PoeForward

Dead Girls

PoeForward.com

DEAD GIRLS: Historical Contemporary Future

HISTORICAL: Celebrity Wives Depression Era European Executed Porno Stars Starlets Western

The Original Dead Girl: Mary Rogers/Marie Roget

HOME

POE

EVENTS

POETRY

GALLERIES

DEAD GIRLS

LIBRARY

ABOUT US

STARLETS - THELMA TODD

STARLETS

Dominique
Dunne

Peg
Entwistle

Virginia
Rappe

Rebecca
Schaeffer

Dorothy
Stratten

Sharon
Tate

Thelma
Todd

Thelma Todd

1905 - 1935

Thelma Todd was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts. She worked as a schoolteacher and model before she became a movie actress.

Between 1926 and her untimely death in 1935, she appeared in over 40 movies including the Marx Brothers movies, Monkey Business and Horse Feathers.

Thelma was 29 years, 4 months and 17 days old when she died under mysterious circumstances.

Thelma lived with film producer/director Roland West. Although their relationship was stormy, they invested their Hollywood assets into a popular and successful restaurant, "Thelma Todd's Sidewalk Café," located next to the ocean on Roosevelt Highway (now Pacific Coast Highway) at Castellammare. Their hillside residence was up a steep flight of outdoor stairs from her cafe.

On the morning of December 16, 1935, Thelma's corpse was found in her parked car, inside her closed garage, dead of carbon monoxide poisoning.

The Grand Jury investigation into her death yielded conflicting results. Both suicide and murder were debated. The murder suspects included Roland West and Lucky Luciano.

Finally, Thelma's death was ruled a suicide.

Did money problems and/or romantic woe lead to depression, which led to suicide?

Did angry Roland lock her in the garage?

Did Luciano have her whacked for not selling her the café?

Did she just get drunk and fall asleep in her car with the motor running?

HISTORICAL: Celebrity Wives Depression Era European Executed Porno Stars Starlets Western