Thelma White, a sassy comedienne, became infamous for her role as the blonde vixen "Mae Colman" in the cult film Reefer Madness (1938),originally titled "Tell Your Children".
Born Thelma Wolpa in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1910, she was the daughter of itinerant carnival actors who traveled throughout the Midwest. She began performing at a young age, receiving prime billing as "Baby Dimples" in her family's circus act by the time she was two years old. By age 10, she joined the popular singing and dancing team of "The White Sisters".
Thelma peaked early on the vaudeville circuit, performing with the Ziegfeld Follies and Earl Carroll Revues, and went on to appear on Broadway alongside stars like Milton Berle. She transitioned to radio work and film, signing with RKO in 1928 and appearing in a series of comedies and musicals.
In her heyday, Thelma worked with prominent comedians like W.C. Fields and Jack Benny, and co-starred with Richard Talmadge in the crime film Never Too Late (1935). However, she was pressured by the studio into appearing in the over-the-top propaganda film Reefer Madness, which was a commercial and critical failure.
The film was rediscovered in 1972 and re-titled Reefer Madness, becoming a cult classic. Thelma's career suffered as a result, and she was reduced to bit roles and occasional work in "Poverty Row" pictures. She continued to work in film and television, eventually becoming an agent for Hollywood stars like Debbie Reynolds and James Coburn.
Thelma married three times, including to actors Claude Stroud and Max Hoffman Jr., and had no children. She died of pneumonia at the age of 94 on January 11, 2005, at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland Hills, California.
