Thelma Todd
Encyclopedia
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 like 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 (The Bohemian Girl
) featured her in a part that was truncated by her death.
to Jim and Bertha 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.
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.
, 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 last night of her life 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 DeCicco. 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 committing suicide
.
The detectives of the LAPD
concluded at first 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. Other evidence, however, pointed to foul play. The Grand Jury ruled her death as suicide. Since her body was cremated, a second, more thorough autopsy could not be carried out. It was believed that she was the target of extortion, but refused to pay. It is also possible that she was locked in the garage by her assailant after she started the car. Blood from a wound was found on her face and dress, leading some to believe that she was knocked unconscious and placed in the car so that she would succumb to carbon monoxide poisoning.
Todd's death certificate states her cause of death as accidental carbon monoxide poisoning
. She was cremated; after her mother's death, her remains were placed in her mother's casket and buried in Bellevue Cemetery in her home town of Lawrence, Massachusetts.
Complicating matters, there was an apparent murder two years later involving Todd's ex-husband Pat DiCicco and another movie actor as the victim. According to E.J. Fleming's book The Fixers (about MGM's legendary "fixers" Eddie Mannix
and Howard Strickling
), Wallace Beery
(one of MGM's top stars), gangster Pat DiCicco, and Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli
(who was also DiCicco's cousin and eventual producer of the James Bond
films) allegedly beat comedian and movie actor Ted Healy
to death in the parking lot of the Trocadero
nightclub on December 21, 1937. The book claims that Beery was sent to Europe
by the studio for a few months, while a story was concocted that three college students had killed Healy. Immigration records confirm a four-month-long trip to Europe on Beery's part immediately after Healy's death, ending April 17, 1938. A pencil drawing of Beery survives that was done on a film set by Healy, an amateur artist as well as the organizer and original leader of the Three Stooges
.
For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Thelma Todd has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
at 6262 Hollywood Blvd.
Marx Brothers
The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act, originally from New York City, that enjoyed success in Vaudeville, Broadway, and motion pictures from the early 1900s to around 1950...
' Monkey Business
Monkey Business (1931 film)
Monkey Business is a 1931 comedy film. It is the third of the Marx Brothers' released movies, and the first not to be an adaptation of one of their Broadway shows. The film stars the four brothers: Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, and Zeppo Marx, and screen comedienne Thelma Todd. It is...
and Horse Feathers
Horse Feathers
Horse Feathers is a Marx Brothers film comedy. It stars the four Marx Brothers and Thelma Todd. It was written by Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, S. J. Perelman, and Will B. Johnstone. Kalmar and Ruby also wrote some of the original music for the film...
, a number of Charley Chase
Charley Chase
Charley Chase was an American comedian, actor, screenwriter and film director, best known for his work in Hal Roach short film comedies...
's short comedies, and co-starring with Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
and Jimmy Durante
Jimmy Durante
James Francis "Jimmy" Durante was an American singer, pianist, comedian and actor. His distinctive clipped gravelly speech, comic language butchery, jazz-influenced songs, and large nose helped make him one of America's most familiar and popular personalities of the 1920s through the 1970s...
in Speak Easily
Speak Easily
Speak Easily is a 1932 American comedy film starring Buster Keaton, Jimmy Durante, and Thelma Todd, and directed by Edward Sedgwick. The studio also paired Keaton and Durante as a comedy team during this period in The Passionate Plumber and What! No Beer? Keaton later used many of the physical...
. She also had roles in Wheeler and Woolsey farces, several Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...
films, the last of which (The Bohemian Girl
The Bohemian Girl (1936 film)
The Bohemian Girl is a 1936 feature film version of the opera The Bohemian Girl by Michael William Balfe. It was produced at the Hal Roach Studios, and stars Laurel and Hardy and Thelma Todd in her last role before her death.-Plot:...
) featured her in a part that was truncated by her death.
Early life
Todd was born in Lawrence, MassachusettsLawrence, Massachusetts
Lawrence is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States on the Merrimack River. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a total population of 76,377. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and North Andover to the southeast. It and Salem are...
to Jim and Bertha 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.
Career
During the silent 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 RoachHal Roach
Harold Eugene "Hal" Roach, Sr. was an American film and television producer and director, and from the 1910s to the 1990s.- Early life and career :Hal Roach was born in Elmira, New York...
signed her to appear with such comedy stars as Harry Langdon
Harry Langdon
Harry Philmore Langdon was an American comedian who appeared in vaudeville, silent films , and talkies. He was briefly partnered with Oliver Hardy.-Life and career:...
, Charley Chase
Charley Chase
Charley Chase was an American comedian, actor, screenwriter and film director, best known for his work in Hal Roach short film comedies...
, and Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...
. In 1931 she was given her own series, teaming with ZaSu Pitts
ZaSu Pitts
ZaSu Pitts was an American actress who starred in many silent dramas and comedies, transitioning to comedy sound films.-Early life:ZaSu Pitts was born in Parsons, Kansas to Rulandus and Nellie Pitts; she was the third of four children...
for slapstick comedies. This was Roach's attempt to create a female version of Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...
. When Pitts left Roach in 1933, she was replaced by Patsy Kelly
Patsy Kelly
Patsy Kelly was an American stage and film comedic actress.-Early life and career:Kelly was born Sarah Veronica Rose Kelly in Brooklyn, New York to Irish immigrants, John and Delia Kelly, and made her Broadway debut in 1928...
. 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
Roland West
For the basketball player, see Roland West Roland West was a Hollywood director known for his innovative film noir movies of the 1920s and early 1930s.-Biography:...
, and starred in his film Corsair
Corsair (film)
Corsair is a 1931 American film directed by Roland West. The film is based on the novel Corsair by Walton Green.-Cast:*Chester Morris as John Hawks*Thelma Todd as Alison Corning*Fred Kohler as Big John*Ned Sparks as Slim...
.
Thelma Todd became highly regarded as a capable film comedian, and Roach loaned her out to other studios to play opposite Wheeler & Woolsey
Wheeler & Woolsey
Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey were a famous American film comedy team of the 1930s....
, Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
, Joe E. Brown
Joe E. Brown (comedian)
Joseph Evans Brown was an American actor and comedian, remembered for his amiable screen persona, comic timing, and enormous smile. In 1902 at the age of nine, he joined a troupe of circus tumblers known as the Five Marvelous Ashtons which toured the country on both the circus and vaudeville...
, and the Marx Brothers
Marx Brothers
The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act, originally from New York City, that enjoyed success in Vaudeville, Broadway, and motion pictures from the early 1900s to around 1950...
. She also appeared successfully in such dramas as the original 1931
1931 in film
-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:*Best Picture: Cimarron - MGM*Best Actor: Lionel Barrymore - A Free Soul*Best Actor: Wallace Beery - The Champ*Best Actor: Fredric March - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...
film version of The Maltese Falcon
The Maltese Falcon (1931 film)
The Maltese Falcon is a 1931 American Warner Bros. Pre-Code crime film based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett. The movie was directed by Roy Del Ruth and stars Bebe Daniels in the role of Ruth Wonderly and Ricardo Cortez as private detective Sam Spade.Maude Fulton, Brown Holmes,...
starring Ricardo Cortez
Ricardo Cortez
Jacob Krantz , known by his stage name Ricardo Cortez, was an American film actor who began his career during the silent era.-Life and career:...
as Sam Spade
Sam Spade
Sam Spade is a fictional character who is the protagonist of Dashiell Hammett's 1930 novel The Maltese Falcon and the various films and adaptations based on it, as well as in three lesser known short stories by Hammett....
, 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
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...
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 Monday, December 16, 1935, Thelma Todd was found dead in her car inside the garage of Jewel CarmenJewel Carmen
-Early life and career:Born Florence Lavina Quick in Danville, Kentucky, Carmen made her film debut in the 1912 film The Will of Destiny. She went on to appear in Daphne and the Pirate , opposite Lillian Gish and D. W...
, a former actress and former wife of Todd's lover and business partner, Roland West
Roland West
For the basketball player, see Roland West Roland West was a Hollywood director known for his innovative film noir movies of the 1920s and early 1930s.-Biography:...
. 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
Carbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs after enough inhalation of carbon monoxide . Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas, but, being colorless, odorless, tasteless, and initially non-irritating, it is very difficult for people to detect...
. Todd had a wide circle of friends and associates as well as a busy social life; police investigations revealed that she had spent the last night of her life at the Trocadero
Trocadero (Los Angeles)
In West Hollywood, California, the Cafe Trocadero was the center of jitterbug in the 1930s. Today, a " new" Trocadero stands as a nightclub at 8610 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip...
, a popular Hollywood restaurant, at a party hosted by entertainer Stanley Lupino
Stanley Lupino
Stanley Lupino was an English actor, dancer, singer, librettist, director and short story writer.-Early career:Lupino began his career as an acrobat and made his stage debut in 1913 and first became known as a music hall performer and played in pantomimes at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane...
and his actress daughter, Ida
Ida Lupino
Ida Lupino was an English-born film actress and director, and a pioneer among women filmmakers. In her 48-year career, she appeared in 59 films and directed seven others, mostly in the United States. She appeared in serial television programmes 58 times and directed 50 other episodes...
. At the restaurant, she had had a brief but unpleasant exchange with her ex-husband, Pat DeCicco. 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 committing suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
.
The detectives of the LAPD
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
concluded at first 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. Other evidence, however, pointed to foul play. The Grand Jury ruled her death as suicide. Since her body was cremated, a second, more thorough autopsy could not be carried out. It was believed that she was the target of extortion, but refused to pay. It is also possible that she was locked in the garage by her assailant after she started the car. Blood from a wound was found on her face and dress, leading some to believe that she was knocked unconscious and placed in the car so that she would succumb to carbon monoxide poisoning.
Todd's death certificate states her cause of death as accidental carbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs after enough inhalation of carbon monoxide . Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas, but, being colorless, odorless, tasteless, and initially non-irritating, it is very difficult for people to detect...
. She was cremated; after her mother's death, her remains were placed in her mother's casket and buried in Bellevue Cemetery in her home town of Lawrence, Massachusetts.
Complicating matters, there was an apparent murder two years later involving Todd's ex-husband Pat DiCicco and another movie actor as the victim. According to E.J. Fleming's book The Fixers (about MGM's legendary "fixers" Eddie Mannix
Eddie Mannix
Edgar Joseph "Eddie" Mannix was an American film studio executive....
and Howard Strickling
Howard Strickling
Howard Strickling served as head of publicity for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer pictures from the late 1920s into the early 1950s....
), Wallace Beery
Wallace Beery
Wallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill opposite Marie Dressler, as Long John Silver in Treasure Island, as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa!, and his titular role in The Champ, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
(one of MGM's top stars), gangster Pat DiCicco, and Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli
Albert R. Broccoli
Albert Romolo Broccoli, CBE , nicknamed "Cubby", was an American film producer, who made more than 40 motion pictures throughout his career, most of them in the United Kingdom, and often filmed at Pinewood Studios. Co-founder of Danjaq, LLC and EON Productions, Broccoli is most notable as the...
(who was also DiCicco's cousin and eventual producer of the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
films) allegedly beat comedian and movie actor Ted Healy
Ted Healy
Ted Healy was an American vaudeville performer, comedian, and actor. He is chiefly remembered today as the original creator of the Three Stooges, but had a successful stage and film career of his own.- Early life :...
to death in the parking lot of the Trocadero
Trocadero
The stylish connotations of the name "Trocadero" derive from the Battle of Trocadero in southern Spain, a citadel held by liberal Spanish forces that was taken by the French troops sent by Charles X, in 1823...
nightclub on December 21, 1937. The book claims that Beery was sent to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
by the studio for a few months, while a story was concocted that three college students had killed Healy. Immigration records confirm a four-month-long trip to Europe on Beery's part immediately after Healy's death, ending April 17, 1938. A pencil drawing of Beery survives that was done on a film set by Healy, an amateur artist as well as the organizer and original leader of the Three Stooges
Three Stooges
The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy act of the early to mid–20th century best known for their numerous short subject films. Their hallmark was physical farce and extreme slapstick. In films, the Stooges were commonly known by their first names: "Moe, Larry, and Curly" and "Moe,...
.
For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Thelma Todd has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
at 6262 Hollywood Blvd.
Selected filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | Fascinating Youth Fascinating Youth Fascinating Youth is a 1926 silent drama film directed by Sam Wood and featuring Thelma Todd and Josephine Dunn in supporting roles. It was produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures Many well known personalities make guest appearances in this film judging a beauty... |
Lorraine Lane | |
| 1927 | Fireman, Save My Child Fireman, Save My Child Fireman, Save My Child is a 1927 film featuring the part-time screen comedy team of Wallace Beery and Raymond Hatton. The film was written by Monte Brice and Thomas J. Geraghty, and directed by A. Edward Sutherland... |
Uncredited | |
| 1928 | Phyllis | ||
| 1928 | Abie's Irish Rose Abie's Irish Rose (film) Abie's Irish Rose is a 1928 early talking film directed by Victor Fleming, based on the play of the same title by Anne Nichols. It tells the story of a Jewish boy, Abie Levy, who falls in love with and secretly marries Rosemary Murphy, an Irish Catholic girl, but lies to his family, saying that... |
||
| 1929 | Seven Footprints to Satan | Eve | |
| 1929 | Unaccustomed As We Are Unaccustomed As We Are Unaccustomed As We Are is a 1929 comedy short film starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, also featuring Mae Busch , Edgar Kennedy , and Thelma Todd... |
Mrs. Kennedy | Short film |
| 1930 | Her Man | Nelly | |
| 1930 | Another Fine Mess Another Fine Mess For the comedy short starring Laurel and Hardy, see Another Fine MessAnother Fine Mess is the first major live release by British folk metal band Skyclad... |
Lady Plumtree | Short film |
| 1931 | Chickens Come Home Chickens Come Home Chickens Come Home is a 1931 short film starring Laurel and Hardy, directed by James W. Horne and produced by Hal Roach. It was shot in January, 1931 and released on February 21, 1931... |
Mrs. Hardy | Short film |
| 1931 | No Limit No Limit (1931 film) No Limit is a 1931 comedy film starring Clara Bow, Norman Foster, Stuart Erwin, Thelma Todd, Dixie Lee, and Mischa Auer.-Cast:*Clara Bow - Helen 'Bunny' O'Day*Norman Foster - Douglas Thayer*Stuart Erwin - Ole Olson*Dixie Lee - Dotty 'Dodo' Potter... |
Betty Royce | |
| 1931 | Iva Archer | Alternative title: Dangerous Female | |
| 1931 | Corsair Corsair (film) Corsair is a 1931 American film directed by Roland West. The film is based on the novel Corsair by Walton Green.-Cast:*Chester Morris as John Hawks*Thelma Todd as Alison Corning*Fred Kohler as Big John*Ned Sparks as Slim... |
Alison Corning | |
| 1931 | Monkey Business Monkey Business (1931 film) Monkey Business is a 1931 comedy film. It is the third of the Marx Brothers' released movies, and the first not to be an adaptation of one of their Broadway shows. The film stars the four brothers: Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, and Zeppo Marx, and screen comedienne Thelma Todd. It is... |
Lucille Briggs | |
| 1931 | On the Loose On the Loose (1931 film) On The Loose is a comedy film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, produced and directed by Hal Roach, and starring Zasu Pitts and Thelma Todd. The short film features a cameo appearance by Laurel and Hardy.- Plot :... |
Thelma | Short subject |
| 1931 | Broadminded | Gertie Gardner | |
| 1932 | Kay Mitchell | ||
| 1932 | This Is the Night This Is the Night (film) This Is the Night is a 1932 comedy film made by Paramount Pictures, and directed by Frank Tuttle.The film stars Lili Damita, Charles Ruggles, Roland Young, Thelma Todd, and Cary Grant.... |
Claire | |
| 1932 | Horse Feathers Horse Feathers Horse Feathers is a Marx Brothers film comedy. It stars the four Marx Brothers and Thelma Todd. It was written by Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, S. J. Perelman, and Will B. Johnstone. Kalmar and Ruby also wrote some of the original music for the film... |
Connie Bailey | |
| 1932 | Speak Easily Speak Easily Speak Easily is a 1932 American comedy film starring Buster Keaton, Jimmy Durante, and Thelma Todd, and directed by Edward Sedgwick. The studio also paired Keaton and Durante as a comedy team during this period in The Passionate Plumber and What! No Beer? Keaton later used many of the physical... |
Eleanor Espere | |
| 1932 | Call Her Savage Call Her Savage Call Her Savage is a Pre-Code drama film directed by John Francis Dillon and starring Clara Bow as a wild young woman who rebels against the man she believes to be her father... |
Sunny De Lane | |
| 1933 | You Made Me Love You You Made Me Love You (film) You Made Me Love You is a 1933 British comedy film directed by Monty Banks and starring Stanley Lupino, Thelma Todd and John Loder. The plot is a modern remorkwing of William Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew.-Cast:* Stanley Lupino - Tom Daly... |
Pamela Berne | |
| 1933 | Fra Diavolo Fra Diavolo (1933 film) The Devil's Brother or Bogus Bandits or Fra Diavolo is a 1933 comedy film starring Laurel and Hardy. It is based on Daniel Auber's operetta Fra Diavolo about the Italian bandit Fra Diavolo.-Plot:... |
Lady Pamela Rocburg | Alternative titles: Bogus Bandits The Devil's Brother |
| 1933 | Sitting Pretty Sitting Pretty (1933 film) This article is about the 1933 motion picture. For other articles about other uses of the phrase "Sitty Pretty", see the disambiguation page Sitting Pretty .... |
Gloria Duval | |
| 1933 | Counsellor at Law Counsellor at Law Counsellor at Law is a 1933 American drama film directed by William Wyler. The screenplay by Elmer Rice is based on his 1931 play of the same title.-Plot:... |
Lillian La Rue | |
| 1934 | Palooka Palooka (film) Palooka is a 1934 comedy film directed by Benjamin Stoloff starring Jimmy Durante. It is based on the comic strip by Ham Fisher. The movie was adapted by Jack Jevne, Arthur Kober, Gertrude Purcell, Murray Roth and Ben Ryan from the comic strip... |
Trixie | Alternative titles: Joe Palooka The Great Schnozzle |
| 1934 | Hips, Hips, Hooray! Hips, Hips, Hooray! Hips, Hips, Hooray! is a 1934 slapstick comedy film starring Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Ruth Etting, Thelma Todd, and Dorothy Lee. During its initial theatrical run, it was preceded by the two-color Technicolor short Not Tonight, Josephine directed by Edward F. Cline.-Plot:Todd stars as Amelia... |
Amelia Frisby | |
| 1935 | Two for Tonight Two for Tonight Two for Tonight is a 1935 musical comedy film made by Paramount Pictures, directed by Frank Tuttle, produced by Douglas MacLean. The film stars Bing Crosby and Joan Bennett. The music is by Mack Gordon and Harry Revel.-Cast:... |
Lilly | |
| 1936 | Gypsy queen's daughter |
External links
- Thelma Todd Photo Gallery
- Paulist Productions Page For Todd Building Contains pic and brief text concerning her death and the building her cafe was located in, still standing today.
- The Mysterious Death of Thelma Todd. Los Angeles: Past, Present and Future Project, USC.
- Photographs and literature