Licensing Hotline: Star of Page and Screen
by Karen Raugust -- Publishers Weekly, 4/2/2001
Gene Marshall, the collectible movie-star doll created by artist/illustrator Mel Odom and sold by Ashton-Drake, is now featured in her own fictional rags- to-riches biography, Gene Marshall: Girl Star (Hyperion), written by Odom with Michael Sommers. "I thought it was important to put my imprint on who Gene Marshall was," explained Odom.
Odom said reaction from fans—who have purchased more than one million dolls over the last six years, plus costumes, paper dolls, sewing patterns, collector plates, CDs and videos—has been encouraging. "People want to believe in that story."
