https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/25/entertainment/dolly-parton-death
I have two really fond memories of Dolly Parton - and that is no pun.
The first - as a youngster watching the Porter Waggoner Show (with only 3 channels back then, you probably watched too). I remember her doing the live, in-show commercials for Breeze laundry detergent. Back then Breeze came with free hand towels in each box - similar to the way that cereal used to come with a cheap toy or prize. What made the ad's memorable was Dolly's deep southern accent, "free TILES in every box of Breeze". if you saw it, you remember it.
Second memory: one of my first professional jobs was Television Producer for a large book store chain. The store made practice of trotting out celebrity authors for book signings - which they wanted documented for various uses.
Without naming names, I'll tell you that some of these folks were nicer than others. A few were total A-holes, some were just fantastic to be around. Dolly Parton was of the latter camp. She was beyond nice to the horde of devotees who came out to see her.
The event gave me one of my favorite brush with fame stories: the time I pinned a lavalier mic' on Dolly Parton! I was right there on those boys, but alas - Dolly had a bodyguard who strongly resembled Steven Seagal!
I think it was her image ... and cup size (not coffee, here) that intrigued most. Not to be a dick, but I thought her vocals sounded like chipmunks on helium. She did pen some great songs, though.
I met Dolly Pardon once in 1969. I was working at an old vaudeville theatre on the weekends and they had country music shows on the weekends. The show that weekend was billed as The Porter Waggoner Show. But Dolly was on the show. Porter Waggoner invited her out to sing three or four with him. And later she sang a couple by herself and that was it for Dolly.
She was very pretty with a big smile and pretty blue eyes and very friendly. Porter was all business and polite but not really friendly.
Some of the celebrities I got to meet that summer where friendly, some not so much and a few were jerks as was pointed out above.
And we had a couple of half drunks to show up. George Jones was a little mean and rather drunk. Then there was J. Frank Wilson who opened for Waylon Jennings and J. Frank was sloppy drunk and he and his band were cursing each other and J. Frank was threatening to fire a couple and leave them there. I had never seen a man try to do a show that drunk. They were cheap too. An old 1960 Ford station wagon they rode in and pulling a large U-Haul trailer with their equipment. No roadies. Set it up thenselves.
I thought about J. Frank Wilson a few years ago and Googled his named. He died at age 49 in 1991 of liver failure. I only remember one big hit by J Frank Wilson and it's this one from about 1964.
I'm glad Dolly Pardon wasn't there when Wilson was. He was totally out of shape.