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 Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-born American film director, producer and writer who became the creative force behind some of the major award-winning films of the 1930s ...

's ''

It's a Wonderful Life ''It's a Wonderful Life'' is a 1946 American Christmas by medium#Films, Christmas Fantasy film, fantasy drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra, based on the short story and booklet ''The Greatest Gift'', which Philip Van Doren Stern se ...

'' (1946). In 1949, Patton retired from acting, and her final film credit was ''

The Lucky Stiff ''The Lucky Stiff'' is a 1949 American comedy crime film directed by Lewis R. Foster, starring Dorothy Lamour, Brian Donlevy, and Claire Trevor. The film is based on the 1945 novel of the same name by Craig Rice (author), Craig Rice. ''The Lucky ...

'' (1949).

Early life

Patton was born in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, Ohio on June 25, 1925, to Marie (née Cain) and Donald Patton. She was raised in her father's hometown of

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, Oregon, where her family moved when she was an infant. She was a niece of General

George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

. Patton graduated from Jefferson High School in Portland, and then moved to Los Angeles, California, where she attended the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

Career

While a student at USC, Patton began to audition for acting parts. She collaborated in plays with screenwriter

William C. DeMille William Churchill deMille (July 25, 1878 – March 5, 1955), also spelled de Mille or De Mille, was an American screenwriter and film director from the silent film era through the early 1930s. He was also a noted playwright prior to moving into ...

while in college. She had several minor supporting film appearances before being cast in Capra's ''

'' (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 The black eagle (''Ictinaetus malaiensis'') is a bird of prey. Like all eagles, it is in the family Accipitridae, and is the only member of the genus ''Ictinaetus''. They soar over forests in the hilly regions of tropical and subtropical South ...

'' (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 The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

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. Patton died on August 18, 2022, at age 97. She was the last surviving adult cast member of ''It's a Wonderful Life''.

Filmography

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

* * *
Interview with Virginia Patton in 2013
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patton, Virginia 1925 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American actresses American film actresses Actresses from Portland, Oregon Jefferson High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni University of Southern California alumni University of Michigan alumni Actors from Ann Arbor, Michigan Patton family