Thelma Todd

Thelma Todd has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6262 Hollywood Blvd. She died of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California, after suffering the effects of heart disease for several years. Her remains were buried in "Bellevue Cemetery" in her hometown of Lawrence, Massachusetts. She married after her retirement and distanced herself from her Hollywood career, and for the rest of her life politely refused any requests for interviews. Her death certificate states her cause of death as accidental carbon monoxide poisoning. By her retirment at the age of 17 she had appeared in more than forty films, and had acted with some of the biggest stars of her era, including Clark Gable and Myrna Loy in Too Hot to Handle (1938), Bette Davis in All This and Heaven Too (1940), and Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland in Babes on Broadway (1941), but she was not able to make continue her success as an actor into adulthood. The fact that her body was cremated caused theorists to conjecture that this had been done to destroy evidence and to prevent a second autopsy, however by this time authorities were satisfied with her official cause of death. After a string of box-office disappointments, her film career ended with her final performance in 1943.

The Los Angeles DA's department and a Grand Jury were unable to establish the true circumstances surrounding her death and the conjecture that surrounded it at the time and which has never been resolved with a definitive explanation is an early example of what would become known as a conspiracy theory with rumours and suppositions being accepted as fact, and widely divergent opinions being given credence. She continued acting but by this time was maturing, and as a teenager was less popular with audiences. Roland West had closed the door to the garage without realising Todd was inside and she had died as a result. Her next major success, and the film for which she is perhaps best remembered was The Philadelphia Story (1941) in which she played the wise-cracking younger sister of Katharine Hepburn. A third theory was that Todd had turned on the motor of the car in order to keep warm, and had fallen asleep. She was one of the all-female cast of The Women (1939), as Norma Shearer's daughter, a role that was uncharacteristically sentimental for her. Her resulting death according to this theory was accidental, however a key, which would have allowed her to escape was found in Todd's handbag. The film was a success and over the next few years Weidler was regularly employed by the studio, usually playing precocious tom-boys.

A second theory widely supported by Todd's friends was that Roland West had grown frustrated by Todd's flightiness and to keep her from leaving her premises to attend another party had locked her in the garage. Her first film for them was opposite their leading male star Mickey Rooney in Love Is A Headache (1938). The investigation was unable to establish any evidence to support this theory. Neither studio made full use of her abilities, and when Paramount did not extend her contract, she was signed by MGM. This was the only sign of violence and there was no evidence of any struggle taking place. Over the next few years she played minor roles in films for RKO and Paramount Studios. When Todd's body was found she had blood on her face and her nose was broken. Born in Eagle Rock, California, Weidler made her first film appearance in 1933.

One theory suggested that the gangster Lucky Luciano had tried unsuccessfully to coerce Todd into allowing gambling on her premises, and when she declared that would happen "over my dead body" had replied that he could arrange that. Virginia Weidler (March 21, 1926 – July 1, 1968) was an American child actor, popular in Hollywood films during the 1930s and 1940s. Police were offered other alternatives throughout their investigations. She had been involved in an argument with her then boyfriend Roland West, but her friends stated that she was in good spirits and were aware of nothing unusual in her life that could suggest a reason for committing suicide. She had spent the last night of her life at a party hosted by entertainer Stanley Lupino and his daughter, the actress Ida Lupino.

Police investigating her death determined that Todd had a wide circle of friends and associates and a busy social life. On the morning of December 16, 1935, she was found dead in her car inside her garage and her death was determined to have been caused by carbon monoxide poisoning. In the early 30's she commenced a successful commercial venture when she opened a cafe at Pacific Palisades called "Thelma Todd's Sidewalk Cafe" which attracted a diverse clientele of Hollywood celebrities as well as gangsters and criminals. During her career she appeared in more than 130 films and was publicised as "The Ice Cream Blonde" and "Hot Toddy".

She became highly regarded as a capable film comedienne and also appeared successfully in such dramas as the original 1931 film version of The Maltese Falcon. With the advent of the talkies, Todd was given opportunity to expand her roles by the producer Hal Roach who contracted her to appear with such comedic stars of the day as Harry Langdon, Laurel & Hardy and The Marx Brothers and she appeared as the lead actress in a series of comedy films with actresses Zasu Pitts and Patsy Kelly. During the silent era, she appeared in numerous supporting roles that made full use of her beauty but gave her little chance to act. While representing her home state in the "Miss America" pageant later that year she was spotted by a Hollywood talent scout and began her career in film.

She intended to become a school teacher but in her late teens began entering beauty pageants winning the title of "Miss Massachusetts" in 1925. Todd was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts and as a child was a bright student who achieved good academic results. Thelma Todd (July 29, 1905 - December 16, 1935) was a American film actress.