Thelma Alice Todd was an American actress and businesswoman who carried the nicknames "The Ice Cream Blonde" and "Hot Toddy". Appearing in about 120 feature films and shorts between 1926 and 1935, she is remembered for her comedic roles opposite ZaSu Pitts, and in films such as Marx Brothers' Monkey Business and Horse Feathers and a number of Charley Chase's short comedies. She co-starred with Buster Keaton and Jimmy Durante in Speak Easily. She also had roles in several Wheeler and Woolsey and Laurel and Hardy films, the last of which featured her in a part that was cut short by her sudden death in 1935 at the age of 29.
Lyda Roberti was an American singer and stage and film actress.
Gus Meins, born Gustave Peter Ludwig Luley, was an American film director. He was born in Frankfurt, Germany.
Patsy Kelly was an American actress. She is known for her role as the brash, wisecracking sidekick to Thelma Todd in a series of short comedy films produced by Hal Roach in the 1930s. Kelly's career continued in similar roles after Todd's death in 1935.
Roland West was an American film director, known for his innovative proto-film noir movies of the 1920s and early 1930s. He is however best known for his possible involvement in the death of Hollywood actress Thelma Todd in 1935.
Every Night at Eight is a 1935 American comedy musical film starring George Raft and Alice Faye and made by Walter Wanger Productions Inc. and Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Raoul Walsh and produced by Walter Wanger from a screenplay by C. Graham Baker, Bert Hanlon and Gene Towne based on the story Three On a Mike by Stanley Garvey.
Gilbert Pratt was an American film director, actor, and writer. He directed 87 films between 1917 and 1936 and was often credited as Gil Pratt. He was born in Providence, Rhode Island, and died in Los Angeles, California.
Virginia Karns was a singer and character actress at the Hal Roach Studios in the early 1930s. Fans probably remember her best from the opening scene of the Laurel and Hardy musical comedy Babes in Toyland (1934), in which she portrayed Mother Goose.
Marion Edgar "Ed" Brandenburg was an American actor and stuntman. He appeared in 37 films between 1922 and 1938 and was the brother of actor Chet Brandenburg. He was born in Lexington, Kentucky and died in San Gabriel, California.
Pitts and Todd were a 1930s movie comedy duo consisting of actresses ZaSu Pitts and Thelma Todd. Assembled by Hal Roach as the female counterparts to Laurel and Hardy, the duo's members changed over the years and included actresses Patsy Kelly, Pert Kelton and Lyda Roberti.
Slightly Static is a 1935 American short comedy film directed by William H. Terhune. It was the debut film of Roy Rogers who performed with the Sons of the Pioneers although his name was uncredited. It is the 17th entry in the series.
White Hot: The Mysterious Murder of Thelma Todd is a 1991 American television film directed by Paul Wendkos and written by Robert E. Thompson and Lindsay Harrison. Based on the 1989 non-fiction book Hot Toddy: The True Story of Hollywood's Most Sensational Murder by Andy Edmonds, the film is about the life of Hollywood comedic actress Thelma Todd, whose 1935 death was ruled accidental but always has been controversial. Loni Anderson as stars as Todd, alongside Maryedith Burrell, Robert Davi, Paul Dooley, Linda Kelsey, and John O'Hurley. It premiered on NBC on May 5, 1991.
After the Dance is a 1935 American Proto-Noir, crime romance drama film melodrama directed by Leo Bulgakov and starring Nancy Carroll, George Murphy and Thelma Todd.
Alphonse Martell was a French actor who wrote and directed Gigolettes of Paris (1933). He portrayed a director in the 1934 film I'll Be Suing You. He often portrayed a waiter as in the 1946 film Falcon's Alibi, in which he is murdered.
Soup and Fish is a 1934 American pre-Code comedy short released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, produced by Hal Roach and directed by Gus Meins, and starring Thelma Todd and Patsy Kelly. It is the 5th entry in the Todd and Kelly pairing for the series.
The Tin Man is a 1935 American comedy short released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, produced by Hal Roach and directed by James Parrott, and starring Thelma Todd and Patsy Kelly. It is the 15th entry in the series.
The Misses Stooge is a 1935 American comedy short released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, produced by Hal Roach and directed by James Parrott, and starring Thelma Todd and Patsy Kelly. It is the 16th entry in the series.
An All-American Toothache is a 1936 American comedy short released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, produced by Hal Roach and directed by Gus Meins, and starring Thelma Todd and Patsy Kelly. It is the 21st and last entry in the Todd and Kelly series, which came to an end upon Todd's death in December 1935.
Shoot Straight is a 1923 comedy short film directed by Jay A. Howe and produced by Hal Roach Studios. It stars James Parrott and Jobyna Ralston.
