Gene Marshall Dolls

Gene Marshall is a 15-1/2" tall collectible fashion doll inspired by Hollywood's Golden Age. It was created by the illustrator Mel Odom. Each doll features an intricate movie-styled theme based upon fashions from the 1930's, 40's, and 50's as well as Hollywood's version of historical costuming.

When the Gene Marshall doll appeared on the market in 1995, it was the first item of its type and size: a large fashion doll primarily intended for display by adult collectors. Until then, the standard fashion doll had been the 11-1/2" Barbie, which is still primarily sold as a children's plaything; while some collectors were attracted to limited-edition specialty Barbies, most collectible dolls at the time were constructed with neotenous baby-doll proportions instead of with mature, nubile ones. The popular success of "Gene Marshall" sparked the invention of an entire genre of similar collectible large fashion dolls from other companies, such as Tyler Wentworth (Tonner Doll Company), Alexandra Fairchild Ford (Madame Alexander), Clea Bella (Bella! Productions), and Dollfie (Volks Inc.).

The dolls debuted in 1995 and to 2005 they were manufactured by the Ashton-Drake Galleries. The dolls are now produced by Jason Wu and made by Integrity Toys. They have a dedicated following and have inspired other characters in the line: Madra Lord, Violet Waters and Trent Osborn.

Three years after their introduction, over half a million had been sold, and a Gene subculture had sprung up including collectibles clubs, magazines, and conventions. Her design is "an amalgam of all the larger-than-life actresses of Hollywood's Golden Era", and costumes that evoke the work of Edith Head are supposed to represent her appearances in specific but fictional films.

Odom's illustration work has been compared to dolls, and though his career progressed beyond the men's magazines for which he is still best known (he has done book and magazine covers including TIME magazine), he believes that Gene is the "something significant" he has felt bound to do after watching 2/3 of his friends die during the AIDS epidemic. After a fanfare-surrounded debut at the 1995 Toy Fair, Gene became a hit among adult collectors, among them actress Demi Moore ("the world's most high-profile doll collector", according to the New York Times).

These dolls are also popular for artists' one of a kind (OOAK) repaints.

The doll comes with a detailed backstory, eventually expressed in the novelization Gene Marshall, Girl Star. The character Gene Marshall was born in Cos Cob, Connecticut, in 1923, and was discovered by the filmmaker Eric von Sternberg while working in New York City as an usherette. Cast in his next film, she was thrust into a major role when the star fell through a trapdoor during a musical number called "You Floor Me". By the 1950s she was a Hollywood 'powerhouse'.