1906-07-29 Lawrence, Massachusetts, USA
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.
 |
Hollywood's Hidden Secrets | (archive footage) | 1987-01-01 |
 |
Yesterday and Today | (archive footage) | 1953-12-02 |
 |
Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10) | Self (archive footage) | 1942-01-01 |
|
An All American Toothache | Thelma Alice Todd | 1936-01-25 |
 |
The Bohemian Girl | Gypsy Queen's Daughter | 1936-02-14 |
 |
The Misses Stooge | Thelma Todd | 1935-04-20 |
 |
Twin Triplets | Thelma | 1935-10-12 |
 |
Sing Sister Sing | Thelma | 1935-03-02 |
 |
The Tin Man | Thelma Todd | 1935-03-30 |
 |
Two for Tonight | Lilly | 1935-09-12 |
 |
Top Flat | Thelma Todd | 1935-12-21 |
|
Hot Money | Miss Thelma Todd | 1935-11-16 |
 |
Treasure Blues | Thelma | 1935-01-26 |
 |
After the Dance | Mabel Kane | 1935-06-25 |
 |
Slightly Static | Thelma | 1935-09-07 |
 |
Bottoms Up | Judith Marlowe | 1934-04-12 |
 |
Babes in the Goods | Thelma Todd | 1934-02-10 |
 |
Maid in Hollywood | Thelma | 1934-05-19 |
 |
Take the Stand | Miss Sally Oxford | 1934-08-07 |
 |
Soup and Fish | Miss Thelma Todd | 1934-03-30 |
|
Opened by Mistake | Thelma | 1934-10-05 |
|
I'll Be Suing You | Miss Todd | 1934-06-23 |
 |
Bum Voyage | Thelma | 1934-12-15 |
|
One-Horse Farmers | Thelma | 1934-08-01 |
 |
Done in Oil | Thelma Todd aka Mlle. La Todd | 1934-11-10 |
 |
Three Chumps Ahead | Thelma Todd | 1934-07-14 |
 |
Palooka | Trixie | 1934-01-26 |
 |
Lightning Strikes Twice | Judy Nelson | 1934-12-07 |
 |
The Poor Rich | Gwendolyn Fetherstone | 1934-02-25 |
 |
Hips, Hips, Hooray! | Miss Amelia Frisby | 1934-02-02 |
 |
Cockeyed Cavaliers | Lady Genevieve | 1934-06-29 |
 |
Mary Stevens, M.D. | Lois Cavanaugh | 1933-07-22 |
 |
One Track Minds | Thelma Todd | 1933-05-20 |
 |
Beauty and the Bus | Thelma | 1933-09-16 |
 |
Air Hostess | Mrs. Sylvia C. Carleton | 1933-01-15 |
 |
Backs to Nature | Thelma | 1933-11-14 |
 |
Maids a la Mode | Miss Todd | 1933-03-04 |
 |
Counsellor at Law | Lillian La Rue | 1933-12-25 |
 |
The Devil's Brother | Lady Pamela Rocburg | 1933-05-05 |
 |
Asleep in the Feet | Thelma | 1933-01-21 |
 |
Cheating Blondes | Anne Merrick / Elaine Manners | 1933-05-01 |
 |
You Made Me Love You | Pamela Berne | 1933-10-01 |
 |
The Bargain of the Century | Thelma | 1933-04-08 |
 |
Sitting Pretty | Gloria Duval | 1933-11-23 |
 |
Air Fright | Thelma | 1933-12-23 |
 |
Son of a Sailor | The Baroness | 1933-11-29 |
 |
The Old Bull | Thelma | 1932-06-04 |
 |
Deception | Lola Del Mont | 1932-11-04 |
 |
The Nickel Nurser | Thelma Todd | 1932-03-12 |
 |
Speak Easily | Eleanor Espere | 1932-08-13 |
 |
Sneak Easily | Miss Thelma Todd - Attorney for the Defense | 1932-12-10 |
 |
This Is the Night | Claire Mathewson | 1932-04-08 |
 |
Strictly Unreliable | Miss Thelma Todd | 1932-04-30 |
 |
Alum and Eve | Thelma | 1932-09-24 |
 |
Horse Feathers | Connie Bailey | 1932-08-19 |
 |
The Soilers | Thelma | 1932-10-29 |
 |
Klondike | Klondike | 1932-08-29 |
 |
Show Business | Thelma | 1932-08-20 |
 |
Sealskins | Thelma Todd | 1932-02-06 |
 |
Red Noses | Miss Todd | 1932-03-18 |
 |
The Big Timer | Kay Mitchell | 1932-03-10 |
 |
Call Her Savage | Sunny De Lane | 1932-11-24 |
 |
On the Loose | Thelma | 1931-12-26 |
 |
Let's Do Things | Thelma Todd | 1931-06-06 |
 |
Chickens Come Home | Mrs. Hardy | 1931-02-21 |
 |
The Pip from Pittsburg | Thelma | 1931-03-21 |
 |
No Limit | Betty Royce | 1931-01-15 |
 |
Rough Seas | Antoinette | 1931-04-24 |
 |
Broadminded | Gertie Gardner | 1931-08-01 |
|
Swanee River | Caroline | 1931-03-15 |
 |
Aloha | Winifred Bradford | 1931-04-26 |
 |
The Hot Heiress | Lola | 1931-03-28 |
 |
The Maltese Falcon | Iva Archer | 1931-05-23 |
 |
Command Performance | Lydia | 1931-01-19 |
 |
Monkey Business | Lucille Briggs | 1931-09-19 |
 |
The Pajama Party | Thelma | 1931-10-03 |
 |
War Mamas | Thelma | 1931-11-14 |
 |
Corsair | Alison Corning | 1931-11-28 |
 |
Love Fever | Thelma Todd | 1931-04-11 |
 |
Catch-As Catch-Can | Thelma | 1931-08-22 |
 |
The King | The Queen | 1930-06-14 |
 |
Looser Than Loose | Thelma, Charley's Fiancee | 1930-11-15 |
 |
The Head Guy | The Star | 1930-01-11 |
 |
The Shrimp | Jim's Girlfriend | 1930-05-03 |
 |
High C's | Antoinette | 1930-12-27 |
 |
Follow Thru | Ruth Van Horn | 1930-09-26 |
 |
The Fighting Parson | The Blonde Dance Hall Girl | 1930-02-06 |
 |
All Teed Up | Thelma | 1930-04-16 |
 |
Dollar Dizzy | Thelma Todd | 1930-10-03 |
 |
Another Fine Mess | Lady Plumtree (uncredited) | 1930-11-29 |
 |
Her Man | Nelly | 1930-09-21 |
 |
Whispering Whoopee | Miss Todd | 1930-03-08 |
 |
The Real McCoy | Thelma | 1930-02-01 |
 |
Crazy Feet | Dancer | 1929-09-07 |
 |
Trial Marriage | Grace Logan | 1929-03-10 |
 |
The Bachelor Girl | Gladys | 1929-05-20 |
 |
Hal Roach Presents Harry Langdon | The Woman | 1929-04-01 |
 |
Stepping Out | Charley's Wife | 1929-11-02 |
 |
House of Horror | Thelma | 1929-04-28 |
 |
Her Private Life | Mrs. Leslie | 1929-08-25 |
 |
Sky Boy | 1929-10-05 | |
 |
Unaccustomed as We Are | Mrs. Kennedy | 1929-05-04 |
 |
Careers | Hortense | 1929-06-02 |
 |
Snappy Sneezer | Mary White | 1929-07-29 |
|
Look Out Below | Thelma | 1929-08-17 |
 |
Hotter Than Hot | 1929-08-17 | |
 |
Hurdy Gurdy | Blondie | 1929-05-10 |
 |
Seven Footprints to Satan | Eve | 1929-01-27 |
 |
The Haunted House | The Nurse | 1928-11-04 |
 |
Naughty Baby | Bonnie Le Vonne | 1928-12-16 |
 |
The Noose | Phyllis | 1928-01-29 |
 |
Heart to Heart | Ruby Boyd | 1928-07-22 |
 |
The Crash | Daisy McQueen | 1928-10-07 |
 |
Vamping Venus | Madame Vanezlos the Dancer / Venus | 1928-05-13 |
 |
The Shield of Honor | Rose aka Flora Fisher | 1927-12-10 |
 |
The Gay Defender | Ruth Ainsworth | 1927-12-10 |
 |
Nevada | Hettie Ide | 1927-08-01 |
 |
Fireman, Save My Child | (uncredited) | 1927-08-01 |
 |
Rubber Heels | Princess Aline | 1927-06-11 |
 |
Fascinating Youth | Lorraine Lane | 1926-03-17 |
 |
God Gave Me Twenty Cents | Dance-Hall Girl (uncredited) | 1926-11-20 |
