Thelma Todd

Thelma Alice Todd (July 29, 1906 – December 16, 1935) was an American actress and businesswoman, variously nicknamed "the Ice Cream Blonde" and "Hot Toddy", who appeared in about 120 feature films and shorts between 1926 and 1935. She is remembered for her comedic roles opposite ZaSu Pitts; in films such as the Marx Brothers' Monkey Business and Horse Feathers; and in a number of Charley Chase's short comedies. She co-starred with Buster Keaton and Jimmy Durante in Speak Easily. She also had roles in several Wheeler and Woolsey and Laurel and Hardy films; her role in the last of these (The Bohemian Girl) was drastically shrunk in post-production following her sudden death in 1935 at the age of 29.

Early life

Thelma Alice Todd was born on July 29, 1906, in Lawrence, Massachusetts, to John Shaw Todd, an upholsterer from Ireland, and later, a superintendent of streets, an alderman, and Lawrence's commissioner of health and charities in 1912 and Alice Elizabeth Edwards, an immigrant from Canada. She had an elder brother, William, who died in an accident in 1910. She was a bright and successful student. Intending to become a schoolteacher, she enrolled at the Lowell Normal School (now University of Massachusetts, Lowell) after graduating from high school in 1923. As a student, she earned money as a model, entered beauty pageants in her late teens, gained the attention of Elks Lodge 65, was crowned 1925 Miss Lawrence, and won the title of 1925 Miss Massachusetts. While representing her home state, she was spotted by a Hollywood talent scout.