Thelma Todd

Acting · 0.8 popularity

Age

120

Movies

125

Born: July 29, 1906 – December 16, 1935
From: Lawrence, Massachusetts, USA

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.

Works

125 films

Careers

192910.0

Cockeyed Cavaliers

19345.8

The Devil's Brother

19336.8

Counsellor at Law

19336.5

Her Man

19305.2

Her Private Life

19293.0

Horse Feathers

19326.9

The Bohemian Girl

19366.1

Call Her Savage

19325.8

Air Hostess

19336.3

Monkey Business

19317.0

The Maltese Falcon

19316.4

Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies

1988

This Is the Night

19325.4

The Gay Defender

19279.0

The Fighting Parson

19307.0

Opened by Mistake

19348.0

Murderers, Mobsters, & Madmen: Volume 6: Hollywood Police Files

19928.0

Maid in Hollywood

19349.0

Chickens Come Home

19316.6

Cheating Blondes

19335.0

The Bachelor Girl

19297.0

The Pajama Party

19317.0

Son of a Sailor

19336.0

Two for Tonight

19357.7

Another Fine Mess

19306.9

Death In Hollywood

19906.8

Follow Thru

19307.6

Heart to Heart

19287.0

On the Loose

19316.8

The Bargain of the Century

19334.2

Unaccustomed as We Are

19297.0

Hips, Hips, Hooray!

19347.0

Command Performance

19315.1

Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10)

1942

After the Dance

19356.5

The Real McCoy

19306.4

God Gave Me Twenty Cents

19269.0

High C's

19304.4

Rough Seas

19317.0

One Track Minds

19337.0

Fascinating Youth

19269.0

The Hot Heiress

19316.3

Bottoms Up

19345.2

The Head Guy

19304.2

Hotter Than Hot

192910.0

Let's Do Things

19318.0

Yesterday and Today

19537.0

Murders of Hollywood

20035.0

The Poor Rich

19348.0

Broadminded

19314.1

Sitting Pretty

19338.0

Three Chumps Ahead

193410.0

The Pip from Pittsburg

19316.6

Asleep in the Feet

19334.8

Seven Footprints to Satan

19296.2

Mary Stevens, M.D.

19336.2

Slightly Static

19359.0

The Shrimp

19307.0

Soup and Fish

193410.0

The Noose

19287.7

The Haunted House

19287.0

No Limit

19316.0

Bum Voyage

19346.5

All Teed Up

19304.8

War Mamas

19318.0

Rubber Heels

19277.0

One-Horse Farmers

19348.0

Take the Stand

19345.5

Catch-As Catch-Can

19313.3

Whispering Whoopee

19306.2

Crazy Feet

19296.8

Speak Easily

19325.7

Red Noses

19327.5

Looser Than Loose

19306.0

Treasure Blues

19359.0

House of Horror

192910.0

You Made Me Love You

19337.1

Maids a la Mode

19333.7

Corsair

19314.4

Death Scenes

19894.5

Love Fever

19314.6

Hot Money

193510.0

Nevada

19277.0

Naughty Baby

19285.0

Aloha

19318.0

Palooka

19343.6

Babes in the Goods

19348.0

The Nickel Nurser

19324.0

The Crash

19288.0

An All American Toothache

19368.0

The Shield of Honor

19276.0

Lightning Strikes Twice

19345.3

The Tin Man

19357.2

The Misses Stooge

193510.0

The Soilers

19326.8

Sneak Easily

19328.0

Top Flat

19357.0

Strictly Unreliable

19326.0

The King

19304.4

Alum and Eve

19326.8

Sealskins

19326.7

Sing Sister Sing

19357.3

Trial Marriage

192910.0

Twin Triplets

19358.0

The Old Bull

19326.0

Beauty and the Bus

19338.0

Swanee River

19319.0

Air Fright

19336.3

Show Business

19326.5

Fireman, Save My Child

19278.0

Klondike

19325.3

Backs to Nature

19336.3

Dollar Dizzy

19306.8

Vamping Venus

19287.0

The Big Timer

19324.6

Snappy Sneezer

19296.8

Stepping Out

19296.0

Look out Below

19295.5

Deception

19327.5

Done in Oil

19349.0

Hurdy Gurdy

19297.0

I'll Be Suing You

19349.0

Sky Boy

1929

Hal Roach Presents Harry Langdon

1929