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{{short description|American actress}}
{{short description|American actress (1906–38)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{more footnotes|date=July 2014}}
{{more footnotes|date=July 2014}}
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| image_size =
| image_size =
| caption = From a 1920 magazine
| caption = From a 1920 magazine
| birth_name = Thelma Floy Hillerman
| birth_name = Thelma Hillerman
| birth_date = {{birth date|1906|12|12}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|1906|12|12}}
| birth_place = [[Emporia, Kansas]], U.S.
| birth_place = [[Emporia, Kansas]], U.S.
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| restingplace = [[Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale|Forest Lawn Memorial Park]]
| restingplace = [[Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale|Forest Lawn Memorial Park]]
| occupation = Actress, Model
| occupation = Actress, Model
| yearsactive = 1924–1934
| yearsactive = 1919–1934
| spouse = {{Plainlist|
| spouse = {{Plainlist|
* {{marriage|John West Sinclair|1934}}
* {{marriage|[[John West Sinclair]]|1934}}
}}
}}
}}
}}


'''Thelma Hill''' (born '''Thelma Floy Hillerman'''; December 12, 1906 – May 11, 1938) was an American [[Silent film|silent screen]] [[comedian]] and one of the [[Sennett Bathing Beauties]].
'''Thelma Hill''' (born '''Thelma Hillerman'''; December 12, 1906 – May 11, 1938) was an American [[Silent film|silent screen]] [[comedian]] and one of the [[Sennett Bathing Beauties]].


==Early life and career==
==Early life==
Hill was born Thelma Hillerman<ref>{{cite book |last1=Room |first1=Adrian |title=Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins, 5th ed. |date=2014 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-5763-2 |page=229 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eSIhzKnNUf4C&dq=%22Thelma+Hill%22%22+actress&pg=PA229 |access-date=December 27, 2021 |language=en}}</ref> on December 12, 1906, in [[Emporia, Kansas]].<ref name="clac" /> 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.{{Citation needed |date=April 2024}}
⚫
Born '''Thelma Floy Hillerman''' in [[Emporia, Kansas]], she was one of the few [[Sennett Bathing Beauties]] 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.<ref>http://thelmahill1938.blogspot.com/2017/03/thelma-was-mah-jongg-bathing-girl.html</ref>


== Career ==
⚫
When she was a child her parents divorced and her father died<ref>http://thelmahill1938.blogspot.com/2017/11/gussie-clifford-hillerman-thelmas.html</ref>. 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.<ref>http://thelmahill1938.blogspot.com/2017/03/did-fatty-arbuckle-discover-thelma.html</ref> 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".<ref>http://thelmahill1938.blogspot.com/2017/03/thelmas-bathing-beauty-pin-ups.html</ref>. The petite actress was just five feet tall and weighed only 100 pounds.
Before she became a [[Sennett Bathing Beauties|Mack Sennett bathing beauty]], Hill worked as an artist's model in New York.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bathing Beauties Come to Filmland From Many Realms |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91254654/the-oregon-daily-journal/ |access-date=December 27, 2021 |work=The Oregon Daily Journal |date=December 26, 1920 |location=Oregon, Portland |page=37|via = [[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>


⚫
Hill was one of the few [[Sennett Bathing Beauties]] 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.{{Citation needed |date=April 2024}}
⚫
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]] in ''Hoboken From Hollywood''. Mack Sennett saw her potential signed to her a long term long contract<ref>http://thelmahill1938.blogspot.com/2017/03/thelma-hills-story.html</ref>. As she became older, Hill began to double for [[Mabel Normand]].


⚫
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.{{Citation needed |date=April 2024}}
⚫
From 1927 to 1929, she co-starred with [[Bud Duncan]] in [[Larry Darmour]]'s series of silent ''[[Toots and Casper]]'' comedy shorts and was [[Laurel and Hardy]]'s leading lady in ''[[Two Tars]]'' (1928). She was under contract at [[Film Booking Offices of America|FBO]] in 1927 and was signed by [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]] 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]]. Her final role was in the [[Hal Roach]] comedy ''Mixed Nuts'' (1934)<ref>http://thelmahill1938.blogspot.com/2017/03/thelmas-movies.html</ref>.

⚫
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]] 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]]'s series of silent ''[[Toots and Casper]]'' comedy shorts and was [[Laurel and Hardy]]'s leading lady in ''[[Two Tars]]'' (1928). She was under contract at [[Film Booking Offices of America|FBO]] in 1927 and was signed by [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]] 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]]. Her final role was in the [[Hal Roach]] comedy ''Mixed Nuts'' (1934).


==Personal life==
==Personal life==
In 1934 she married [[John West Sinclair]], a stunt man and gag writer for [[W.C. Fields]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Former Emporian, a Movie Actress, Dies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/11781076/thelma-hill-death/ |access-date=December 27, 2021 |work=The Emporia Gazette |date=May 12, 1938 |page=5|via = [[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
Thelma's 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<ref>http://thelmahill1938.blogspot.com/2017/11/gussie-clifford-hillerman-thelmas.html</ref>. Clifford Hillerman died in 1914 after suffering an accident at work. Thelma 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]].<ref>http://thelmahill1938.blogspot.com/2017/03/thelmas-husband-john-west-sinclair.html</ref> By this time Thelma was suffering from alcoholism.


==Death==
==Death==
By 1935 she had retired from movies and was living with her husband at 8229 Blackburn Avenue in Hollywood<ref>http://thelmahill1938.blogspot.com/2017/03/thelma-hills-story.html</ref>. Unfortunately she was suffering from [[clinical depression|depression]] and [[alcohol abuse]]. After having a nervous breakdown she entered Edward Merrill Sanitarium in [[Culver City, California]] in early 1938. Her diagnosis was alcoholism, a vitamin deficiency, and malnutrition. She died on May 11, 1938 at the age of 31 from a cerebral hemorrhage.
By 1935 she had retired from movies and was living with her husband at 8229 Blackburn Avenue in Hollywood. Unfortunately she was suffering from [[clinical depression|depression]] and [[alcohol abuse]]. After having a nervous breakdown she entered Edward Merrill Sanitarium in [[Culver City, California]], in early 1938.{{Citation needed |date=April 2024}}


She died at the sanitorium on May 11, 1938, at the age of 31. Cause of death was attributed to a stomach ailment.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/789006794/?terms=%22Thelma%20Hill%22&match=1 Thelma Hill Dies, ''The Herald-Sun'', May 12, 1938, page 14]</ref> She was buried in [[Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale|Forest Lawn Memorial Park]]<ref name="clac">{{cite book |last1=Ellenberger |first1=Allan R. |title=Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory |date=2001 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-5019-0 |page=54 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZraJCgAAQBAJ&dq=%22Thelma+Hill%22%22+actress&pg=PA54 |access-date=December 27, 2021 |language=en}}</ref>
She was buried in [[Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale|Forest Lawn Memorial Park]]. Although newspapers reported she had a funeral her ashes remain in a storage closet at Forest Lawn's Great Mausoluem.<ref>http://thelmahill1938.blogspot.com/2017/03/thelmas-final-resting-place.html</ref> Her widower [[John West Sinclair]] would also succumb to alcoholism a few years later.


==Partial filmography==
==Partial filmography==
{{col-start}}
{{col-2}}
* ''Up In Alf's Place'' (1919)
* ''Up In Alf's Place'' (1919)
* ''Picking Peaches'' (1924)
* ''Picking Peaches'' (1924)
Line 46: Line 53:
* ''Hoboken To Hollywood'' (1926)
* ''Hoboken To Hollywood'' (1926)
* ''The Divorce Dodger'' (1926)
* ''The Divorce Dodger'' (1926)
* ''[[The Windjammer]]'' (1926)
* ''[[Flirty Four-Flushers]]'' (1926)
* ''[[Flirty Four-Flushers]]'' (1926)
* ''Fooling Casper'' (1927)
* ''Fooling Casper'' (1927)
* ''[[His First Flame]]'' (1927)
* ''[[His First Flame]]'' (1927)
* ''Crazy To Act'' (1927)
* ''[[Crazy To Act]]'' (1927)
* ''The Pride Of Pikeville'' (1927)
* ''The Pride Of Pikeville'' (1927)
{{col-2}}
* ''[[The Fair Co-Ed]]'' (1927)
* ''[[The Fair Co-Ed]]'' (1927)
* ''[[The Chorus Kid]]'' (1928) *lost film
* ''[[The Chorus Kid]]'' (1928) *lost film
* ''[[Two Tars]]'' (1928)
* ''[[Two Tars]]'' (1928)
*''[[Crooks Can't Win]]'' (1928)
* ''[[Hearts of Men]]'' (1928)
* ''[[The Old Barn]]'' (1929)
* ''[[The Old Barn]]'' (1929)
* ''[[Two Plus Fours]]'' (1930)
* ''[[Two Plus Fours]]'' (1930)
Line 61: Line 72:
* ''Wild People'' (1932)
* ''Wild People'' (1932)
* ''Mixed Nuts'' (1934)
* ''Mixed Nuts'' (1934)
{{col-end}}


==References==
==References==
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[[Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)]]
[[Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)]]
[[Category:20th-century American actresses]]
[[Category:20th-century American actresses]]
[[Category:Comedians from Kansas]]
[[Category:American women comedians]]
[[Category:Silent film comedians]]

Latest revision as of 16:25, 26 June 2024

Thelma Hill
From a 1920 magazine
Born
Thelma Hillerman

(1906-12-12)December 12, 1906
Emporia, Kansas, U.S.
DiedMay 11, 1938(1938-05-11) (aged 31)
Culver City, California, U.S.
Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park
Occupation(s)Actress, Model
Years active1919–1934
Spouse
​
(m. 1934)​

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

Early life

[edit]

Hill was born Thelma Hillerman[1] on December 12, 1906, in Emporia, Kansas.[2] 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.[citation needed]

Career

[edit]

Before she became a Mack Sennett bathing beauty, Hill worked as an artist's model in New York.[3]

Hill was one of the few Sennett Bathing Beauties 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.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed]

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 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's series of silent Toots and Casper comedy shorts and was Laurel and Hardy's leading lady in Two Tars (1928). She was under contract at FBO in 1927 and was signed by MGM 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. Her final role was in the Hal Roach comedy Mixed Nuts (1934).

Personal life

[edit]

In 1934 she married John West Sinclair, a stunt man and gag writer for W.C. Fields.[4]

Death

[edit]

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. After having a nervous breakdown she entered Edward Merrill Sanitarium in Culver City, California, in early 1938.[citation needed]

She died at the sanitorium on May 11, 1938, at the age of 31. Cause of death was attributed to a stomach ailment.[5] She was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park[2]

Partial filmography

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Room, Adrian (2014). Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins, 5th ed. McFarland. p. 229. ISBN 978-0-7864-5763-2. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Ellenberger, Allan R. (2001). Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. McFarland. p. 54. ISBN 978-0-7864-5019-0. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  3. ^ "Bathing Beauties Come to Filmland From Many Realms". The Oregon Daily Journal. Oregon, Portland. December 26, 1920. p. 37. Retrieved December 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Former Emporian, a Movie Actress, Dies". The Emporia Gazette. May 12, 1938. p. 5. Retrieved December 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Thelma Hill Dies, The Herald-Sun, May 12, 1938, page 14
  • 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.
[edit]
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