Austrian postcard by Iris Verlag, no. 5584. Photo: Paramount.
French postcard by A.N., Paris, no. 461. Photo: Paramount.
A young girl who intended to become a teacher
Thelma Todd was born on the 29th of July 1906 in Lawrence, Massachusetts, U.S.A. She had an older brother, William, who died in a freak accident in 1910.
At 14, she enrolled in Lawrence High School, intending to become a teacher.
In 1922, Lawrence residents Rosario and Peter Contarino, who had built a movie studio in the nearby city of Methuen, founded the Aurora Film Corporation. They hired Thelma as an extra on The Life of St. Genevieve and gave her a more substantial part in Tangled Hearts. But these were locally and independently produced films, which met with distribution problems. The company soon folded up.
Thelma graduated in 1923 and enrolled in Lowell Normal College to further her teaching studies. As part of their programme, the school notably assigned her a class as a substitute teacher.
At the same time, Thelma also began modelling. Her life was soon going to change drastically.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3984/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Paramount.
Italian postcard by G.B. Falci Editore, Milano, no. 573. Photo: Paramount Film.
Paramount’s school of acting
On the 1st of June 1925, Thelma Todd won the title of Miss Lawrence. She then received a telegram from Paramount, inviting her to their Astoria studios in New York. President Jesse Lasky had decided to found a school of acting, at which young men and women would be trained for film work. Upon their meeting, Lasky asked her if she wanted to enroll and she accepted. She would never become an accredited teacher.
She owed her good fortune to Napoleon L. Demara, co-founder of the Toomey and Demara Amusement Company, a Lawrence entertainment booking agency. When he got wind of the acting school project, he sent her photo to Paramount, thinking that she had chances to succeed in films. The future would prove him right.
Upon her return from the Astoria studios, she was elected Miss Massachusetts on the 15th of June and went back in July to New York, where the Paramount School opened on the 20th. Thelma met her seventeen fellow students. Three of them soon left, and a runner-up was asked to join, which brought the total number to sixteen.
After several months of apprentice, Paramount decided to showcase all their 'Junior Stars' in a movie called Fascinating Youth (1926). They reckoned that Thelma had screen potential and offered her a contract.
Among the female pupils of the Paramount School, Thelma would become the most successful. On the male side, Charles 'Buddy' Rogers would reap the laurels.
French postcard by Cinémagazine-Edition, no. 580. Photo: First National.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3682/1, 1928-1929. Photo: First National. Thelma Todd and Richard Barthelmess in The Noose (John Francis Dillon, 1928).
Under contract to Paramount and First National
In July 1926, Thema Todd's father died of a heart attack, which reinforced the strong bond that tied Thelma to her mother, Alice.
During her stay at Paramount, Thelma was notably the leading lady to Gary Cooper in Nevada (1927) and to Richard Dix in The Gay Defender (1927).
She also had the misfortune to be cast opposite Ed Wynn, a successful stage comedian, in his film debut, Rubber Heels (1927), which badly flopped.
When her contract was not renewed, Thelma signed with First National in February 1928 and appeared in three mystery films directed by Benjamin Christensen, The Haunted House (1928), Seven Footprints to Satan (1929) and House of Horrors (1929). Among her other First National films were The Crash (1928), opposite Milton Sills, and the Alice White vehicle Naughty Girl (1929), as a savvy gold digger.
When Howard Hughes’ Hell's Angels was in its initial phases of production around 1928, Thelma Todd was originally slated to get a role in it, as proven by several photographs and press reports. But the filming schedule was extended considerably. Indeed, several changes were made to the script, footage was scrapped, new scenes were shot, and the movie transitioned from a silent to a talkie. When Hell’s Angels was finally released in 1930, Thelma was nowhere to be seen.
Austrian postcard by Iris Verlag, no. 5628. Photo: First National. Thelma Todd in Vamping Venus (Edward F. Cline, 1928).
British postcard in the Famous Cinema Stars series by Beagles, no. 230A. Photo: First National
A star at Hal Roach Studios
Over time, Thelma Todd’s popularity with fans was growing, and she was steadily climbing the ladder of success.
She was soon noticed by Hal Roach Studios, renowned for their excellence in humorous entertainment. They offered her a contract in April 1929 and teamed her with Laurel and Hardy in the duo’s first talkie, Unaccustomed as We Are (1929), in which she could demonstrate her skills in comedy timing. Hal Roach knew he could do no wrong by pairing her with his other star comedians.
So, she appeared in eleven shorts with Charley Chase: Snappy Sneezer (1929), Crazy Feet (1929), Stepping Out (1929), The Real McCoy (1930), Whispering Whoopee (1930), All Teed Up (1930), Dollar Dizzy (1930), Wiser Than Loose (1930), High C’s (1930), The Pip from Pittsburgh (1931) and The Nickel Nurser (1932).
She could also be seen in six Harry Langdon shorts, e.g. in Hotter Than Hot (1929) and The King (1930).
Within a few years, Thelma became one of Hal Roach’s best-known and most popular comediennes.
Dutch postcard by G. & Co. Photo: Universal.
American postcard.
Zasu Pitts and Patsy Kelly
In 1931, Hal Roach had the bright idea to co-star Thelma Todd with Zasu Pitts and envisioned them as a female equivalent of Laurel and Hardy.
It was a perfect combination, based on opposite screen personas. Thelma played bold and confident blondes, and Zasu excelled in zany, awkward and insecure characters.
They became close friends and formed a popular duo in 17 shorts, including Let’s Do Things (1931), Catch-as-Catch-Can (1931), War Mamas (1931), On the Loose (1931), Strictly Unreliable (1932), Show Business (1932), Alum and Eve (1932), The Soilers (1932), Sneak Easily (1932), Maids a la mode (1933) and One Track Minds (1933).
In 1933, Zasu Pitts left Hal Roach, who hired brash Patsy Kelly to replace her at Thelma’s side. The two actresses got along very well and would co-star in 21 shorts such as Beauty and the Boss (1933), Air Fright (1933), Babes in the Goods (1934), Maid in Hollywood (1934), Bum Voyage (1934), Sing Sister Sing (1935), Slightly Static (1935), The Tin Man (1935), Hot Money (1935), ... Their last two offerings, Top Flat (1935) and An All American Toothache (1936), were released after Thelma had died.
In 1937, Patsy Kelly would allegedly say: "The fun Thelma and I had making those silly two-reel comedies is something that comes only once in a lifetime. Thelma was better than any tonic and taught me a lot about comedy".
American postcard in the “Greetings from Hollywood” series.
Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano. Photo: Metro Goldwyn Mayer.
An actress in high demand
On loan-out, Thelma Todd's talents made her in high demand to appear opposite famous comedians such as the Marx Brothers in Monkey Business (1931) and Horse Feathers (1932), Joe E. Brown in Broadminded (1931) and Son of a Sailor (1933), Buster Keaton and Jimmy Durante in Speak Easily (1932), Jimmy Durante on his own in Palooka (1934) and Wheeler and Woolsey in Hips, Hips, Hooray (1934) and Cockeyed Cavaliers (1934).
Hal Roach reteamed her with Laurel and Hardy in the shorts Another Fine Mess (1930) and Chickens Come Home (1931) and in the feature The Devil’s Brother (1933).
In 1935, she appeared in a lastfilm, with them, The Bohemian Girl. When it was posthumously released on the 14th of February 1936, she was only seen in the musical number 'Heart of a Gypsy'. Her other scenes had been deleted, as it was assumed they would generate the wrong kind of attention from audiences and critics.
In England, she was Stanley Lupino’s co-star in You Made Me Love You (1933).
She was also given several leading roles by Poverty-Row studios such as Sono Arts-World Wide in Swanee River (1931), Monogram in Klondike (1932), Equitable Films in Cheating Blondes (1933) or Liberty Pictures in Take the Stand (1934).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 5943/1, 1930-1931. Photo: Metro Goldwyn Mayer.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 6445/1, 1931-1932. Photo: Metro Goldwyn Mayer.
Alison Loyd
In 1931, director Roland West, whose movie Alibi (1929) had been nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award, hired Thelma for his forthcoming film, Corsair. They soon became romantically involved.
West, who believed Thelma had great dramatic talent, decided to change her name to 'Alison Loyd'. In September 1931, he declared to the press, "I have instructed everyone connected to the picture to always address her as Alison Loyd. Thelma Todd is dead as far as we are concerned, and there is to be no mention of her as long as this picture is in production. In this way, we hope to make Miss Loyd forget that she ever was a comedienne".
Hal Roach was not pleased and stated, "If at any time I find Thelma’s use of the name Alison Loyd becoming detrimental to her future in my comedies, I will take the necessary legal steps to prevent her from using it".
Corsair was released in November 1931 and didn’t meet the expected success. It failed to establish Thelma as a prominent dramatic actress. Her part as a spoiled socialite didn’t make great use of her acting talents, and she didn’t have much else to do other than look glamorous. It didn’t help either that male star Chester Morris’ name was more prominently displayed than hers on film posters and publicity material. As far as her career was concerned, the Alison Loyd chapter was closed.
After the filming of Corsair, Roland West, who was married at the time to actress Jewel Carmen, drifted away from Thelma. On the rebound, she married Playboy Pasquale 'Pat' Di Cicco in July 1932. His father was an Italian immigrant who had made good in the broccoli seeds business.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 6512/1, 1931-1932. Thelma Todd and Chester Morris in Corsair (Roland West, 1931).
Spanish postcard by M.C. Barcelona, no. 276. Thelma Todd in Speak Easily (Edward Sedgwick, 1932).
The Thelma Todd’s Sidewalk Café
In February 1934, Thelma Todd filed for divorce. An interlocutory decree was granted in March 1934, and the divorce became final in March 1935.
In 1934, Roland West had rekindled his relationship with Thelma, although he hadn’t divorced from Jewel Carmen. He asked her to join him in a business venture.
She would lend her name to a restaurant located in the Castellammare neighbourhood, on the ground level of a large three-story Spanish-style building, located at 17575 Pacific Coast Highway. She gladly accepted, as she knew how fickle the movie world could be and that being a film star would probably not last forever.
The Thelma Todd’s Sidewalk Café opened in the summer of 1934 and was a success. Upstairs, West would also set up a private dining area called Joya’s Room, aimed at a more sophisticated clientele.
Roland West provided financial backing, Rudolph H.W. Schafer, who was married to Jewel Carmen’s sister, managed the restaurant, and Thelma loaned her name and image. She involved herself in the project and was frequently seen there greeting guests. By mid-1935, Thelma and Roland West shared adjoining apartments, separated by a sliding door, on an upper floor of the Café.
British postcard in the Film Weekly Filmshots series. Photo: M.G.M. Thelma Todd and Dennis King in The Devil’s Brother / Fra Diavolo (Hal Roach, Charles Rogers, 1933).
Dutch postcard by JosPe, no. 623. Thelma Todd in You Made Me Love You (Monty Banks, 1933).
Passing away at 29
In the morning of Monday 16th of December 1935, May Whitehead, Thelma’s maid, discovered her dead in the front seat of her Lincoln Phaeton, parked in the two-car garage she shared with Roland West, situated uphill on Posetano Road, above the Café.
On Saturday evening, Thelma had attended a party given by Stanley Lupino, his wife Constance and their daughter Ida, at the Café Trocadero. On Sunday, at about 3:15 a.m., she departed, and chauffeur Ernest O. Peters took her in his limousine. He left her at the Sidewalk Café at about 3:45 a.m.
The Los Angeles Police Department detectives concluded that Thelma’s death was accidental and had been caused by carbon monoxide poisoning.
Captain Hubert Wallis of the Homicide Bureau declared: "There is absolutely no evidence of foul play, and furthermore, there is no motive for any".
As newspapers had begun to speculate and to develop their own theories, authorities decided that a Coroner’s inquest would examine the death of Thelma to bring all the facts to the public.
British postcard by Publicity Photographs LTD., London, no. 402. Photo: British International Pictures.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 7254/1, 1932-1933. Photo: Metro Goldwyn Mayer.
The coroner’s inquest
On the 18th of December, a Coroner’s inquest opened. Several people were called to testify. Among them were notably Mae Whitehead, Ernest O. Peters, Roland West, Bruce F. Clark, who had been the first police officer to arrive at the garage, and Dr. A.F. Wagner, who had performed the autopsy on Thelma’s corpse.
The latter declared that her blood revealed 75 per cent saturation by carbon monoxide and that he had found no marks of violence anywhere upon or within the body. He had noticed a superficial contusion on the lower lip, possibly caused by a fall on the steering wheel in a letargic state. He remarked that all the vital organs were free from organic disease, which contradicted rumours of a heart condition. Her blood alcohol level of about 0,13 % showed that she was slightly intoxicated at the time of her death and that it could have made her somewhat drowsy or may have influenced her actions. It was estimated that Thelma had died between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m. on Sunday morning.
Thelma’s apartment could be reached by an exterior staircase leading to a door on the side of the building or via a ground-floor entrance leading to an interior stairway. Roland West declared that he had engaged the deadbolt on the side door from the inside at about 2:15 a.m. on Sunday and then had gone to bed at about 2:30. He stated he didn’t know that Thelma hadn’t taken with her the key that would have permitted her to reach her apartment through the ground floor. In fact, she only had the key to the side door in her evening purse.
It was assumed that Thelma, after having discovered that she couldn’t open the side door, as the deadbolt had been engaged by West, realised she had no access to her apartment. So she would have decided to go to her garage, either by climbing a set of stairs leading to Posetano Road, or by walking up the road by Castellammare Road and Stretto Way. She would have put on the ignition of her car, either intending to warm it up before driving to some place, or to get some heat. Whatever her intentions, she would have been overcome by deadly carbon monoxide fumes.
Five jurors concluded that the death was accidental, and four indicated they were unable to determine the cause of death. So, the Coroner’s Jury rendered its verdict: "From the evidence submitted to the jury, the death of the deceased appears to have been accidental, but we recommend further investigation to be made in this case, by the proper authorities". Therefore, a Grand Jury probe was ordered.
British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, no. 413a. Photo: Metro Goldwyn Mayer.
Italian postcard by Ballerini & Fratini, Firenze, no. 2730.
The Grand Jury Probe
The initial session of the Grand Jury inquest took place on the 23rd of December, and it was made clear that the murder angle would be thoroughly examined. George Rochester, the jury’s foreman, was especially eager to prove that Thelma had been murdered.
The suicide hypothesis was also investigated but was discarded after people such as Alice Todd, Roland West, actress Zasu Pitts and Catherine Hunter, who had been Thelma’s close friend and confidante for about nine years, testified that the actress had no suicidal tendencies. She also had purchased gifts and cards for the forthcoming Christmas and, on the 11th of December, had ordered a new hat and had set a date for the fitting. Furthermore, during the Trocadero party, she had invited movie executives to come to the Sidewalk Café on Sunday evening.
By the beginning of January, critics about the way the investigation was conducted became more and more strident. Alice Todd declared to the press: "This Grand Jury investigation and the manner in which it is being conducted is the work of cheap politicians looking for jobs at the expense of my daughter’s name. I certainly am convinced that Thelma’s death was an accident. If I’m satisfied, I don’t see why anyone else is interested". There was even some dissension among the jurors, one of them complaining that the probe was a waste of taxpayers’ money.
After several weeks of intense inquiry and daily testimony, the Grand Jury could produce no evidence that Thelma had been murdered and unceremoniously dropped the case. They had reached such a dead end that they didn’t even bother to issue a formal statement.
The Homicide Bureau officially closed the case and declared the death 'accidental with possible suicidal tendencies'. The latter mention was slightly curious, as the suicide theory had earlier been rejected, but maybe they, however, felt compelled to mention it.
Cigarette card issued by Albert Cigarettes in the 'Artistes de cinéma' series, no. 39.
Autographed photograph. The signature seems authentic as Thelma frequently used one letter 'T' for both her first and last names.
A premature death sowing doubts in fertile minds
After Thelma Todd’s death, rumours of murder spread and were notably examined by the Grand Jury. They’ve never stopped to this day. It seems that they’ve been rejuvenated by Kenneth Anger’s notoriously unreliable book 'Hollywood Babylon', which was widely distributed in the U.S.A. in 1975.
Other people have since followed his path, each offering their own homicide theories. Among the possible culprits were Roland West, Pat DiCicco and various mobsters, who would allegedly have wanted to establish a gambling room in the Café. Names such as Lucky Luciano, Bugsy Siegel or Tony Cornero have been thrown in over the years.
Andy Edmonds even went so far as to allude to an affair between Luciano and Thelma, without giving any evidence, in the book 'Hot Toddy', published in 1989. However, police files show that Luciano was under close surveillance and that no trip on his part to California had been recorded at the time.
Needless to say, no concrete proof that Thelma Todd had been the victim of foul play has ever been provided.
The accidental death theory will keep its grey areas forever, probably, as all this happened about 90 years ago. But it remains the only official and judicial answer to Thelma’s demise until proven otherwise.
Text and postcards: Marlene Pilaete.
