Thelma Hill (born Thelma Hillerman; December 12, 1906 – May 11, 1938) was an American silent screen comedian and one of the

Sennett Bathing Beauties Sennett Bathing Beauties was a bevy of women performing in bathing costumes assembled by film producer Mack Sennett during the silent film era. Description The Sennett Bathing Beauties appeared in Mack Sennett comedy short subjects, in promotio ...

Early life

Hill was born Thelma Hillerman on December 12, 1906, in Emporia, Kansas. Her parents were married in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1899. They relocated to Emporia, Kansas, before Thelma was born and divorced when she was a baby. Her mother Augusta "Gussie" Hillerman was given full custody after alleging her father, railroad worker Clifford Hillerman, had abandoned them for another woman. Clifford Hillerman died in 1914 after suffering an accident at work.

Career

Before she became a Mack Sennett bathing beauty, Hill worked as an artist's model in New York. Hill was one of the few

to make it into featured roles. Hill was widely known as the "mah jongg bathing girl" because of the mah jongg bathing suit she was photographed in. When she was a child her parents divorced and her father died. Thelma and her mother moved to California, where they opened a cafe down the road from the Sennett studios. She was discovered by Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle when she was serving him and dropped soup in his lap. Arbuckle introduced her to Mack Sennett who made her one of his bathing beauties. In a 1924 article Sennett declared she was the "ideal bathing beauty of her time". The petite actress was just five feet tall and weighed only 100 pounds. She started working as an extra at the Sennett studios in 1919 and appeared in dozens of comedy shorts including ''Picking Peaches'' (1924) and ''The Hollywood Kid'' (1925). She was a talented comedienne and quickly moved on to featured roles. Hill starred opposite Ben Turpin in ''A Prodigal Bridegroom'' (1926) and with

Billy Bevan Billy Bevan (born William Bevan Harris, 29 September 1887 – 26 November 1957) was an Australian-born vaudevillian, who became an American film actor. He appeared in more than 250 American films between 1916 and 1950. Career Bevan was bo ...

in ''Hoboken From Hollywood''. Mack Sennett saw her potential signed to her a long term long contract. From 1927 to 1929, she co-starred with Bud Duncan in

Larry Darmour Lawrence J. Darmour (1895–1942) was an American film producer, operator of Larry Darmour Productions from 1927, and a significant figure in Hollywood's Poverty Row. Career Darmour was born in Flushing, Queens. In September 1927 he released th ...

's series of silent ''

Toots and Casper ''Toots and Casper'' is a family comic strip by Jimmy Murphy, distributed to newspapers for 37 years by King Features Syndicate, from December 17, 1918 to December 30, 1956. The strip spawned many merchandising tie-ins, including books, dolls, p ...

'' comedy shorts and was Laurel and Hardy's leading lady in ''

Two Tars ''Two Tars'' is a silent short subject directed by James Parrott starring comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. It was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on November 3, 1928 Plot Laurel and Hardy play two sailors on shore leave who decide to rent an autom ...

'' (1928). She was under contract at FBO in 1927 and was signed by

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

for a role in '' The Fair Co-Ed'' (1927). She appeared in a handful of talkies including ''The Old Barn'' (1929) and ''The Naughty Flirt'' (1931) with

Alice White Alice White (born Alva White; August 25, 1904Katz, Ephraim (1979). ''The Film Encyclopedia: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume''. Perigee Books. , pg. 1228. – February 19, 1983) was an American film ac ...

. Her final role was in the

Hal Roach Harry Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr. Skretvedt, Randy (2016), ''Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies'', Bonaventure Press. p.608. (January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer, director, and screenwriter, ...

comedy ''Mixed Nuts'' (1934).

Personal life

Hill was engaged to director St. Elmo Boyce until he committed suicide in 1930. In 1934 she married John West Sinclair, a stunt man and gag writer for W.C. Fields. By this time Hill was suffering from alcoholism.

Death

By 1935 she had retired from movies and was living with her husband at 8229 Blackburn Avenue in Hollywood. Unfortunately she was suffering from depression and

alcohol abuse Alcohol abuse encompasses a spectrum of unhealthy alcohol drinking behaviors, ranging from binge drinking to alcohol dependence, in extreme cases resulting in health problems for individuals and large scale social problems such as alcohol-rel ...

. After having a nervous breakdown she entered Edward Merrill Sanitarium in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...

, in early 1938. Her diagnosis was alcoholism, a vitamin deficiency, and malnutrition. Hill died on May 11, 1938, in Culver City, California, at the age of 31. She was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park

Partial filmography

* ''Up In Alf's Place'' (1919) * ''Picking Peaches'' (1924) * ''The Hollywood Kid'' (1924) * '' Pie-Eyed'' (1925) * ''Hoboken To Hollywood'' (1926) * ''The Divorce Dodger'' (1926) * '' The Windjammer'' (1926) * '' Flirty Four-Flushers'' (1926) * ''Fooling Casper'' (1927) * '' His First Flame'' (1927) * ''Crazy To Act'' (1927) * ''The Pride Of Pikeville'' (1927) * '' The Fair Co-Ed'' (1927) * '' The Chorus Kid'' (1928) *lost film * ''

'' (1928) *'' Crooks Can't Win'' (1928) * '' Hearts of Men'' (1928) * '' The Old Barn'' (1929) * ''

Two Plus Fours ''Two Plus Fours'' is a 1930 American short film directed by Ray McCarey and featuring the Rhythm Boys (Bing Crosby, Al Rinker and Harry Barris). The film was shot in 5 days starting on May 29, 1930 at a cost of $19,689. It previewed in mid-Ju ...

'' (1930) * ''

The Miracle Woman ''The Miracle Woman'' is a 1931 American pre-Code romance film directed by Frank Capra and starring Barbara Stanwyck, David Manners, and Sam Hardy. Based on the play ''Bless You Sister'' by John Meehan and Robert Riskin, the film is about a pr ...

'' (1931) * ''

The Naughty Flirt ''The Naughty Flirt'' is a 1931 American pre-Code romantic comedy film directed by Edward Cline and starring Alice White, Paul Page and Myrna Loy. Plot Attorney Alan Ward (Paul Page) is fed up with the reckless behavior of spoiled heiress Kay E ...

'' (1931) * ''

The Dentist ''The Dentist'' is a 1996 American slasher film directed by Brian Yuzna and written by Dennis Paoli, Stuart Gordon, and Charles Finch. It stars Corbin Bernsen, Linda Hoffman and Ken Foree. It is the first installment in ''The Dentist'' film ser ...

'' (1932) * ''Wild People'' (1932) * ''Mixed Nuts'' (1934)

References

*'' Los Angeles Times'', ''Additions To Cast'', August 13, 1924, Page A9. *''Los Angeles Times'', ''Bathing Girl Given Lead In New Comedy'', August 17, 1924, Page B33. *''Los Angeles Times'', ''Thelma Hill, Former Sennett Player, Dies'', May 12, 1938, Page A20.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Thelma 1906 births 1938 deaths American film actresses American silent film actresses People from Emporia, Kansas Actresses from Kansas Alcohol-related deaths in California Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) 20th-century American actresses