Thelma Todd

Thelma Todd has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6262 Hollywood Blvd. Mae West has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1560 Vine Street in Hollywood. Her remains were buried in "Bellevue Cemetery" in her hometown of Lawrence, Massachusetts. She is entombed in the Cypress Hills Cemetery at 833 Jamaica Avenue in Brooklyn, New York. Her death certificate states her cause of death as accidental carbon monoxide poisoning. She died at her home in the Ravenswood apartment building on Rossmore Avenue. 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. In November 1980, she suffered a stroke and was rushed to the hospital, but the prognosis was not good and she was sent home.

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. Both movies were amusingly terrible and failed at the box-office, in spite of the fact that before the release of Sextette large photographs of her reclining on a chaise longue went up on billboards all over Hollywood proclaiming, "Mae West Is Coming.". Roland West had closed the door to the garage without realising Todd was inside and she had died as a result. And at the age of eighty-five she returned in her last movie, Sextette (1978). A third theory was that Todd had turned on the motor of the car in order to keep warm, and had fallen asleep. After an absence of almost thirty years from the silver screen, she appeared in Myra Breckinridge (1970) with Raquel Welch. 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. West also appeared on television talk shows and, in the early 1960s, she guest starred as herself on the Mister Ed series about a talking horse.

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. In 1958, she wrote her autobiography titled Goodness Had Nothing To Do With It. The investigation was unable to establish any evidence to support this theory. In order to keep her appeal fresh with younger generations, she recorded a Rock and Roll album titled "Great Balls of Fire.". This was the only sign of violence and there was no evidence of any struggle taking place. She was banned from the airwaves for several years. When Todd's body was found she had blood on her face and her nose was broken. On radio, West appeared on ventriloquist Edgar Bergen's show and did a sexy sketch with Bergen's dummy, Charlie McCarthy, that shocked the listening audience.

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. She also starred in her own Las Vegas stage show surrounded by muscle men and singing to delighted crowds. Police were offered other alternatives throughout their investigations. Among her stage performances was the title role in Catherine Was Great on Broadway. 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 remained active during the ensuing years. She had spent the last night of her life at a party hosted by entertainer Stanley Lupino and his daughter, the actress Ida Lupino. West appeared in her last movie during the studio age with The Heat's On (1943) for Columbia.

Police investigating her death determined that Todd had a wide circle of friends and associates and a busy social life. She denied ever marrying him, and records showed she had never lived with him, but she still found it necessary to seek a legal divorce. 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. She was apparently married April 11, 1911 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Frank Wallace, a fellow Vaudevillian, who in 1942 showed up with a marriage certificate. 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 World War II, allied soldiers called their inflatable life jackets "Mae Wests" from its resemblance to her curvaceous torso. During her career she appeared in more than 130 films and was publicised as "The Ice Cream Blonde" and "Hot Toddy". Fields in My Little Chickadee at Universal.

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. Then, in 1940 she starred opposite W.C. 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. West starred in eight movies for Paramount before their association came to an end. During the silent era, she appeared in numerous supporting roles that made full use of her beauty but gave her little chance to act. Her answer was to increase the double-entendre, saying phrases with risqué connotations that could also be taken to mean something else. 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. In 1934, the Hays Office emerged to enforce censorship of movies and her scripts began to be heavily edited.

She intended to become a school teacher but in her late teens began entering beauty pageants winning the title of "Miss Massachusetts" in 1925. The movie was a huge success and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. Todd was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts and as a child was a bright student who achieved good academic results. She brought Diamond Lil, now Lady Lou, to the screen in She Done Him Wrong (1933), personally selecting Cary Grant for the male lead, a role that made him a star. Thelma Todd (July 29, 1905 - December 16, 1935) was a American film actress. In her first scene, a coat check girl exclaimed, "Goodness, what lovely diamonds." West became an instant sensation when she replied, "Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie.". At first, she did not like her small role in Night After Night, but was appeased when she was allowed to rewrite her lines.

She maintained a residence there for the rest of her life. Upon arrival, she moved into an apartment in the Ravenswood at 570 North Rossmore Avenue, not far from the movie studio on Melrose Avenue. She signed and went to Hollywood to appear in the motion picture Night After Night starring George Raft. In 1932, she was offered a contract by Paramount Pictures.

It enjoyed an enduring popularity and West would successfully revive it many times through the course of her career. The show struck box-office gold and heralded the brazen blonde to new heights of fame. For her next adventure into theatre she had a Broadway hit, Diamond Lil (1928), about a racy, easygoing lady of the 1890s. If they did not get shut down for indecency, they closed because of slow ticket sales.

Her productions were plagued by controversy and other problems, however. She continued to write plays, including The Wicked Age, Pleasure Man and The Constant Sinner. It was a success, but audiences had to go to New Jersey to see it because it was banned from Broadway. Her second play was about homosexuality and was titled The Drag.

When she regained her freedom she set to work on her next creative effort. You're hitting a woman.". She regarded the freedom to talk about sex as a basic human rights issue; she was also an early advocate of gay rights, pleading against police brutality against homosexuals by saying "A homosexual is a woman's soul in a man's body. She served eight days, with two days off for good behavior.

While incarcerated on Welfare Island, she was allowed to wear her silk panties instead of the scratchy prison issue. She was prosecuted on morals charges and, on April 19, 1927, was sentenced to ten days in jail for public obscenity. The theatre was raided and West was arrested along with everyone else in the cast. The notorious production did not go over well with city officials, however.

Though critics hated the show, ticket sales were good. Her first starring role on Broadway was in a play titled Sex, which was also written, produced and directed by West. Eventually, she started writing her own risqué plays using the pen name Jane Mast. By the time she was twelve she was doing burlesque under the name "The Baby Vamp." Though she had not yet grown into her generous curves, the slinky, dark-haired Mae was already raising eyebrows with a lascivious "shimmy" dance.

Mae West started performing in vaudeville at the age of five. Her younger sister and brother were Mildred West, called Beverly, and John Edwin West. She was born Mary Jane West in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of John Patrick West and Matilda Delker Doelger. Mae West (August 17, 1893–November 22, 1980) was an American actress.

Marlo Manners. Sextette (1978) (Crown International Pictures) .. Leticia Van Allen. Myra Breckinridge (1970) (20th Century Fox) ..

Fay Lawrence. The Heat's On (1943) (Columbia) .. Flower Belle Lee. My Little Chickadee (1940) (Universal) ..

Peaches O'Day. Every Day's A Holiday (1938) (Paramount) .. Mavis Arden. Go West, Young Man (1936) (Paramount) ..

The Frisco Doll (Rose Carlton). Klondike Annie (1936) (Paramount) .. Cleo Bordon. Goin' To Town (1935) (Paramount) ..

Ruby Carter. Belle Of The Nineties (1934) (Paramount) .. Tira. I'm No Angel (1933) (Paramount) ..

Lady Lou. She Done Him Wrong (1933) (Paramount) .. Maudie Triplett. Night After Night (1932) (Paramount) ..