This photo, taken by Murray Garrett, shows Marilyn arriving at the Los Angeles premiere of Call Me Madam on March 4, 1953. She wore a white variant of her pink Travilla ‘diamond dress’ from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, which she had just completed.
The photo is featured in a Harper’s Bazaar article showcasing ’28 of the most stylish press tours of all time.’ However, it is incorrectly captioned as being from There’s No Business Like Show Business‘s New York premiere, although that film didn’t start shooting until May 1954. (The mistake derives from its erroneous description on Getty Images.)
The only connection between Call Me Madam and Show Business is that both films were made at Twentieth Century-Fox, and both starred Ethel Merman and Donald O’Connor. Marilyn’s role in Show Business was part of a make-up deal with Fox following her suspension in January. She agreed to appear in the all-star musical on condition that she would then make The Seven Year Itch. Her character, the ambitious singer Vicky Parker, was written in after the other main parts were set.
When filming wrapped on the all-star musical in August, Marilyn went straight to work on her next movie. She attended a glitzy preview of Show Business with photographer Milton Greene in Los Angeles on October 4 – with Joan Collins, Bing Crosby, Olivia De Havilland, and Judy Garland among other stars present – but skipped its world premiere at the Roxy Theatre in New York on December 16, 1954.
The Marilyn Report 
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