Thelma Alice Todd was an American actress. Appearing in about 120 pictures
between 1926 and 1935, she is best remembered for her comedic roles in
films such as Marx Brothers' Monkey Business and Horse Feathers, a number of
Charley Chase's short comedies, and co-starring with Buster Keaton and Jimmy
Durante in Speak Easily. She also had roles in Wheeler and Woolsey farces,
several Laurel and Hardy films, the last of which featured her in a part that was
truncated by her suspicious death at the age of 29.
Early life Todd was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts
to John and Alice Todd, and was a bright student who achieved good academic
results. She intended to become a school teacher. However, in her late teens, she
began entering beauty pageants, winning the title of Miss Massachusetts in 1925.
While representing her home state, she was spotted by a Hollywood talent scout
and began her career in film at Paramount.
Career During the silent film era, Todd
appeared in numerous supporting roles that made full use of her beauty but
gave her little chance to act. With the advent of the talkies, Todd was given
opportunity to expand her roles when producer Hal Roach signed her to appear
with such comedy stars as Harry Langdon, Charley Chase, and Laurel and Hardy. In
1931 she was given her own series, teaming with ZaSu Pitts for slapstick
comedies. This was Roach's attempt to create a female version of Laurel and
Hardy. When Pitts left Roach in 1933, she was replaced by Patsy Kelly. The
Todd shorts often cast her as a working girl having all sorts of problems, and
trying her best to remain poised and charming despite the embarrassing antics
of her sidekick. In 1931, Todd became romantically
involved with director Roland West, and starred in his film Corsair.
Thelma Todd became highly regarded as a capable film comedian, and Roach loaned
her out to other studios to play opposite Wheeler & Woolsey, Buster
Keaton, Joe E. Brown, and the Marx Brothers. She also appeared successfully
in such dramas as the original 1931 film version of The Maltese Falcon starring
Ricardo Cortez as Sam Spade, in which she played Miles Archer's treacherous
widow. During her career she appeared in 119 films although many of these were
short films, and was sometimes publicized as "The Ice Cream Blonde."
In August 1934, she opened a successful cafe at Pacific Palisades, called Thelma
Todd's Sidewalk Cafe, attracting a diverse clientele of Hollywood
celebrities as well as many tourists. Todd continued her short-subject series
through 1935, and was featured in the full-length Laurel and Hardy comedy The
Bohemian Girl. This was her last film; she died after completing all of her
scenes, but most of them were re-shot. Producer Roach deleted all of Todd's
dialogue and limited her appearance to one musical number.
= Death= On the morning of December 16, 1935,
Thelma Todd was found dead in her car inside the garage of Jewel Carmen, a
former actress and former wife of Todd's lover and business partner, Roland West.
Carmen's house was approximately a block from the topmost side of Todd's
restaurant. Her death was determined to have been caused by carbon monoxide
poisoning. Todd had a wide circle of friends and associates as well as a busy
social life. Police investigations revealed that she had spent the previous
Saturday night at the Trocadero, a popular Hollywood restaurant, at a party
hosted by entertainer Stanley Lupino and his actress daughter, Ida. At the
restaurant, she had had a brief but unpleasant exchange with her ex-husband,
Pat DiCicco. However, her friends stated that she was in good spirits, and were
aware of nothing unusual in her life that could suggest a reason for her
committing suicide. She was driven home from the party in the early hours of
December 15 by her chauffeur. The detectives of the LAPD concluded
that Todd's death was accidental, the result of her either warming up the car
to drive it or using the heater to keep herself warm. A Coroner's Inquest into
Todd's death was held on December 18, 1935. Autopsy surgeon A.P. Wagner
testified that there were "no marks of violence anywhere upon or within the
body" with only a "superficial contusion on the lower lip." The jury ruled that
the death appeared to be accidental but recommended "further investigation to be
made into the case, by proper authorities."
Subsequently a grand jury probe was held to determine whether Todd's death was a
murder. After four weeks of testimony, the inquiry was closed with no evidence
of murder being brought forward. The case was closed by the Homicide Bureau,
which listed the death as "accidental with possible suicide tendencies."
However, investigators were unable to find any motive for suicide or a suicide
note. In her book Hot Toddy: The True Story of
Hollywood's Most Sensational Murder, author Andy Edmonds argues that known
gangster Charles "Lucky" Luciano was behind Todd's death.
Todd's body was cremated. After her mother's death in 1969, Todd's remains
were placed in her mother's casket and buried in Bellevue Cemetery in her
hometown of Lawrence, Massachusetts. Legacy
For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Todd has a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6262 Hollywood Blvd.
Selected filmography See also
Pitts and Todd References
Further reading Edmonds, Andy. Hot Toddy: The True Story
of Hollywood's Most Sensational Murder. New York: William Morrow and Co. Inc.
ISBN 0-688-08061-8. James Robert Parish and William T.
Leonard; Gregory W. Mank; Charles Hoyt. The Funsters. New Rochelle, New York:
Arlington House. ISBN 0-87000-418-2. External links
Thelma Todd at the Internet Movie Database
Thelma Todd at AllMovie Thelma Todd at the TCM Movie Database
"A Mystery Revisited" Los Angeles Times, May 29, 2002
Thelma Todd at Find a Grave