Covering Zuzu

Recalling my `It’s a Wonderful Life’ assignment in 2006: a feature story on Karolyn Grimes, who had portrayed Zuzu Bailey in the classic film 60 years earlier.

In December 2006, I’d only seen bits and pieces of the beloved Christmas movie It’s a Wonderful Life.

That was enough to have a vague sense of a few scenes that included the 6-year-old daughter of the main character George Bailey, portrayed by Jimmy Stewart. If you’ve seen the movie, then you likely know her better as Zuzu.

Seventeen years ago this week, we met as she played her recurring real-life role as Karolyn Grimes. By that point, she was a 66-year-old woman whose own rollercoaster life was back on the upswing, thanks in large part to the movie’s resurgence.

My Chicago Tribune assignment: write about her appearance at a suburban movie theater. [click or tap on the images to expand]

As I wrote:

"For this one film, I have a second career," Grimes told "Wonderful Life"-goers at the Hollywood Blvd. cinema, bar and eatery in Woodridge. "How lucky am I?"

She was not only lucky, but I found her to be earnest, down-to-earth and sweet, all qualities that I tried to convey in my story.

For the record, I did eventually see It’s a Wonderful Life in its entirety, four years later.¹ It was a special screening at the Lake Theater just down the street from our home in Oak Park. Given the movie’s plot, it was a savvy move by the community bank—located directly across the street—to sponsor the showing.

Seeing it from start to finish, at long last, made a powerful impression. A few days later, Bridgett and I moved all our banking there. It’s still where we bank.

Likewise, I am happy to report that Karolyn, at 83, remains a fixture on the It’s a Wonderful Life circuit. Two weeks ago, she was a featured guest at the `It’s a Wonderful Life’ Festival in Seneca Falls, New York, the town that lays claim to having inspired the film’s fictional Bedford Falls.

She also has an online store, where she sells autographed photos from the movie for $30 apiece. Not a bad residual pipeline, 77 years after the film was made. You can find Karolyn online, of course, at Zuzu.net.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all!

1. In my defense, I was about the same age as Karolyn was when she first saw the movie all the way through. As noted in this 2021 story by the Washington Post’s Donald Liebenson, she dozed off during the premiere.