Thelma Todd was born on 29 July 1906 in Lawrence, Massachusetts. She grew up wishing to become a teacher, but began a film career after a theatre manager sent a photo of the young teacher to Paramount Studios. Thelma was taking part in a beauty pageant at the time and after a tour of the studio and various tests, she was asked to enrol in the Paramount Pictures School. Her career took off shortly after.
During the course of her career she was frequently cast in comedy sketches and appeared in over 130 movies, including the Marx Brothers’ Monkey Business. She also co-starred alongside Buster Keaton, Jimmy Durante, and the legendary comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. Known as ‘The Ice Cream Blonde’, Thelma Todd was loved by fans and colleagues alike.
Unfortunately, her private life was nowhere near as comedic as her roles on screen, and she found herself beaten and abused by her husband, Pat Di Cicco – a ‘wide-boy’ with mafia connections and a violent temper.
Todd separated from Di Cicco and in August 1934, she opened a beachside cafe called Thelma Todd's Sidewalk Café, along with film director and friend Roland West. The successful restaurant attracted a number of Hollywood celebrities, tourists and fans, though it has been rumoured that it also became of interest to the mafia, who pressured Thelma to turn part of the building into a gambling den. This is open to discussion, however, as some refute that the mafia had anything to do with the establishment at all.
After a traumatic year of extortion threats, burglary, mafia links and prowlers, Thelma Todd died just days before Christmas 1935. Her death was mysterious, disturbing and has never been fully solved.
