Thelma Todd

BRIMMING WITH STAR QUALITY: Thelma Todd (1906-1935) possessed comedic timing that was as remarkable as her beauty. (Original Hal Roach photo from the author's personal collection.)

Called her, "Hot Toddy,"
the ice cream blonde with a smile
that could melt your heart.



Zasu Pitts and Thelma Todd were Hal Roach's female answer to Laurel and Hardy. The duo worked together in 17 comedy shorts before Pitts left Roach Studios in 1933. Pitts was replaced by Patsy Kelly; and, with her new partner, Todd went on to make 21 more two-reelers before 1935.


For The Marx Brothers, Todd provided a luscious alternative to Margaret Dumont, Groucho's usual foil. Pictured with the actress in this still from "Horse Feathers" are Zeppo (left) and Harpo (right).


TWO TOWHEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE: A playful candid of Todd and Harpo Marx. (From the author's personal collection.)


In August of 1934, the actress opened Thelma Todd's Sidewalk Cafe at 17575 Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades. It became a favorite of celebrities, tourists and much less desirable characters.


Thelma Todd was found dead in the garage above her restaurant on December 16, 1935, a victim of monoxide poisoning. She was 29 years old.


Todd's death certificate.

Thelma Alice Todd was a teacher but her participation as Miss Massachusetts in The 1925 Miss America Pageant brought her to the attention of motion picture talent scouts. With her striking beauty and vivacious personality, Todd exuded a rich sense of comedic timing that made her a natural for the likes of Buster Keaton, Charley Chase, Laurel and Hardy and The Marx Brothers. Ten years later, the rising star with 120 films under her belt was found dead, slumped over in her car inside her garage, from monoxide poisoning. The coroner ruled it an accident but rumors of fowl play still abound. She was 29, a restaurateur, divorced from shady businessman Pasquale "Pat" DiCicco, living with married director Roland West and rumored to be having an affair with mobster Charles "Lucky" Luciano. What really happened to Thelma Todd remains one of Hollywood's greatest unsolved mysteries.



With Buster Keaton in a scene from "Speak Easily."


A sexy studio portrait.


In an odd twist, the building is now occupied by Paulist Productions, a company dedicated to producing film and television projects that teach Christian values and tackle modern moral dilemmas. The structure is also reported to be haunted.


The eternally youthful, stylish and lovely Thelma Todd.



 

The Art of Survival

GERMAN & JEWISH ARTISTS IN EXILE: Only those who've endured it themselves can know what these and other talented individuals went through. But it's thanks to them that we have classics like "The Maltese Falcon," "Some Like It Hot," "Double Indemnity" and "Casablanca," not to mention the entire genre of film noir.

Fleeing Hitler's rule,
they brought a new look and voice
to film in the states.



Although satire, "To Be Or Not To Be" (1942), starring Jack Benny and Carole Lombard, captures effectively the pervading mood and climate of war-torn Europe.  The film was Lombard's last and was released posthumously.


THE SPIRIT OF DEFIANCE: This is, perhaps, the most powerful scene in Warner Brothers' 1942 masterpiece, "Casablanca." To those in the know, what makes it even more stunning is that it's cast largely with performers who escaped the Nazi terror and ultimately death, leaving behind home, family, friends and careers, some having lost all and having to start over with nothing. (Clip copyright © Warner Home Video)


A clip from the PBS documentary, "Cinema's Exiles: From Hitler to Hollywood." At the time of this writing, there was no word of a DVD release.  (Clip copyright © 2010 Educational Broadcasting Corporation.)

Ellen DeGeneres

A CHAMPION OF CHARITABLE CAUSES, Comedienne and TV Talkshow Hostess Ellen DeGeneres has raised more than $40 million for animals and people in need, and the tally keeps growing. A long-time supporter of PETA, The Humane Society, Animal Rescue Site, ASPCA and The Amanda Foundation, in 2008, she became co-owner of Halo All-Natural Pet Care, a groundbreaking company that specializes in optimally healthy food, treats and products for dogs and cats.

TV's Saint Francis,
dancing, laughing and living
with a caring heart.



This Ellen DeGeneres AMEX commercial pretty much says it all — with a smile.

Ned Sparks

THE PERENNIAL GROUCH: Character actor Ned Sparks (1883-1957) wrote his own lines and was insured against smiling by Lloyd's of London.

Hollywood's sourpuss —
the nasal-toned sharp-wit you've
seen somewhere before.

Jerry Lewis

Veteran performer Jerry Lewis in his most famous screen role, that of Julius Kelp from "The Nutty Professor" (1963). He began in vaudeville at age 5 and has been entertaining audiences worldwide for more than 80 years.

The heroic clown
throws the world a lifesaver,
the gift of laughter.



Since its founding in 1950, Jerry Lewis has served as National Chairman and Spokesperson of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, hosting the organization's annual Labor Day fundraiser telethons. Lewis is so dedicated to finding a cure that children and adults benefiting from MDA's programs, research and services have come to be known as "Jerry's kids."

For more information, visit www.MDA.org.

Buster Keaton

Buster Keaton as Johnny Gray, taking on the Union Army from the front end of a moving train, in "The General" (1926).

War, twisters, the sea...
There exists no foe too grand
for The Great Stoneface.



FILMED BEFORE THE DAYS OF SPECIAL AND DIGITAL EFFECTS: Yes, he really did this.




Anything for a laugh!

Hit play to view the following:

CAMERAS WERE HAND CRANKED: The performance sequences were achieved through real-time multiple exposures by masking off areas of the lens, backing up the undeveloped film and shooting each position individually, over and over. There was no video playback, no means of checking what was being done. It was all accomplished with an impeccable sense of timing on the part of both subject and cameraman.

Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle

Comedian-Writer-Director Roscoe Arbuckle was one of the most beloved performers of the 1910s. He served as a mentor to Charles Chaplin and was instrumental in bringing to film the talents of Buster Keaton and Bob Hope.

The gossip columns
demonized a gentle soul,
and killed a career.



In 1921, Arbuckle was accused falsely of committing homicidal rape against model-actress Virginia Rappe and became the subject of a gossip-fueled, highly sensationalized scandal that played out on the pages of the tabloid press. Although acquitted of all charges, his career, public image and personal life never recovered. He died of a heart attack in 1933 at age 46.

Harold Lloyd

Harold Lloyd dangling from a rooftop set near the intersection of 9th and Broadway in downtown Los Angeles, 1923. (SIDE NOTE: The theater in the background — The Majestic — is where Lon Chaney, Sr. gave his last stage performance, in 1913.)

A silent clown whom
one might never wish to ask,
"How is it hangin'?"



DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME: Lloyd climbed this building while missing the thumb and forefinger of his right hand, the tragic result of a real bomb being mistaken for a prop, and wore a flesh-tone glove to conceal his handicap.

The Three Stooges

THE THREE STOOGES: Larry, Curly (Babe) and Moe performing their novelty song, "Swinging The Alphabet," in a clip from the 1938 short film, "Violent Is The Word For Curly." The film was directed by Charley Chase.

Larry, Moe, Babe, Shemp...
A bunch of slaphappy guys
in a hard knock world.

The Marx Brothers

THE MARX BROTHERS ON FILM (clockwise from upper right): Groucho, Harpo, Chico and sometimes Zeppo (but never Gummo).

Here's to Minnie's boys!
Four of The Three Musketeers,
with a fifth out back.

2010 A.D. Arrest

Andy Dick (at left) in happier times.  (Image courtesy of the1secondfilm.com)

Andy may have earned
the role of sex offender.
Befitting last name?

(See FOX News for more information.)