The Life and Times of Bertha Freshman Todd
Bertha Freshman Todd, the first wife of the renowned theater and film producer Michael Todd, lived a life intertwined with the burgeoning entertainment industry of the 20th century. While her life was tragically cut short, her story offers a glimpse into the personal life of a man who would become a significant figure in American entertainment.
Early Life and Marriage to Michael Todd
Bertha Freshman captured Michael Todd's attention in his mid-teens, but he waited until he felt confident enough to pursue her. Their relationship culminated in marriage on Valentine's Day in 1927, in Crown Point, Indiana, when Todd was 19 years old. In 1929, the couple welcomed their son, Mike Todd Jr., into the world.
The Impact of Loss and a Name Change
The death of Michael Todd's father in 1931 marked a significant turning point in his life. On the day of his father's passing, he made the decision to change his name to Mike Todd.
Separation and Tragic Demise
Bertha and Michael Todd's marriage eventually faced challenges, leading to their separation. On August 12, 1946, Bertha died of a pneumothorax (collapsed lung) in Santa Monica, California. She was undergoing surgery at St. John's Hospital for a damaged tendon in her finger.
Michael Todd: From Midwest Roots to Broadway and Hollywood
Michael Todd, born Avrom Hirsch Goldbogen on June 22, 1907, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was the son of Polish Jewish immigrants, Chaim Goldbogen, an Orthodox rabbi, and Sophia Hellerman. He was one of nine children in a poor family. His siblings nicknamed him "Tod" (pronounced "Toat" in German) to mimic his difficulty pronouncing the word "coat".
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Todd's early life was marked by various ventures. He dropped out of high school and worked as a shoe salesperson, store window decorator, and soda jerk. He ventured into the construction business, where he initially made a fortune but subsequently lost it. He opened the College of Bricklaying of America, buying the materials on credit to teach bricklaying. His initial involvement with the film industry was as a contractor for Hollywood studios, soundproofing production stages during the transition from silent pictures to sound. The company he owned with his brother went bankrupt when its financial backing failed in the early days of the Great Depression. Not yet 21, Todd had lost over $1 million.
During the 1933-1934 Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago, Todd produced an attraction called the "Flame Dance," where gas jets burned part of a dancer's costume, leaving her naked in appearance. The act attracted enough attention to bring an offer from the Casino de Paree nightclub in New York City. Todd's Broadway success gave him the nerve to challenge showman Billy Rose. Todd visited Grover Whalen, president of the 1939 New York World's Fair, with a proposal to bring the Broadway show to the Fair. Whalen, eager to have the show at the fair, covered Todd's Broadway early closing costs. Rose, who had an exclusivity clause in his fair contract, met Todd at Lindy's, where Rose learned his contract covered new forms of entertainment only. Todd floated the idea of holding the 1945 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in newly liberated Berlin. Although baseball's new commissioner Happy Chandler was reportedly "intrigued" by the idea, it was ultimately dismissed as impractical.
In 1952, Todd produced the Johann Strauss II operetta A Night in Venice, complete with floating gondolas at the then-newly constructed Jones Beach Theatre in Long Island, New York.
Cinerama and the Dawn of Todd-AO
In 1950, Mike Todd formed Cinerama with the broadcaster Lowell Thomas and the inventor Fred Waller. The company was created to exploit Cinerama, a widescreen film process created by Waller that used three film projectors to create a giant composite image on a curved screen. Before its release, Todd left the Cinerama Company to develop a widescreen process which would eliminate some of Cinerama's flaws.
The result was the Todd-AO process, designed by the American Optical Company. The process was first used commercially for the successful film adaptation of Oklahoma! (1955). Todd soon produced the film for which he is best remembered, Michael Todd's Around the World in 80 Days, which debuted in cinemas on October 17, 1956.
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In the 1950s, Todd acquired the Harris and Selwyn Theaters in downtown Chicago. The Selwyn was renamed Michael Todd's Cinestage and converted into a showcase for Todd-AO productions, while the Harris was renamed the Michael Todd Theatre and operated as a conventional cinema.
Todd's contributions extended to technical innovation in the film industry in the 1950s. He joined forces with the American Optical Co. to develop Todd-AO, a wide-angle-photography (approx 150 degrees) system. The Todd-AO pictures were all shot in 24 fps. Todd-AO used a film with a 2.2:1 ratio. It was first seen, when it was introduced with Oklahoma! (1955). Later, the process was licensed to many studios including that of 20th Century-Fox, which used it all through the 1960s.
Marriages and Relationships
Todd's personal life was as eventful as his professional one. After Bertha's death in 1946, freeing the way for Todd to marry his mistress, Joan Blondell. Todd's third marriage was to the actress Elizabeth Taylor, with whom he had a tempestuous relationship. The couple exchanged vows on February 2, 1957, in Mexico, in a ceremony performed by the mayor of Acapulco. It was the third marriage for both the 24-year-old bride and her 49-year-old groom. Mario Moreno, better known as Cantinflas, was their witness.
The Tragic End
On March 22, 1958, Todd's private plane The Liz crashed near Grants, New Mexico, during a flight from Burbank, California, to Tulsa, Oklahoma. The plane, a twin-engine Lockheed Lodestar, suffered an engine failure while being flown overloaded and experienced icing at an altitude too high for only one engine working under the heavy load. In addition to Todd, those who died in the crash were screenwriter and author Art Cohn, who was writing Todd's biography The Nine Lives of Michael Todd, pilot Bill Verner, and co-pilot Tom Barclay, a replacement for the plane's regular co-pilot.
Verner was a veteran military pilot who had flown heavily loaded Curtiss C-46 Commando cargo planes over The Hump between India and China. Todd paid for the installation of two extra fuel tanks in his leased Lodestar aircraft; this made it weigh more than its official rating when all the tanks were full. Verner had flown the plane overloaded like this before without incident, including piloting Todd on trips over the Atlantic and around Europe.
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Todd was on his way to New York to accept the New York Friars Club "Showman of the Year" award. Taylor wanted to go with him, but stayed home with a cold after Todd overruled her pleas to come along. Just hours before the crash, Todd described the plane as safe as he phoned friends, including Joseph Mankiewicz and Kirk Douglas, in an attempt to recruit a gin rummy player for the flight: "Ah, c'mon," he said. "It's a good, safe plane. I wouldn't let it crash."
Posthumous Events
Todd's death was met with widespread grief. There was a closed coffin, but it was more for show than anything else. The plane had exploded on impact, and whatever remains were found couldn't be identified.
Todd's grave was robbed in Illinois in June 1977. A bag of bones was eventually identified as Todd's. Mike Todd reburial in an undisclosed location.
tags: #Bertha #Freshman #Todd #biography
