Thelma (Todie) P. Gates Obituary

A





This woman was nicknamed "Todie" after Thelma Todd. Although in Thelma Todd's case, they spelled it "Toddy".



Reblogged from  http://www.lafuneral.com/obituary/Thelma-Gates/Gardena-CA/1511001

Thelma (Todie) P. Gates, 84, of Gardena, went to be with the Lord at 2:00 am Saturday May 16, 2015 at her home in Gardena. She was born October 5, 1930, in Paia, Maui to Louis and Ramona (Ortiz) Roman. She was preceded in death by her husband of 30
years, Elmer Henry Gates in 1990.

She is survived by her sister Nora Cambra, of Manhattan Beach; brother Buddy Roman of the Philippines; two daughters, Mona Colvin of Joshua Tree and Lori Ikediashi of Torrance; one son, Lonny Gates of Gig Harbor; grandchildren, Larry, Sheila, Johnny,
Chidi, Emma, Mckenna, Isabella and Gabriella; and seven great-grandchildren.

Nicknamed Todie after the actress, Thelma Todd, because of her light color hair, lived in Hawaii until age 21 and moved to the mainland where she worked at New York Life Insurance Co. for 35 years. She graduated from Maui High School in 1950 and was the Principal's number one messenger. She made a name for herself as a hustling, efficient school service worker. Some of her energy was expended in Aikane, SEC, FHA and Imua clubs.

Her most cherished past time was babysitting, cooking, feeding and being with her grandchildren. Often seen driving through Torrance daily to be a taxi driver for her grandkids. She lived and loved every day for her family who in turn loved her very
much.

The Funeral Services will be from 9:30 to 10:30 am on Sunday May 31 at Rice Mortuary at 5310 Torrance Blvd. in Torrance, with a Celebration of Life following. Pastor Dusty Vroom will be officiating. Burial will follow at 1:00 PM at Pacific Crest Cemetery in Redondo Beach.

A

Nicknames SILVER SCREEN Oct. 1932

A




The article about nicknames.

Jack Oakie, Susan Fleming, and Lyda Roberti appeared in MILLION DOLLAR LEGS in 1932. Lyda Roberti would later replace Thelma Todd at the Hal Roach Studio.

The caption for the photo on the right tells us that Thelma Todd's nickname was "Hot Toddy". More on that later.

On the lower left it says Thelma Todd's nickname was "Hot Toddy" and gives an explanation.

                                             SEEIN' STARS Jan 4, 1934 had the same story.


Some fans don't want anyone to call Thelma Todd "Hot Toddy", although she was called that in her publicity and even in one of her films*.  Some fans also don't want anyone to call Fatty Arbuckle "Fatty" even though he was called that in some of the movie titles. The whole thing is strange, and not likely to endear the supposedly serious fans responsible for this behavior with the general public.


*LOVE FEVER.


LOVE FEVER:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022089/

A

Ad for Nicknames SILVER SCREEN 1932

A

Ad for an article on nicknames in the Sept. 1932 issue of SILVER SCREEN with Thelma Todd, 

                                             which tells us that her nickname was "Hot Toddy"

A

The Girls From Lawrence

Another early Thelma Todd picture, from the Andy Edmonds book, by way of facebook.

A

SCREEN BOOK Aug. 1937

SCREEN BOOK Aug. 1937 ran a picture as a final tribute to the recently deceased Jean Harlow, and ran an article called "The Thelma Todd Death Riddle" as well.

Another "Ping" reference, from before the term was associated with Carole Landis. Carole Landis was termed "The Ping Girl" by Roach publicity, a term she was said to reject at the time. Occasionally you come across such explanations as it being derived from "purring". Actually it appears to be then common slang for "making contact" ( the use of the term for sonar during World War II is related to this ) and in romantic terms was meant to be interperted as "Love at first sight".





A

Photoplay's Weight Loss Series Of 1926 - End

We jump ahead to the last issue ( September 1926 ) of the series because it's handy. There was another one in between that I couldn't seem to lay my hands on.

 

 

 I am not familiar with some of the excercise machines mentioned in this article. It could be that they are no longer in use. Thelma Todd and Zasu Pitts were shown using exercise machines in RED NOSES.

 

 The Paramount acting school mentioned on this page is the same one that Thelma Todd went through at the time.

 

 I am familiar with the effects of Thyroid pills as I take them every day ( my thyroid gland doesn't work and I need to ). I have had my weight fall off when the dosage was too high. Thyroid horomone isn't something to fool around with.

 

 

 

And here's an article that ascribes the death of Barbara La Marr to excessive dieting.

 

The death of Wallace Reid was said to be related to drugs that had been perscribed by his doctor. Some doctors used to be careless in perscribing things like morphine or even heroin. So they say.

 

Barbara La Marr was one of Zasu Pitt's friends, and I remember her death being mentioned in some of the books. But I'm not sure how often they ascribe her death to extreme dieting.

 

 

I think excessive dieting was a problem for Thelma Todd, but I don't think it's usually been emphasized in most of the books I recall. But there was one that put some emphasis on the subject.

 

 

 

HOT TODDY by Andy Edmonds

 

 

The book HOT TODDY by Andy Edmonds said Thelma Todd was taking diet pills that contained amphetemines. But diet pills containing amphetemines seem to have come into use after the second World War. Something that criticism of the book seems to have somehow missed, even though some of the same people found lots of other mistakes, some of which aren't even in there.

However, some of the diet pills that were in common use in the 1920's contained thyroid horomone, which could also cause problems, including heart trouble. Thelma Todd suffered from some sort of heart trouble, as did her replacement at the Roach studio, Lyda Roberti.

The problem of extreme dieting is still with us today. There's a whole industry based on it, so the people involved in that industry have an interest in keeping the thing going.


Barbara Lamarr:
http://barbaralamarr.com/


Jean Morgan ( girl in the pictures said to be a graduate of Paramount's acting school ):
http://www.filmsofthegoldenage.com/foga/1998/winter98/marsh.shtml


Wallace Reid:
http://www.goldensilents.com/stars/wallacereid.html


Thelma Todd Dieting Though She Disliked It ( Pittsburgh Press Article ):
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1144&dat=19351224&id=1kwbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DEwEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4514,1736957

Anita Garvin appeared in a number of comedies at the Roach studio.

Anita Garvin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anita Garvin (February 11, 1907 - July 7, 1994) was an American actress and comedienne who appeared in both silent and sound films. She is best known for her work with comedians Laurel and Hardy and Charley Chase.
Garvin was born in New York City. Later, she moved to California where in 1924, she initially worked for Christie Film Company's comedies. She then began work for Educational Pictures and eventually, in 1926 Hal Roach, where she appeared in many silent films with Charley Chase, James Finlayson, and Max Davidson as well as playing occasional supporting roles in feature films.
In 1928, she was teamed with Marion "Peanuts" Byron as a short-lived female version of Laurel and Hardy. Garvin appeared in a total of eleven Laurel and Hardy films. In the sound era, she also appeared in comedies produced at Educational, Warner Brothers/Vitaphone, RKO Radio Pictures, and Columbia Pictures.
Garvin's last film appearance was in the Three Stooges film Cookoo Cavaliers (1940) as a customer requesting a haddock. She then gave up acting to raise a family.

 Selected filmography

• The Sleuth (1925)
• Why Girls Love Sailors (1927)
• With Love and Hisses (1927)
• Sailors Beware (1927)
• Hats Off (1927)
• The Battle of the Century (1927)
• From Soup to Nuts (1928)
• Their Purple Moment (1928)
• Night Watch (1928)
• Trent's Last Case (1929)
• Blotto (1930)
• Whispering Whoopee (1930)
• Be Big! (1931)
• Show Business (1932)
• Swiss Miss (1938)
• A Chump at Oxford (1940)
• Cookoo Cavaliers (1940)

 External links

• Anita Garvin at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview angelfire.com
• 1991 Article by Jesse Green maryellenmark.com
• Anita Garvin at Findagrave.com

Persondata
Name	Garvin, Anita
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	February 11, 1907
Place of birth
Date of death	July 7, 1994
Place of death

   

Rate this page

                                                        *                       *                         *

Anita Garvin was the lady who sat on a pie in THE BATTLE OF THE CENTURY.

Roach tried teaming Anita Garvin and Marion Byron in a couple of films as a sort of female Laurel and Hardy team.

Two Girls and a photographer deal with difficult lighting.

Two guys and a girl dealing with another fine mess.

FROM SOUP TO NUTS, 1928

Here we see Anita Garvin and friends in HATS OFF, a lost film.

Stan Laurel with Anita Garvin, Lorette Loredo, and Georgette Rhodes in BLOTTO.

There were foreign language versions in French and Spanish, and each of the other girls got the part in one of the foreign language version.

 Lupe Velez once told Anita Garvin that she was "Leetle" and that Anita Garvin was nicely "Beeg and Fot". Which somehow isn't quite what I would have said myself.

In 1979, Anita Garvin and her husband Red Stanley attended a Sons of the Desert meeting and were photographed with fellow Roach star Rosina Lawrence.

An Anita Garvin interview, reblogged from The Mabel Normand Hompage ( http://www.angelfire.com/mn/hp/anita1.html )

Interview with Anita Garvin

At the age of 87, Anita Garvin, one of the great, albeit unsung, slapstick queens of films passed away in 1994 at the Motion Picture Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, CA. In her last years Anita was very frail. Nevertheless, I was able to obtain the following interview from her in the course of my earlier research on Mabel Normand. Anita began her career on the stage as a young girl, appearing in the Ziegfeld Follies. One of her earliest recollections was of how Will Rogers allowed her, of all the Ziegfeld girls, to hold his rope. After some years working and touring with vaudeville, she went into films where she first got a job with Al Christie. Later, she went to work for Hal Roach and appeared in films with, among others, Mabel Normand, Zasu Pitts, Charley Chase and Thelma Todd. It is her work, however, with Laurel in Hardy in some of their silent films, like From Soup to Nuts and Battle of the Century, however, for which Anita will probably be best remembered. In the late thirties, Anita later quit films to settle down and have a family when she married band leader Red Stanley. The marriage lasted happily 49 years, up until his death, and Anita always a maintained great loyalty, love and affection for him. As all who knew her can attest, Anita was one of the most sweet, funny and warm people you could possibly know. Although she is greatly missed, she will not be forgotten. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WTS: You appeared with Mabel Normand in a three reeler, "Raggedy Rose," at the Roach studios. What are your very earliest recollections of her?
AG: I think I just loved her. When I was a kid I adored her, I worshipped her. But after I met and worked with her she was just a normal person!
WTS: That's how it always seems to turn out, doesn't it?
AG: (laughing) Yes.
WTS: How did she compare in popularity with someone like Mary Pickford?
AG: Oh she was a big star. They were close as being the same as far as (fans') admiration and love for her. She was married to Lew Cody, and he was an angel. He would always be standing by on the set for her. She was losing her mind about that time - or having some kind of problems, and he was absolutely wonderful!
WTS: He was some ladies man wasn't he?
AG: Oh yes, the women loved him!
WTS: What was it like playing with Mabel in "Raggedy Rose?"
AG: Mabel was hard to work with. She would move her way - which would confuse you if you were working with her. She kept you jumping, you didn't know what to expect. One thing I remember which she didn't do perfect was that she couldn't find her spot. She would get a little wild and not stay within camera range where she was supposed to be, if you know what I mean. But you must realize that this happened in her later days. She was trying to make a come back at that time (1926), but it didn't work out.
WTS. What do you remember about Charley Chase?
AG. What I recall is that he always wanted me to wear a blonde wig. But my hair was jet black then, now it's pure white. At that time he liked blondes for some reason or another so I wore a blonde wig. He was a real nice guy.
WTS. I noticed that you wore the blonde wig in "Raggedy Rose?"
AG. That because she (Mabel) was dark - like opposites.
WTS. Her hair was black wasn't it?
AG. Maybe it was dark brown, but I thought it was black.
WTS: About that time, (1926) did you ever hear comments, said behind her back, to the effect that she was all washed up?
AG: Yes, but I never listened to that. I liked her, she was nice. But I only worked with her on the one picture, so you see it's hard to remember very much. It's so long ago.
WTS. It was "Battle of the Century" where you fall on the pie.
AG. They (televison) ruined the cutting of that one. You know they had to fit it into a TV version. Originally as I slipped and fell on the pie I get up and walked back the way I came. They had an insert of a damp spot just in the shape of the pie and it wasn't funny. They just ruined it.
WTS. Laurel and Hardy loved music, didn't they? Did you get to see that side of them?
AG. Oh yes. Babe had a beautiful singing voice.
WTS. Did you only see them on the set, or what was your relationship?
AG. I knew Stan and his wife and the baby. I say "baby" but she's an old woman now like me. I knew them socially they were nice people.
WTS. I know you worked with Al St. John, who, along with and in the company of Keaton, Arbuckle and Cody, was an accomplished practical jokester off the set. Was Laurel ever like that?
AG. No. Stan was the type that concentrated on the picture at all times; thinking of funny things to happen.
WTS. Did they (L & H) ever have disagreements among themselves?
AG. No never, absolutely never. I swore that after what they wrote about Thelma Todd, you know "Hot Toddy," I swore after I was interviewed on the thing I would never do this again: because they screwed the whole thing up! They were absolutely out of their minds. There wasn't anything in that book that was worth five minutes of her time. What they did to Thelma Todd! "Hot Toddy" they liked the title, but I could see through whoever wrote it. (groans) Oh God!
WTS. That was Andy Edmonds.
AG. I know Andy Edmonds. But I knew Thelma very well, and she was straight laced. She never went through all these things. And she (Edmonds) even got my husband and I - had our business and things - she got that all wrong. It was at the old Monmart on Hollywood Blvd. near Highland. She had us on out on the strip someplace before there was a strip. She got everything backwards. And she interviewed me and I gave her the straight scoop on Thelma. But I think she just decided she knew because she probably liked the title "Hot Toddy" and thought she was going to make it "Hot Toddy!"
WTS. In the pictures, you are rarely smiling. You seem like you are scheming with that wry, dead-pan expression of yours.
AG. I never over-acted in other words.
WTS. There alway seems to be something going on behind your eyes like you knew what you wanted, and were going to have it. Where did that character come from?
AG. It was me, just me. A lot of these things I could be doing something and I said this is isn't funny so I put a little something into it; trying to make it funny. You know, I did mostly comedy or wicked women. [(laughing) Yea, I know what you mean.] There is a charicature here in my room that Nancy Bourbon [Nancy Beiman] did and she caught that in the sketch that she made. I thought "how did she get the expression there?" But she did!
WTS. You really were an incredible doll and a lot more attractive and talented than movie history on the surface has seemed to have given you credit.
AG. Well, I think that was because of my kids. I quit the business just when I had a seven year contract on the Fox lot of Winnie Sheehan's desk waiting to be signed and I wouldn't.
WTS. You'd married (band leader) Red Stanley then? (1930)
AG. Yes, fifty beautiful years of the most wonderful guy in the world!
WTS. What was his music like?
AG. Oh, his music was nothing compared to his dancing. He introduced the "Charleston" in Paris. He was wonderful. A marvellous dancer!
WTS. I can see why he was dancing.
AG. He was darling .
WTS. And you're a great-grandmother?
AG. Yea.
WTS. Seems like things turned out all right for you.
AG. I don't know about that. I can't walk. I can't write.
WTS. O.K., but how old are you?
AG. Eighty-six!
WTS. Well that's pretty old, for pete's sake.
AG. You're darn tootin!

 

                                                      *                     *                     *

After first reading this interview some years ago, I checked HOT TODDY by Andy Edmonds and failed to find the mistakes about the restaurant that Anita Garvin was talking about.

Evidentally Anita Garvin was offended by Andy Edmonds' account of Thelma as having a drinking problem, a drug problem, and being involved with
the infamous gangster Lucky Luciano. There are two sides on the drinking/ drugs/ morals issue. Hollywood gossip portrayed Thelma in a bad light, but friends defended her. Hollywood gossip also linked Thelma with Lucky Luciano, but according to the records it seems Luciano wasn't in the area at the time.

 

And here's some leg art with Anita Garvin in a blonde wig.

 

 

Anita Garvin at Bill Cappello's blog:
http://billcappello.blogspot.com/2008/06/anita-garvin.html

Marion Byron:

http://benny-drinnon.blogspot.com/2013/03/marion-byron.html