With Louella Parsons on the set of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, MM’s first extravagant, expensive musical, in 1953. Parsons and her fellow gossip columnist Hedda Hopper were instrumental in Marilyn’s success. Parsons was of particular help; shortly before this she had chosen Marilyn as the No. 1 Movie Glamour Girl, a selection that received heavy newspaper coverage. “She had to be the winner,” Parsons wrote. “It is Marilyn who is number one on all the GI polls of Hollywood favorites, and number one on exhibitors’ polls of box office favorites. She is the number one cover girl of the year, and certainly number one in public interest wherever she goes.”