Thelma Todd
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Female
Birthday
1906-07-29
Day of Death
1935-12-16 (29 years old)
Place of Birth
Lawrence, Massachusetts, USA
Thelma Todd
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thelma Alice Todd (July 29, 1906 – December 16, 1935) 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 (The Bohemian Girl) featured her in a part that was truncated by her suspicious death at the age of 29.
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, Roach cast Todd in her own series of slapstick comedy shorts, running 17 to 27 minutes each. In an attempt to create a female version of Laurel and Hardy, Roach teamed Todd with ZaSu Pitts for 17 shorts, from "Let's do Things" (June 1931) through "One Track Minds" (May 1933). When Pitts left in 1933, she was replaced by Patsy Kelly, appearing with Todd in 21 shorts, from "Beauty and the Bus" (September 1933) through "An All American Toothache" (January 1936). These Roach shorts often cast Todd 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.
Todd 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."
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.
Known For
Acting
(1987)
Hollywood's Hidden Secrets
as (archive footage)
(1953)
Yesterday and Today
as (archive footage)
(1942)
Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10)
as Self (archive footage)
(1936)
The Bohemian Girl
as Gypsy Queen's Daughter
(1936)
An All American Toothache
as Thelma Alice Todd
(1935)
Twin Triplets
as Thelma
(1935)
Two for Tonight
as Lilly
(1935)
After the Dance
as Mabel Kane
(1935)
The Tin Man
as Thelma Todd
(1935)
Hot Money
as Miss Thelma Todd
(1935)
Top Flat
as Thelma Todd
(1935)
Treasure Blues
as Thelma
(1935)
The Misses Stooge
as Thelma Todd
(1935)
Slightly Static
as Thelma
(1935)
Sing Sister Sing
as Thelma
(1934)
Bottoms Up
as Judith Marlowe
(1934)
Palooka
as Trixie
(1934)
The Poor Rich
as Gwendolyn Fetherstone
(1934)
Bum Voyage
as Thelma
(1934)
I'll Be Suing You
as Miss Todd
(1934)
Lightning Strikes Twice
as Judy Nelson
(1934)
Opened by Mistake
as Thelma
(1934)
Cockeyed Cavaliers
as Lady Genevieve
(1934)
Soup and Fish
as Miss Thelma Todd
(1934)
Take the Stand
as Miss Sally Oxford
(1934)
Maid in Hollywood
as Thelma
(1934)
Three Chumps Ahead
as Thelma Todd
(1934)
One-Horse Farmers
as Thelma
(1934)
Hips, Hips, Hooray!
as Miss Amelia Frisby
(1934)
Done in Oil
as Thelma Todd aka Mlle. La Todd
(1934)
Babes in the Goods
as Thelma Todd
(1933)
Mary Stevens, M.D.
as Lois Cavanaugh
(1933)
The Devil's Brother
as Lady Pamela Rocburg
(1933)
Air Hostess
as Mrs. Sylvia C. Carleton
(1933)
Sitting Pretty
as Gloria Duval
(1933)
Counsellor at Law
as Lillian La Rue
(1933)
Backs to Nature
as Thelma
(1933)
Cheating Blondes
as Anne Merrick / Elaine Manners
(1933)
You Made Me Love You
as Pamela Berne
(1933)
Air Fright
as Thelma
(1933)
The Bargain of the Century
as Thelma
(1933)
Asleep in the Feet
as Thelma
(1933)
Beauty and the Bus
as Thelma
(1933)
Son of a Sailor
as The Baroness
(1933)
Maids a la Mode
as Miss Todd
(1933)
One Track Minds
as Thelma Todd
(1932)
Horse Feathers
as Connie Bailey
(1932)
This Is the Night
as Claire Mathewson
(1932)
Speak Easily
as Eleanor Espere
(1932)
Klondike
as Klondike
(1932)
The Big Timer
as Kay Mitchell
(1932)
Sealskins
as Thelma Todd
(1932)
The Soilers
as Thelma
(1932)
Show Business
as Thelma
(1932)
Call Her Savage
as Sunny De Lane
(1932)
Deception
as Lola Del Mont
(1932)
The Nickel Nurser
as Thelma Todd
(1932)
Alum and Eve
as Thelma
(1932)
The Old Bull
as Thelma
(1932)
Sneak Easily
as Miss Thelma Todd - Attorney for the Defense
(1932)
Strictly Unreliable
as Miss Thelma Todd
(1932)
Red Noses
as Miss Todd
(1931)
Monkey Business
as Lucille Briggs
(1931)
Chickens Come Home
as Mrs. Hardy
(1931)
The Maltese Falcon
as Iva Archer
(1931)
On the Loose
as Thelma
(1931)
Aloha
as Winifred Bradford
(1931)
Corsair
as Alison Corning
(1931)
The Pip from Pittsburg
as Thelma
(1931)
Broadminded
as Gertie Gardner
(1931)
No Limit
as Betty Royce
(1931)
Let's Do Things
as Thelma Todd
(1931)
The Hot Heiress
as Lola
(1931)
Love Fever
as Thelma Todd
(1931)
Catch-As Catch-Can
as Thelma
(1931)
War Mamas
as Thelma
(1931)
Rough Seas
as Antoinette
(1931)
The Pajama Party
as Thelma
(1931)
Command Performance
as Lydia
(1931)
Swanee River
as Caroline
(1930)
Another Fine Mess
as Lady Plumtree (uncredited)
(1930)
Her Man
as Nelly
(1930)
The Shrimp
as Jim's Girlfriend
(1930)
Looser Than Loose
as Thelma, Charley's Fiancee
(1930)
Follow Thru
as Ruth Van Horn
(1930)
All Teed Up
as Thelma
(1930)
Whispering Whoopee
as Miss Todd
(1930)
Dollar Dizzy
as Thelma Todd
(1930)
The Real McCoy
as Thelma
(1930)
High C's
as Antoinette
(1930)
The Fighting Parson
as The Blonde Dance Hall Girl
(1930)
The King
as The Queen
(1930)
The Head Guy
as The Star
(1929)
Crazy Feet
as Dancer
(1929)
Unaccustomed as We Are
as Mrs. Kennedy
(1929)
(1929)
Hurdy Gurdy
as Blondie
(1929)
House of Horror
as Thelma
(1929)
(1929)
Look out Below
as Thelma
(1929)
Her Private Life
as Mrs. Leslie
(1929)
Trial Marriage
as Grace Logan
(1929)
Careers
as Hortense
(1929)
Snappy Sneezer
as Mary White
(1929)
The Bachelor Girl
as Gladys
(1929)
(1929)
Stepping Out
as Charley's Wife
(1929)
Hal Roach Presents Harry Langdon
as The Woman
(1928)
The Noose
as Phyllis
(1928)
Naughty Baby
as Bonnie Le Vonne
(1928)
The Crash
as Daisy McQueen
(1928)
Vamping Venus
as Madame Vanezlos the Dancer / Venus
(1928)
Heart to Heart
as Ruby Boyd
(1928)
The Haunted House
as The Nurse
(1927)
Nevada
as Hettie Ide
(1927)
Rubber Heels
as Princess Aline
(1927)
The Shield of Honor
as Rose aka Flora Fisher
(1927)
Fireman, Save My Child
as (uncredited)
(1927)
The Gay Defender
as Ruth Ainsworth
(1926)
God Gave Me Twenty Cents
as Dance-Hall Girl (uncredited)
(1926)
Fascinating Youth
as Lorraine Lane