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Thelma Todd

A vivacious and sexy blonde who displayed sharp comic timing, Thelma Todd became an expert foil for comedians like the Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy, and ZaSu Pitts, only to wind up dead under suspicious circumstances and have her name forever tied with scandal. Todd entered Hollywood during the silent era, when she appeared in a number of films like "Fascinating Youth" (1926) and "The Noose" (1928), but made an effortless transition to sound pictures with Marx Brothers comedies like "Monkey Business" (1931) and "Horse Feathers" (1932). She attempted to change her image with dramatic roles, acting under the name of Alison Lloyd in "Corsair" (1931) while appearing as Todd in the original version of "The Maltese Falcon" (1931). After some critical backlash from her change of pace, Todd returned to comedies with several shorts that starred ZaSu Pitts and later Patsy Kelly, and starred opposite Buster Keaton and Jimmy Durante in "Speak Easily" (1932). She had more prominent turns in "The Devil's Brother" (1933), "Hips, Hips, Hooray!" (1934) and "Two for Tonight" (1935). In December 1935, however, Todd's body was discovered in her car, which was parked in a garage, after having died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Though officially ruled a suicide, Todd's death was marred by suspicion of foul play and remained one of Hollywood's most elusive unsolved mysteries.