Strollerderby : movie dads

Rich or Rehab, Holiday Edition: Whatever Happened to Zuzu?

Jen Chaney — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 15:02:00 GMT

Happy child-star-filled holidays, everyone! In honor of the season, I'll be bringing you a yuletide-themed Rich or Rehab every Tuesday until Christmas here at the 'Derby. First up, a look at the woman who played Zuzu in the ultimate Christmas classic, "It's a Wonderful Life."

For those who usually imbibe a bit of the nog every year when they watch this film, here's a quick refresher: Zuzu is the youngest daughter of George Bailey, the one who runs a slight fever, wants Daddy to "give her flower a drink" and, in the final moment of the movie, points out that every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings. That Zuzu. Truly, was there anything she didn't know?

The adorable, curly-haired moppet was played by young actress Karolyn Grimes, who was 6-years-old when the Frank Capra picture was released back in 1946. So whatever happened to her? The answer to that question is more complicated and emotional than you might expect.

Grimes appeared in 16 films during the late '40s and early '50s, including another well-known angel-oriented movie, "The Bishop's Wife." According to the bio on Grimes' Web site, www.zuzu.net, her acting career ended in her teens when, tragically, both of her parents died. Her mother succumbed to early-onset Alzheimer's Disease when Grimes was 14. A year later, her father was killed in a car accident. Suddenly, she was an orphan, forced by the courts to move to a small town in Missouri and live in what she describes as a "less than desirable home." (I know. This is not how we wanted life to turn out for the owner of Zuzu's petals.)

She eventually finished school, worked as a medical technician, married and became a mother to two daughters. Her first marriage ended in divorce and, two years later, her ex-husband was killed in a hunting accident. But Grimes rebounded, remarried and, in addition to her new husband's three children, added two more to the brood.

But she still couldn't escape tragedy. In subsequent years, her son committed suicide. And after 25 years of marriage, her second husband passed away from lung cancer.

Somehow, though, Grimes persevered. Over the past decade-plus, she has devoted herself to "It's a Wonderful Life," making promotional appearances at benefits and movie screenings as well as doing speaking engagements related to the film. She's also written some essays here and there, and co-authored an "It's a Wonderful Life" cook book.

Depending on where you live, you may even run into Grimes this season: this weekend, she'll be at a Christmas Festival in Puyallup, Wash., and on Dec. 12 and 13, she'll attend the annual "It's a Wonderful Life" Festival in Seneca Falls, N.Y.

Despite all the lousy cards she's been dealt, the former child actress still appears to have a true zest for living and a desire to share that energy with others. I suspect that if Jimmy Stewart is knocking around up there in heaven, he may be looking down on his former co-star and saying, "'Atta girl, Zuzu."

Images: childstarlets.com and zuzu.net

"Definitely, Maybe" Worth Seeing?

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 13:29:00 GMT

I'm all very confused by this movie: A dad gets divorced. A daughter wants to know how her dad met her mom so long ago. She also doesn't seem to know who mom is. He refuses to tell. His love stories are recounted, and in the end something something something. I still don't get it. Why doesn't the girl know who her mom is? I am all for a dad and daughter sappy sweet love story but this one boggles the mind thus far.

Go Ahead and Take Young Kids to Racy Movies

Madeline Holler — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 21:20:00 GMT

Because I have no clue what I'm doing as a parent -- and I mean that sincerely -- I am susceptible to taking parenting advice from New York Times movie writers and anybody else who tells me what I want to hear. Dangerous? Sure, but I figure, if a guy from the Times is wrecking his kids, can't I?

Today's questionable advice, which I believe has led to the opening of a tightly sealed floodgate for me: screw movie ratings, take your kid to grown-up movies. OK, I will!

He writes:

"... while I am happy (or at least willing) to take my children to the latest animated or tweener-star-driven “family” movies — with their singing chipmunks and chirpy Loch Ness Monsters — we gravitate more and more toward age- inappropriate fare, exploring the grown-up realms of PG-13 and even, sometimes, R."

His daughter is in the third grade and his son is in the sixth and they've seen it all. Or a lot of it, he bravely discloses. You know what? Good for him (actually, good for them, the kids, the family.) His son loved the international intrigue of Charlie Wilson's War and thought Sweeney Todd was just great. He doesn't think The Kite Runner, after all, a story about a close friendship, should be adults-only.

"... children, more than critics, are receptive to anything that doesn’t bore them. Mine were enchanted by “Persepolis,” for instance, which is after all the story of a rebellious young girl contending with unjust authority. It’s not so different from “The Golden Compass” (which they also liked), except that instead of taking place in a computer-generated fantasy world full of armored bears it is set in the real country of Iran, which is rendered in beautifully drawn ink-washed two-dimensional animation. “Persepolis” is also in French, but don’t let that put you off. If your children can read just-right books, surely they can read subtitles too."

One of the big trade-offs with having kids for me was cutting way down on movie-going. It's expensive when you have to budget for a babysitter, and you have to do a little more planning than in the olden days, when I could just show up and see whatever, whenever. But one thing I have been looking forward to is when the older girl gets old enough to come with me -- to movies I want to see. Hey, I guess she already is! A guy in the New York Times said so! (Though I think I'll put There Will Be Blood in my Netflix queue, just to be safe.)

What about you? When are your kids going to be old enough to see your movies?

Photo: www.ageowns.com

Real Dads and Reel Dads Duke It Out

Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 21:02:00 GMT

It's that time again! Time for that dreaded trip to the greeting card aisle to pick out a masculine card for the dad you still haven't forgiven for shaming you out of trying out for the pom squad or to find a card that perfectly combines the humor and heart-felt sentiments for the father who you mimic everyday while singing Wheels on the Bus with your own wee ones. As if that's not enough pressure, Blockbuster, struggling movie rentees and icons of scientific family relationship research, has just released the results of a longitudinal, worldwide survey (not really but they also say they don't charge late fees anymore -- ha!) on the best dads on- and off-screen.

Predictably, the top pic for "Movie Dads You'd Most Like As Your Own" is Chris Gardner, profiled in Pursuit of Happyness and played by Will Smith. In second place is Father of the Bride's George Banks, played lovable and bumbly by Steve Martin. In third place is Gregory Peck's portrayal of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, which makes me think that some ambitious junior-year high school English teacher offered up a boatload of extra credit points to students who chose him in the survey.

Topping the "Movie Dads Most Like Your Own" category are (again) George Banks, Robert DeNiro's Jack Byrnes' lie detecting dad character in Meet the Parents, and Chevy Chase's timelessly hilarious and embarrassing Clark Griswold, Eugene Levy's portrayal of "Jim's Dad" in American Pie. I have to admit that, as much as I've laughed at these funny fathers and as much as one or more of them may (I said may) slightly resemble my own dad, I sure wouldn't admit it. Especially to the assholes who constantly charged me for movies I totally returned on time.

The final category, "Celebrity Dads You'd Like As Your Own," confused me the most. I get the oh[so obvious pics of Papas Pitt and Smith but the others -- Daddies Cruise, Crowe and Affleck -- have me puzzled. What? No Ozzy? No Jude Law? No K-Fed?