TODD CIRCUMSTANCES

Early deaths usually leave unanswered questions.

Above are two of the more famous death scene photos from Hollywood’s golden era, showing film star Thelma Todd inside her luxury convertible, where she was found today in 1935. She was only twenty-nine. Her car was parked in the garage of her friend Jewel Carmen, who was the estranged wife of Roland West, who was a friend, business partner, and paramour. Todd and West had opened, on the Pacific Coast Highway in the northwestern suburbs of Los Angeles between Santa Monica and Malibu, a hotspot known as Thelma Todd’s Sidewalk Café. The place was a smash success. Some websites claim it was a speakeasy, but it actually opened in 1934, after the repeal of Prohibition.

Todd was extravagantly famous at the time she died. She had the nicknames, “The Ice Cream Blonde” and “Hot Toddy,” and had accumulated more than one hundred film credits, including roles supporting the Marx Brothers, Charley Chase, Laurel and Hardy, and Zazu Pitts. The LAPD ruled her death accidental, caused by carbon monoxide poisoning from warming up her car to drive or, alternatively, using the heater to stay warm. A coroner and grand jury agreed, but the cops did leave open the possibility of suicide. Others demurred, and today on some websites you’ll see Todd’s death labeled an “unsolved murder.” Well, could be. But probably not. You can read an excellent account of the event here.

We’ve had the misfortune to learn early, and have had reinforced repeatedly, that questions around early deaths are the norm. You probably won’t have questions if you’re in the room as someone breathes their last in bed, but how often does that happen? We’ve dealt with a surprise suicide, a COVID-era death under circumstances the family still refuses to divulge, been stunned by an Asian tsunami drowning that’s a total black box, had a relative somehow go out a health clinic window, and more. Add a helping of fame and fortune to the normal unanswered questions around early deaths and you have the ingredients for many a Hollywood mystery. Todd. Murder? Could be. But probably not.

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

1960—Woodward Gets First Star on Walk of Fame

Actress Joanne Woodward receives the first star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Los Angeles sidewalk at Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street that serves as an outdoor entertainment museum. Woodward was one of 1,558 honorees chosen by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce in 1958, when the proposal to build the sidewalk was approved. Today the sidewalk contains more than 2,300 stars.

1971—Paige Enters Baseball Hall of Fame

Satchel Paige becomes the first player from America’s Negro Baseball League to be voted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Paige, who was a pitcher, played for numerous Negro League teams, had brief stints in Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the Major Leagues, before finally retiring in his mid-fifties.

1969—Allende Meteorite Falls in Mexico

The Allende Meteorite, the largest object of its type ever found, falls in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. The original stone, traveling at more than ten miles per second and leaving a brilliant streak across the sky, is believed to have been approximately the size of an automobile. But by the time it hit the Earth it had broken into hundreds of fragments.

1985—Matt Munro Dies

English singer Matt Munro, who was one of the most popular entertainers on the international music scene during the 1960s and sang numerous hits, including the James Bond theme “From Russia with Love,” dies from liver cancer at Cromwell Hospital, Kensington, London.

1958—Plane Crash Kills 8 Man U Players

British European Airways Flight 609 crashes attempting to take off from a slush-covered runway at Munich-Riem Airport in Munich, West Germany. On board the plane is the Manchester United football team, along with a number of supporters and journalists. 20 of the 44 people on board die in the crash.

Five covers for football pulp magazines illustrated by George Gross.
Rare Argentinian cover art for The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells.

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