Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" is a jazz song introduced by Carol Channing in the original Broadway production of "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" (1949), which was written by Jule Styne and Leo Robin. It was based on a novel by Anita Loos. The song is perhaps most famously performed by Marilyn Monroe in the 1953 film "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes". Monroe's character, Lorelei Lee, has been followed on a Transatlantic ocean liner by a detective hired by her fiancé's father, who wants assurance that she is not marrying purely for money. He is informed of
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (musical) was produced by Herman Levin and Oliver Smith, directed by John C. Wilson, and choreographed by Agnes de Mille, with vocal direction by Hugh Martin. Financial backers included Harold M. Esty, Jr. The original cast featured: Several well-known blonde actresses, including Betty Hutton, Jayne Mansfield (Carousel Theater, 1964), Mamie Van Doren, Barbara Eden (Florida, January 1999) and Morgan Fairchild, have starred in regional and summer stock productions of "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" over the years. The musical ran in the West End at the Princes Theatre, opening on August 20, 1962 for 223 performances, and featured Dora Bryan as Lorelei Lee,