Virginia Ann Marie Patton Moss (June 25, 1925 – August 18, 2022) was an American actress. After appearing in several films in the early 1940s, she was cast in her most well-known role as Ruth Dakin Bailey in Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (1946). In 1949, Patton retired from acting, and her final film credit was The Lucky Stiff (1949).
Early life Virginia Patton was born in Cleveland, Ohio on June 25, 1925, to Marie (née Cain) and Donald Patton.
She was raised in her father's hometown of Portland, Oregon, where her family moved when she was an infant.
She was a great-niece of General George S. Patton Jr.
Patton graduated from Jefferson High School in Portland, and then moved to Los Angeles, California, where she attended the University of Southern California.
Career
While a student at USC, Patton began to audition for acting parts. She collaborated in plays with screenwriter William C. DeMille while in college. She had several minor supporting film appearances before being cast in Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (1946) as Ruth Dakin Bailey, the wife of George Bailey's younger brother Harry.
Although Capra did not know Patton personally, she read the role for him, and he signed her to a contract. Patton later said that she was the only girl the famous director ever signed in his entire career. Patton still gave interviews about It's a Wonderful Life, and she was the last surviving credited member of the adult actors in the film (a number of child actors are still alive).
Patton made only four films after It's a Wonderful Life, including her first lead in the B-Western Black Eagle (1948). She appeared in the drama The Burning Cross (1946), a film about a World War II veteran who becomes embroiled with the Ku Klux Klan upon returning to his hometown.
Personal life Patton was married to Cruse W. Moss from 1949 until his death in 2018. She gave up acting in the late 1940s to concentrate on raising a family with her husband in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She later attended the University of Michigan.
Virginia Patton Moss served as the president of the Patton Corporation, an Ann Arbor-based real estate investment and holdings company. For over 25 years, she was a docent at the University of Michigan Museum of Art. She also served on the boards of the U-M’s Kelsey Museum of Archaeology and the U-M’s Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments. In addition, she was a member of the Board of Trustees of Cleary College (later University), a business school in Ann Arbor/ Ypsilanti, and she received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Cleary.
Death Patton died on August 18, 2022, at age 97.
Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1943 Thank Your Lucky Stars Girl in Ann Sheridan Number uncredited 1943 Old Acquaintance College Girl uncredited 1944 Roaring Guns Karen Ferris short film 1944 Grandfather's Follies short film 1944 Janie Carrie Lou 1944 The Last Ride Hazel Dale uncredited 1944 Hollywood Canteen Junior Hostess uncredited 1945 The Horn Blows at Midnight Party Girl uncredited 1946 Canyon Passage Liza Stone / Bartlett uncredited 1946 Nobody Lives Forever Switchboard Operator uncredited 1946 It's a Wonderful Life Ruth Dakin Bailey 1947 The Burning Cross Doris Green 1947 A Double Life Actress onstage in Othello 1948 Black Eagle Ginny Long 1949 The Lucky Stiff Millie Dale
References Citations
Bibliography
External links
Interview with Virginia Patton in 2013