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.
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Murders of Hollywood | Self (archive footage) | 2003-01-01 |
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Murderers, Mobsters, & Madmen: Volume 6: Hollywood Police Files | (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1992-01-01 |
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Death In Hollywood | 1990-10-01 | |
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Death Scenes | Self (archive footage) | 1989-01-01 |
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Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies | (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1988-09-19 |
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Yesterday and Today | (archive footage) | 1953-12-02 |
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Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10) | Self (archive footage) | 1942-01-01 |
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An All American Toothache | Thelma Alice Todd | 1936-01-25 |
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The Bohemian Girl | Gypsy Queen's Daughter | 1936-02-14 |
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The Misses Stooge | Thelma Todd | 1935-04-20 |
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Twin Triplets | Thelma | 1935-10-12 |
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Two for Tonight | Lilly | 1935-09-12 |
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The Tin Man | Thelma Todd | 1935-03-30 |
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Treasure Blues | Thelma | 1935-01-26 |
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After the Dance | Mabel Kane | 1935-06-25 |
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Top Flat | Thelma Todd | 1935-12-21 |
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Hot Money | Miss Thelma Todd | 1935-11-16 |
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Sing Sister Sing | Thelma | 1935-03-02 |
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Slightly Static | Thelma | 1935-09-07 |
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Palooka | Trixie | 1934-01-26 |
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Take the Stand | Miss Sally Oxford | 1934-08-07 |
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One-Horse Farmers | Thelma | 1934-08-01 |
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Soup and Fish | Miss Thelma Todd | 1934-03-30 |
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Maid in Hollywood | Thelma | 1934-05-19 |
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The Poor Rich | Gwendolyn Fetherstone | 1934-02-25 |
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Opened by Mistake | Thelma | 1934-10-05 |
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Hips, Hips, Hooray! | Miss Amelia Frisby | 1934-02-02 |
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Bum Voyage | Thelma | 1934-12-15 |
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I'll Be Suing You | Miss Todd | 1934-06-23 |
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Done in Oil | Thelma Todd aka Mlle. La Todd | 1934-11-10 |
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Cockeyed Cavaliers | Lady Genevieve | 1934-06-29 |
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Three Chumps Ahead | Thelma Todd | 1934-07-14 |
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Lightning Strikes Twice | Judy Nelson | 1934-12-07 |
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Babes in the Goods | Thelma Todd | 1934-02-10 |
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Bottoms Up | Judith Marlowe | 1934-04-12 |
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You Made Me Love You | Pamela Berne | 1933-10-01 |
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Air Fright | Thelma | 1933-12-23 |
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Beauty and the Bus | Thelma | 1933-09-16 |
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Backs to Nature | Thelma | 1933-11-14 |
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Maids a la Mode | Miss Todd | 1933-03-04 |
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Cheating Blondes | Anne Merrick / Elaine Manners | 1933-05-01 |
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One Track Minds | Thelma Todd | 1933-05-20 |
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Asleep in the Feet | Thelma | 1933-01-21 |
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Mary Stevens, M.D. | Lois Cavanaugh | 1933-07-22 |
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Son of a Sailor | The Baroness | 1933-11-29 |
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The Devil's Brother | Lady Pamela Rocburg | 1933-05-05 |
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Counsellor at Law | Lillian La Rue | 1933-12-25 |
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Air Hostess | Mrs. Sylvia C. Carleton | 1933-01-15 |
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The Bargain of the Century | Thelma | 1933-04-08 |
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Sitting Pretty | Gloria Duval | 1933-11-23 |
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The Old Bull | Thelma | 1932-06-04 |
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The Soilers | Thelma | 1932-10-29 |
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Call Her Savage | Sunny De Lane | 1932-11-24 |
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Klondike | Klondike | 1932-08-29 |
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This Is the Night | Claire Mathewson | 1932-04-08 |
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Sneak Easily | Miss Thelma Todd - Attorney for the Defense | 1932-12-10 |
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Horse Feathers | Connie Bailey | 1932-08-19 |
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Alum and Eve | Thelma | 1932-09-24 |
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Speak Easily | Eleanor Espere | 1932-08-13 |
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Sealskins | Thelma Todd | 1932-02-06 |
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Strictly Unreliable | Miss Thelma Todd | 1932-04-30 |
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The Big Timer | Kay Mitchell | 1932-03-10 |
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The Nickel Nurser | Thelma Todd | 1932-03-12 |
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Red Noses | Miss Todd | 1932-03-18 |
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Deception | Lola Del Mont | 1932-11-04 |
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Show Business | Thelma | 1932-08-20 |
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Corsair | Alison Corning | 1931-11-28 |
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Let's Do Things | Thelma Todd | 1931-06-06 |
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Chickens Come Home | Mrs. Hardy (uncredited) | 1931-02-21 |
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No Limit | Betty Royce | 1931-01-15 |
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Monkey Business | Lucille Briggs | 1931-09-19 |
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On the Loose | Thelma | 1931-12-26 |
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Aloha | Winifred Bradford | 1931-04-26 |
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Rough Seas | Antoinette | 1931-04-24 |
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The Pajama Party | Thelma | 1931-10-03 |
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The Pip from Pittsburg | Thelma | 1931-03-21 |
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The Hot Heiress | Lola | 1931-03-28 |
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Broadminded | Gertie Gardner | 1931-08-01 |
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Swanee River | Caroline | 1931-03-15 |
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War Mamas | Thelma | 1931-11-14 |
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Catch-As Catch-Can | Thelma | 1931-08-22 |
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Command Performance | Lydia | 1931-01-19 |
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The Maltese Falcon | Iva Archer | 1931-05-23 |
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Love Fever | Thelma Todd | 1931-04-11 |
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Looser Than Loose | Thelma, Charley's Fiancee | 1930-11-15 |
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All Teed Up | Thelma | 1930-04-16 |
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The Fighting Parson | The Blonde Dance Hall Girl | 1930-02-06 |
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High C's | Antoinette | 1930-12-27 |
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Dollar Dizzy | Thelma Todd | 1930-10-03 |
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The King | The Queen | 1930-06-14 |
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The Real McCoy | Thelma | 1930-02-01 |
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Her Man | Nelly | 1930-09-21 |
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The Shrimp | Jim's Girlfriend | 1930-05-03 |
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Another Fine Mess | Lady Plumtree (uncredited) | 1930-11-29 |
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The Head Guy | The Star | 1930-01-11 |
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Whispering Whoopee | Miss Todd | 1930-03-08 |
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Follow Thru | Ruth Van Horn | 1930-09-26 |
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Crazy Feet | Dancer | 1929-09-07 |
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Trial Marriage | Grace Logan | 1929-03-10 |
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Her Private Life | Mrs. Leslie | 1929-08-25 |
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Stepping Out | Charley's Wife | 1929-11-02 |
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Unaccustomed as We Are | Mrs. Kennedy | 1929-05-04 |
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Hal Roach Presents Harry Langdon | The Woman | 1929-04-01 |
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Sky Boy | 1929-10-05 | |
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The Bachelor Girl | Gladys | 1929-05-20 |
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Seven Footprints to Satan | Eve | 1929-01-27 |
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Hurdy Gurdy | Blondie | 1929-05-10 |
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Look Out Below | Thelma | 1929-08-17 |
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Snappy Sneezer | Mary White | 1929-07-29 |
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House of Horror | Thelma | 1929-04-28 |
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Hotter Than Hot | 1929-08-17 | |
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Careers | Hortense | 1929-06-02 |
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The Noose | Phyllis | 1928-01-29 |
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Heart to Heart | Ruby Boyd | 1928-07-22 |
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The Crash | Daisy McQueen | 1928-10-07 |
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The Haunted House | The Nurse | 1928-11-04 |
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Vamping Venus | Madame Vanezlos the Dancer / Venus | 1928-05-13 |
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Naughty Baby | Bonnie Le Vonne | 1928-12-16 |
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The Shield of Honor | Rose aka Flora Fisher | 1927-12-10 |
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Nevada | Hettie Ide | 1927-08-01 |
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The Gay Defender | Ruth Ainsworth | 1927-12-10 |
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Fireman, Save My Child | (uncredited) | 1927-08-01 |
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Rubber Heels | Princess Aline | 1927-06-11 |
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God Gave Me Twenty Cents | Dance-Hall Girl (uncredited) | 1926-11-20 |
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Fascinating Youth | Lorraine Lane | 1926-03-17 |
