Thelma Alice Todd (July 29, 1906 â€" December 16, 1935) was an
American actress and businesswoman often referred to by the nickname
"The Ice Cream Blonde", as well as "Hot Toddy". Appearing in around
120 feature films and shorts between 1926 and 1935, she is best
remembered for her comedic roles opposite ZaSu Pitts and in films such
as Marx Brothers' Monkey Business and Horse Feathers and 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, the last of which (The
Bohemian Girl) featured her in a part that was truncated by her
suspicious death in 1935 at the age of 29.Todd was born in Lawrence,
Massachusetts, to John Shaw Todd, an upholsterer from Ireland, and
Alice Elizabeth Edwards, an immigrant from Canada. She had an older
brother, William. She was a bright student who achieved good academic
results. She intended to become a schoolteacher and enrolled at the
Lowell Normal School (now University of Massachusetts, Lowell) after
graduating from high school in 1923. In her late teens, she began
entering beauty pageants, winning the title of Miss Massachusetts in
1925. While representing her home state, she was spotted by a
Hollywood talent scout and began her career in film at
Paramount.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
levelheaded working girl having all sorts of problems and trying her
best to remain poised and charming despite the embarrassing antics of
her ditzy sidekick.
American actress and businesswoman often referred to by the nickname
"The Ice Cream Blonde", as well as "Hot Toddy". Appearing in around
120 feature films and shorts between 1926 and 1935, she is best
remembered for her comedic roles opposite ZaSu Pitts and in films such
as Marx Brothers' Monkey Business and Horse Feathers and 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, the last of which (The
Bohemian Girl) featured her in a part that was truncated by her
suspicious death in 1935 at the age of 29.Todd was born in Lawrence,
Massachusetts, to John Shaw Todd, an upholsterer from Ireland, and
Alice Elizabeth Edwards, an immigrant from Canada. She had an older
brother, William. She was a bright student who achieved good academic
results. She intended to become a schoolteacher and enrolled at the
Lowell Normal School (now University of Massachusetts, Lowell) after
graduating from high school in 1923. In her late teens, she began
entering beauty pageants, winning the title of Miss Massachusetts in
1925. While representing her home state, she was spotted by a
Hollywood talent scout and began her career in film at
Paramount.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
levelheaded working girl having all sorts of problems and trying her
best to remain poised and charming despite the embarrassing antics of
her ditzy sidekick.
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