DOLLY PARTON, R.I.P.

There are just a few people who seem like they’ll live forever. And the world wishes they would. Dolly Parton was at the head of that short list. (I’ll share a wonderful personal story of her loveliness in a moment.) She was the sweetest, kindest, most generous person ever. She was truly an angel on earth.

So her death this week came as a shock, even though some of us did have a sinking feeling that her demise was coming soon. She had been canceling concerts and events due to health issues, and hadn’t appeared anywhere in a while.

She was so iconic that I can tell you exactly where I was and what I was doing when I got the news that Dolly Parton had died, which does not happen with most famous people. It was Tuesday morning at 11:14 AM and I was sitting in bed, working on my laptop. I heard a little noise coming from my iPad, which indicated that some news had just come in. It was far enough away that I could not make-out the whole message on it very well, and all I could read clearly were the words, “Dolly Parton,” and I knew immediately what it meant. And my heart stopped. I looked closer and saw the whole very sad news.

My heart is bleeding for her family, friends, and gazillion fans. It just doesn’t seem fair to have lost such a purely wonderful person who still had so much more life to live. Just a few days before her death, she gave an interview in which she mentioned that she was “dealing with some health issues,” and stated, “…even though I’m still healin’, I’m still workin’! You know me; as I’ve often said, I’ve dreamed myself into a corner, and I still have so many things I want to achieve, so I’m gonna keep on working as long as I can to see everything come to life.” But I believe she knew she would not live much longer at that point. I think she just wanted us all to not worry about her.

We now know that she had cancer, but I feel that she was also suffering from a broken heart over the loss of her cherished husband of sixty years, Carl Dean, a year and a half ago. And then, perhaps to a lesser degree, her brother Coy just last month. And she had accomplished more than most people have, so maybe she felt it was time to go join them. At least I’m romanticizing that that’s what happened.

Although I’ve never had the good fortune to actually meet Dolly, I have been in her orb twice. And in very close proximity. They were both totally memorable experiences, especially the second one, so I’m sharing them with you.

The first time was in the mid-’80s at the Comedy Store in West Hollywood. I attended a private industry showcase for Whoopi Goldberg before she was famous; her managers had invited a lot of heavy hitters. A powerful producer had brought my young self along, and we were sitting right in the center, in an elevated area, with Dolly and Lily Tomlin sitting kind-of perpendicular to us, on the same level and off to the side. So I could see their faces the entire time. My producer pal and I never laughed once. And I noticed that Lily Tomlin was also not amused; I was happy to see that she agreed with our opinion of the show. But Dolly Parton, ever the darling person that she is, tried to laugh, or at least smile, the whole time. She kept uttering sweet little noises to show support when few others were even chuckling. Right then I knew that she was an absolutely darling person.

The second time I saw Dolly up-close-and-personal was one of the best celebrity experiences ever! It was on September 20, 2008, at the Opening Night of the musical 9 to 5 at the Ahmanson Theatre in downtown LA. I sat just four rows behind Dolly and her co-stars from the earlier movie version of 9 To 5, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, which was exciting enough. Seriously, I hardly ever care about really famous folks, but this trio was royalty. Jane was already seated, but Dolly, then Lily, made late entrances to raucous applause, which is a rarity for that venue.

About twenty minutes into the show, there was a technical issue. So the curtains closed, and the announcer asked us to stay in our seats during the delay. After about a minute in the dark, Dolly called-out from her seat, “Don’t make me have to sing!”

As the audience went wild, they brought up the house lights and by some magic, someone swiftly put a mike in Dolly’s long-nailed hands. She proceeded to talk to us, and was absolutely adorable and charming. I could immediately understand why she’s so beloved.

She explained that in the show’s previews, “We did have this problem before, but if I have to sing, this time I’m making Lily and Jane join me!”

She chatted a little more, then announced, “I don’t know what we’re supposed to do but sing 9 To 5!,” and led an audience sing-along. At the end, she said, “Good thing I’m such a show-off!” Actually, it was a great thing for those of us in the audience that night! It’s such a vivid and precious memory.

She then told us the history of the production, introducing all the important players in the audience, and offered to take questions, saying, “I’ll tell y’all whatever you want to know, and if I don’t know the answer, I’ll make something up.”

She was about to sing her classic And I Will Always Love You when, to the entire audiences’ disappointment, (especially mine because it was the main song that Clarence, The Singing Dog, loved to perform,) the producer told her that the show was ready to resume. When we let out a collective negative sigh, she said, “Let’s save it in case we break down agin!” (To our chagrin, it did not.)

That was Dolly in a nutshell. She was truly one of a kind. And I don’t think any of us will ever know the full scope of the kindnesses she’s done for the world. (I had already written this when I read that her sister wrote, “What the world saw is exactly who she was, so much so, she told me recently that if there was no hope for her, she would still allow her medical team to try experimental drugs in the hope of helping others in the future.” Who else in the world would do that?!)

As my own little tribute to her, I’m going to try to emulate an amusing policy of hers. Dolly has said that she sleeps in her complete make-up to “always be ambulance-ready.” That’s a riot, but I have no doubt that she really did it. I actually think of that every time I don’t feel well in the middle of the night, and worry what I’ll look like if anyone has to see me at that time. So I think I will do like Dolly did from now on.

Please R.I.P., Dolly Parton. As sad as we all are without you, we will try to be at peace for you, knowing that you’re now reunited with your precious Carl.