IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
THE ACTORS RECALL FUN AND FRIENDSHIP ON THE CHRISTMAS CLASSIC
The actors who played George Bailey’s children in the 1946 Christmas film share memories from the set.
“My father said It’s a Wonderful Life was the best movie he ever made.” — Director Frank Capra’s son Tom
Jimmy Hawkins has a favorite memory from when he played young Tommy Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life. Though he was only 4, when shooting ended, “they didn’t have a wrap party,” he says. “But [director] Frank Capra and Jimmy Stewart threw a picnic and they had three-legged races. I won the watermelon-eating contest!”
The actors who portrayed the Bailey children in the 1946 holiday favorite have stayed in touch and fondly recall their time on set together. “To be a part of this family is a blessing,” says Carol Coombs, 82, who played daughter Janie. But she admits she had no idea the film would become such an indelible part of her life — and the nation’s. “I don’t think anybody did, except maybe Capra.”
Karolyn Grimes, 77, who played Zuzu, didn’t even see the film until she was 40, but she says she wasn’t nervous to work with her famous co-stars when she was 6. “I wasn’t a little girl who was intimidated by much,” she admits.
Besides, adds Carol, Jimmy Stewart was “a very kind person,” and careful of their feelings. Before filming the scene in which a broken George Bailey yells at Janie to stop playing the piano, “he told me exactly what he was going to be doing beforehand,” Carol recalls. “He said, ‘This is how I’m supposed to act so don’t take it personally.’ But even so, those were real tears!”
Those emotional scenes certainly have resonated with viewers over the past 71 years, and Capra’s granddaughter Monica Capra Hodges says her grandfather was proud that the movie became even more beloved when it started airing on TV. “He said that was the best thing, to have that movie come back to life for so many people,” she tells Closer. “That’s what it’s all about.” — Lisa Chambers