{"product_id":"the-ice-cream-blonde-the-whirlwind-life-and-mysterious-death-of-screwball-comedienne-thelma-todd-hardcover","title":"The Ice Cream Blonde: The Whirlwind Life and Mysterious Death of Screwball Comedienne Thelma Todd - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eMichelle Morgan\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA beloved film comedienne who worked alongside the Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy, and dozens of others, Thelma Todd was a rare Golden Age star who successfully crossed over from silent films to talkies. This authoritative new biography traces Todd's life from a vivacious little girl who tried to assuage her parents' grief over her brother's death, to an aspiring teacher turned reluctant beauty queen, to an outspoken movie starlet and restaurateur. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIncreasingly disenchanted with Hollywood, in 1934 Todd opened Thelma Todd's Sidewalk Caf , a hot spot that attracted fans, tourists, and celebrities. Despite success in film and business, privately the beautiful actress was having a difficult year-receiving disturbing threats from a stranger known as the Ace and having her home ransacked-when she was found dead in a garage near her caf . An inquest concluded that her death, at age just twenty-nine, was accidental, but in a thorough new investigation that draws on interviews, photographs, documents, and extortion notes-much of these not previously available to the public-Michelle Morgan offers a compelling new theory, suggesting the sequence of events on the night of her death and arguing what many people have long suspected: that Thelma was murdered. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBut by whom? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe suspects include Thelma's movie-director lover, her would-be-gangster ex-husband, and the thugs who were pressuring her to install gaming tables in her popular caf -including a new, never-before-named mobster. This fresh examination on the eightieth anniversary of the star's death is sure to interest any fan of Thelma Todd, of Hollywood's Golden Age, or of gripping real-life murder mysteries.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMichelle Morgan\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Mammoth Book of Hollywood Scandals\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Mammoth Book of Madonna\u003c\/i\u003e, and several books about Marilyn Monroe: \u003ci\u003eMarilyn Monroe: Private and Confidential\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBefore Marilyn: The Blue Book Modeling Years\u003c\/i\u003e, and\u003ci\u003e Marilyn's Addresses: A Fan's Guide to the Places She Knew\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 288\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.1 x 9.1 x 6.3 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e November 01, 2015\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51770661470496,"sku":"9781613730386","price":26.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/329f63db00eb7f03e37b299d1d2ce43b.webp?v=1780376688","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/the-ice-cream-blonde-the-whirlwind-life-and-mysterious-death-of-screwball-comedienne-thelma-todd-hardcover","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}