Thelma Todd (1906 - 1935)

American actress

* July 29, 1906 Lawrence, Massachusetts
 as Thelma Alice Todd
 December 16, 1935 Pacific Palisades, California



Thelma Todd was an American actress who appeared in about 120 feature films and shorts during the 1920s and 1930s. She is best known for her work in comedies and for her partnership with actor ZaSu Pitts. Some of her notable films include "Monkey Business," and "Horse Feathers." Todd was also a successful businesswoman, and owned a popular Hollywood restaurant called Thelma Todd's Sidewalk Cafe. She died under mysterious circumstances in 1935 at the age of 29.

Vintage magazines

Photoplay, January 1928
Photoplay, February 1928
Photoplay, February 1928

Photoplay, March 1928
Photoplay, May 1928
Photoplay, June 1928

Photoplay, September 1928
Photoplay, September 1928
Photoplay, October 1928


Books on Thelma Todd

William Donati
The life and death of Thelma Todd
Jefferson, N.C., 2012

Andy Edmonds
Hot Toddy, the true story of Hollywood’s most sensational murder
New York, 1989

Books with substantial mentioning of Thelma Todd

Michelle Vogel & Liz Nocera Hollywood Blondes Michelle Vogel & Liz Nocera
Hollywood Blondes, Golden Girls of the Silver Screen
2007

Foreword by John-Michael Howson Cut! Foreword by John-Michael Howson
Cut!, Hollywood murders, accidents, and other tragedies
Willoughby, Australia, 2005

James Robert Parish The Hollywood Book of Scandals James Robert Parish
The Hollywood Book of Scandals, The Shocking, Often Disgraceful Deeds and Affairs of More than 100 American Movie and TV Idols
New York etc., 2004

Laurie Jacobson Dishing Hollywood Laurie Jacobson
Dishing Hollywood, The Real Scoop on Tinseltown's Most Notorious Scandals
2003

John Austin
Hollywood's Babylon women
New York, 1994

Ronald L. Smith
Who's Who in Comedy, Comedians, Comics and Clowns From Vaudeville to Today's Stand-ups
New York, Oxford, 1992

James Robert Parish and William T. Leonard with Gregory W. Mank and Charles Hoyt
The Funsters
New Rochelle, New York, 1979

Books with an entry on Thelma Todd

Denise Lowe An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Women in Early American Films, 1895 - 1930 Denise Lowe
An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Women in Early American Films, 1895 - 1930
New York, London, Oxford, 2005

Glenn Mitchell The Marx Brothers Encyclopedia Glenn Mitchell
The Marx Brothers Encyclopedia
London, 1996

Danny Peary Cult Movie Stars Danny Peary
Cult Movie Stars
New York, [..], 1991

Joe Franklin Encyclopedia of Comedians Joe Franklin
Encyclopedia of Comedians
Secaucus, N.J., 1979

Paul Michael, editor in chief. James Robert Parish, associate editor The American movies reference book Paul Michael, editor in chief. James Robert Parish, associate editor
The American movies reference book, The sound era
Englewood Cliffs, N.J.,, 1969

Martin J. Quigley (ed.) The Motion Picture Almanac Martin J. Quigley (ed.)
The Motion Picture Almanac, Big Stars in Big Pictures
Chicago, Ill., 1929

Books with photograph(s) of Thelma Todd

John Richard Finch and Paul Elby Close-Ups John Richard Finch and Paul Elby
Close-Ups, From the Golden Age of the Silent Cinema
South Brunswick and New York - London, 1978