The Mysterious Death of American Actress Thelma Todd

Violent deaths of stars always become a sensation. And if a celebrity dies under strange circumstances, versions appear that excite the public for many years. In the 1930s, Thelma Todd shone on the Hollywood horizon. She was at the height of her success when fate unexpectedly cut her life short. To this day, no one knows who is behind this tragic incident. Todd's death is considered one of the most mysterious in the history of the Dream Factory.

Thelma Alice Todd was born on July 29, 1906, in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Thelma grew up as an active, goal-oriented child and a good student. After graduating from school in 1923, she entered college, where she received a degree in school teaching. During her student years, Thelma not only participated in beauty contests, but also regularly went to castings for film studios. She even graduated from an acting school to increase her chances of success.

Everything in her life changed after she won the title of "Miss Massachusetts". Hollywood scouts found Thelma and offered her to enroll in the Paramount School for Junior Stars - a prestigious school for young actors. After that, the young student of the teachers' college immediately forgot about the teaching profession and fully focused on the path to the film industry.

Thelma Todd played her first roles in silent short films. But as her popularity grew, the offers became more interesting and highly paid. In total, during her short career, which lasted less than ten years, she managed to star in more than 120 films. Among them are the cult comedies "Monkey Business" and "Horse Feathers" with the Marx Brothers. Thanks to her bright charisma, the actress earned the affectionate nicknames in Hollywood: "Creamy Blonde" and "Hot Toddy".

In addition to cinema, Thelma opened a luxurious restaurant in Malibu, Thelma Todd's Sidewalk Cafe, where the most famous people of the West Coast often dropped in. The young actress had it all: recognition, wealth and crowds of fans. It seemed that her life was a real "Hollywood fairy tale", but it all ended in a terrible tragedy.

On the morning of December 16, 1935, a maid found Thelma dead in her car, parked in a garage near the restaurant. The actress was sitting in the driver's seat, dressed in an evening gown. When the police examined her, they found traces of blood near Todd's nose and determined that the cause of death was exhaust fumes. At first glance, it could have been an accident: perhaps Thelma started the car to warm up and fell asleep, not realizing the danger. On the other hand, it could have been suicide - this method was often chosen by motorists who decided to commit suicide.

However, questions soon arose. Investigators learned that over the past couple of weeks, Todd had been receiving disturbing letters that were very upsetting to her. Someone had been calling her often, and she preferred to talk on the phone alone, avoiding witnesses. It later turned out that the actress had been pressured by extortionists. They demanded an impressive sum for that time - 10 thousand dollars - and threatened to kill her. The Los Angeles Times even wrote about this story.

The evening before her death, Thelma spent time at a party at the Trocadero restaurant. According to friends, she was in a great mood. Even a quarrel with her ex-husband Pat DiCicco did not spoil her evening. What could have pushed a successful actress, full of plans for the future, to commit suicide? And how to explain the strange fact that peas and beans were found in her stomach, which were not on the Trocadero menu?

Thelma's death was officially ruled a suicide, but this version has raised doubts. The actress's mother, Alice Todd, insisted that her daughter loved life and actively prepared for Christmas, buying about a hundred gifts. In addition, journalists from the Los Angeles Times reported that during the autopsy, signs of violence were found: a broken nose, bruises on the throat and two broken ribs. However, these injuries are missing from the medical records, which only adds to the mystery of the story.

Investigators offered an alternative: Thelma could have accidentally been poisoned by exhaust fumes while trying to warm up in the car. But this theory also did not explain the injuries. Rumors of murder soon began circulating in the press, and suspicion fell on several figures in the actress's life.

One of the main suspects was the actress's business partner and lover, Roland West. He was a well-known Hollywood film director, and also helped Thelma in the restaurant business. Some claimed that West locked Thelma in the house after an argument, and she took refuge in a car, where she died. Historian Mark Wanamaker, citing producer Hal Roach, a friend of Thelma, believed West was indirectly responsible for her death.

West and Todd lived together for a time in an apartment above the actress's restaurant, but how serious their relationship was remained a mystery. To complicate matters, their neighbor in the apartment building was Jewel Carmen, West's ex-wife and co-owner of the restaurant. This bizarre relationship added an extra layer of tension to the story.

All acquaintances unanimously said that Carmen was not worried at all about her ex-husband's new relationship. But she was extremely serious about business. When the restaurant began to make losses because of Todd, Jewel often quarreled with the actress and even allowed herself to threaten.

Later, the police unearthed another remarkable fact from the actress's life. It turned out that Roland West was not her only lover. Thelma also had a relationship with a mobster named Charles Lucky Luciano.

Investigators learned from Thelma Todd's friends that Luciano not only raised his hand against her, but also introduced her to drugs. The gangster had his own plans for the restaurant - he planned to open a casino there. During one of the conversations about the plans, witnesses heard the actress say: "Only over my dead body." To which Luciano calmly replied: "That can be arranged."

Another person who had a motive to take revenge on Todd, the police believed, was her ex-husband Pat DiCicco. The initiator of the divorce was Thelma, and Pat felt insulted. He repeatedly stated in different companies that he would not forgive her and would definitely take revenge. The last suspect was the actress's mother, who became the sole heir to her fortune and property.

It turned out that the cheerful and carefree actress, who never lost her smile, had many ill-wishers. Nevertheless, the investigation never found any clear evidence of murder. The court eventually ruled Thelma Todd's death a suicide. Some investigators and almost all of her friends refused to accept this decision. They insisted on continuing the investigation, confident that the truth remained hidden.

There were indeed many inconsistencies in the Todd case. The police report stated that Thelma, while intoxicated, went to the garage. There she started the car and turned on the heater, and sat in the front passenger seat and fell asleep. Death was caused by exhaust fumes. Similar cases do happen all over the world, and thousands of motorists fall victim to such tragic accidents every year. However, there are too many details in this story that raise doubts.

Blood tests showed that the actress had only a small amount of alcohol, and she was clearly aware of her actions. Either Thelma had committed suicide on purpose, or her death was the work of a cunning killer. Further confusion was created by journalists who were not allowed into the garage along with the police. Reporters began to spread rumors that they had caught glimpses of traces of a murder that later disappeared. Investigators spent 60 minutes at the scene of Todd's death, having locked the garage from the inside. They could easily have destroyed any evidence.

The Chicago Tribune, citing anonymous police sources, wrote that Thelma Todd's body had serious injuries that the police concealed:

But despite the general discontent, they decided not to reopen the case. The official version of the death of the young Hollywood star remained suicide. The mysterious death of Thelma Todd still excites the minds of enthusiasts, who conduct one independent investigation after another and put forward the most unusual hypotheses of death.

The story of Thelma Todd still raises many questions and haunts mystery lovers. Who was behind her death - the mafia, a jealous lover, an ex-husband, or was it a tragic coincidence? What do you think, was the actress's death really a suicide, or have we been deprived of the truth? Share your thoughts in the comments!