 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".