Thelma Todd appeared in a huge number of films in her career, gaining a reputation as a talented comedy actress for her roles opposite the Marx Brothers in Monkey Business and Horse Feathers, and with Buster Keaton in Speak Easily. All told she appeared in well over 100 movies between 1926 and 1935. One of her last roles, in Laurel and Hardy film The Bohemien Girl, was in the process of filming when she was found dead, aged just 30. She was discovered in a car parked a block away from her home, and the cause of death was said to be carbon monoxide poisoning. The official police ruling was that it had been an accident, with possible suicidal tendencies. However, her friends argued that she was a happy person and would never have committed suicide, and no motive nor note was ever discovered. Furthermore, when she was found she had a bloody lip, and there were spots of blood in the car. The coroners found no signs of violence on the body though, apart from the lip, and after a grand jury probe there was no evidence of a murder. Her body was cremated, meaning there was no chance of a second autopsy, and the official cause of death stands at accidental but possible suicide. Author Andy Edmonds wrote a book on the subject, Hot Toddy: The True Story of Hollywood's Most Sensational Murder, arguing that gangster 'Lucky' Luciano was responsible for her murder, though no case has successfully been brought against him or anyone else.
NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far.
A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.
