Virginia Patton
{{Short description|American actress (1925–2022)}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Virginia Patton
| image =Virginia Patton Black Eagle headshot.jpg
| image_size = 220px
| caption = Patton in Black Eagle (1948)
| birth_name = Virginia Ann Marie Patton
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1925|06|25}}
| birth_place = Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2022|08|18|1925|06|25}}
| death_place = Albany, Georgia, U.S.
| alma_mater = {{Plainlist|
}}
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1943–1949
| known_for = It's a Wonderful Life
| relatives = General George Smith Patton Jr. (uncle)
}}
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.[https://patch.com/michigan/plymouth-mi/it-s-a-wonderful-life-actress-recalls-classic-film-in4267cdb953 'It's a Wonderful Life' Actress Recalls Classic Film Role in Visit to Plymouth]{{cite web|url=http://www.stnicholasinstitute.org/2013-award-winners.htm|work=St. Nicholas Institute|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419072453/http://www.stnicholasinstitute.org/2013-award-winners.htm|archive-date=April 19, 2015|access-date=July 1, 2016|title=St. Nicholas Institute: 2013 Award Winners}}
She was raised in her father's hometown of Portland, Oregon,{{cite web|url=http://birth-records.mooseroots.com/l/4388434/Virginia-Ann-Patton|work=Ohio Birth Index, 1908–2011. Record count: 13,254,340|title=Virginia Ann Patton (b. 1925)|access-date=July 1, 2016}} where her family moved when she was an infant.{{cite web|url=https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCSC-846|work=Family Search|title=Virginia A Patton in entry for Donn M Patton, 1930; United States Census, 1930|access-date=July 1, 2016}}{{cite news|url=https://www.koin.com/news/last-surviving-adult-actor-from-its-a-wonderful-life-virginia-patton-moss-dies-at-97/|work=KOIN|title=Last Surviving Adult actor from 'It's a Wonderful Life', Virginia Patton Moss, Dies at 97|archive-url=https://archive.today/20230316024247/https://www.koin.com/news/last-surviving-adult-actor-from-its-a-wonderful-life-virginia-patton-moss-dies-at-97/|archive-date=March 16, 2023|last=Morrison|first=Laura|date=August 22, 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2022/08/virginia-patton-dead-last-its-a-wondefu-life-adult-cast-member-was-97-obituary-1235097106/|work=Deadline Hollywood|title=Virginia Patton Dies: Last ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ Adult Cast Member Was 97|last=Haring|first=Bruce|date=August 21, 2022|url-status=live|archive-date=March 16, 2023|archive-url=https://archive.today/20230316024454/https://deadline.com/2022/08/virginia-patton-dead-last-its-a-wondefu-life-adult-cast-member-was-97-obituary-1235097106/}}
She was a great-niece of General George S. Patton Jr..{{cite news|title=A gem gets its chance to Shine|date=October 12, 1997|work=The Ann Arbor News|author=Reuter, Anne|page=F3|url=http://oldnews.aadl.org/taxonomy/term/31822}}
Patton graduated from Jefferson High School in Portland, and then moved to Los Angeles, California, where she attended the University of Southern California.{{cite web|url=http://patch.com/michigan/plymouth-mi/it-s-a-wonderful-life-actress-recalls-classic-film-in4267cdb953|work=Patch|title='It's a Wonderful Life' Actress Recalls Classic Film Role in Visit to Plymouth|author=McKay, John|location=Plymouth, Michigan|date=December 9, 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20230316024621/https://patch.com/michigan/plymouth-mi/it-s-a-wonderful-life-actress-recalls-classic-film-in4267cdb953|archive-date=March 16, 2023|url-status=live}}
Career
{{Moresources|section|date=August 2022}}
File:Virginia Patton pin-up, Yank, The Army Weekly (1943).png photo of Patton for Yank, the Army Weekly in 1943]]
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.{{cite web |url= https://michigantoday.umich.edu/2022/12/16/it-was-a-wonderful-life/|last=Tobin |first=James |title=It was a wonderful life |date= December 16, 2022|website= Michigan Today|publisher= University of Michigan|access-date=April 10, 2023 |quote=}}
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.{{Sfn|Berry|Berry|2007|p=48}}
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.{{cite web|url=http://www.ncregister.com/blog/joseph-pronechen/its-a-wonderful-life-actress-tells-how-wonderful-the-film-was-and-is|work=National Catholic Register|title='It's a Wonderful Life' Actress Tells How Wonderful the Film Was and Is|date=December 26, 2013|access-date=July 1, 2016|author=Pronechen, Joseph}} She later attended the University of Michigan.
Patton died on August 18, 2022, at age 97.{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2022/film/obituaries-people-news/virginia-patton-moss-dead-its-a-wonderful-life-1235346753/|work=Variety|title= Virginia Patton Moss, Last Surviving Adult Cast Member of 'It's a Wonderful Life,' Dies at 97|access-date=August 21, 2022|author=Murphy, J. Kim|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220821195102/https://variety.com/2022/film/obituaries-people-news/virginia-patton-moss-dead-its-a-wonderful-life-1235346753/ |archive-date=August 21, 2022}} She was the last surviving adult cast member of It's a Wonderful Life.{{cite web | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/virginia-patton-dead-wonderful-life-1235203102/ | title=Virginia Patton, Actress in 'It's a Wonderful Life,' Dies at 97 | website=The Hollywood Reporter | date=August 21, 2022 }}
Filmography
| class="wikitable sortable" | |||
| 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=
{{Reflist}}
=Bibliography=
- {{Cite book|title=Historical Dictionary of African American Cinema|url=https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio0000berr|url-access=registration|year=2007|author1=Berry, S. Torriano |author2=Venise T. Berry|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-81085-545-8|ref={{SfnRef|Berry|Berry|2007}}}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0666634}}
- {{Rotten-tomatoes-person|virginia_patton}}
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixKurrrWG3E Interview with Virginia Patton in 2013]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patton, Virginia}}
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:American film actresses
Category:Actresses from Portland, Oregon
Category:Jefferson High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni
Category:University of Southern California alumni
Category:University of Michigan alumni