11, Carol Coombs played the oldest of the Bailey children, Janie — although she was miscredited as Carol Coomes. In the moment that George flies off the handle, he orders her to stop practicing the piano. When he realizes he's ruining the mood and commands Janie to start playing again, she delivers one of the shortest and yet most devastating, tearful lines of the movie: "Oh, Daddy."
Coombs had several credited and uncredited roles in film and television both before and after the 1946 Capra film, including an uncredited voice cameo in the animated classic "Peter Pan." Her last acting job was in 1958, but Coombs is still alive today at age 88 and resides in Irvine, California, per the Orange County Register. The former actor continues to make public appearances for the film and annually attends the "It's A Wonderful Life" convention in Seneca Falls (the town served as the basis for Bailey's native Bedford Falls). She is continually inspired by the new generations that discover the film each year.
"We have met young people on our travels who say (the movie) has changed their lives," Coombs said. "There were some who even knew every line in the movie. That's like, oh, my gosh... It gives them a lot of hope in life, to not give up."