The Two Unforgettable Hours I Spent With Dolly Parton
I’ve met scores of celebrities in my life. I’ve photographed many of them. But no one ever left an impression on me quite like Dolly Parton.
Hearing that Dolly has died at 80 feels deeply personal.
Back in 1989, I was invited to Dollywood to photograph her for the cover of Carousel News & Trader magazine.
I had admired Dolly for years, so getting the opportunity felt almost unreal.
While I was taking her picture, she suddenly looked at me and asked:
“Who are you?”
I laughed.
I told her that I had co-authored and photographed the carousel book Painted Ponies.
Dolly smiled and said something I never forgot:
“I knew you were somebody. You know too much about carousels to just be a photographer.”
That was Dolly.
Funny. Curious. Completely present.
When our scheduled shoot ended, her assistant explained that their photographer had an issue and needed to leave. They asked if I could stay and photograph Dolly with some new Dollywood employees and members of her family.
I stayed for more than two hours.
And those two unexpected hours became more valuable to me than any photograph.
Between setups, Dolly and I talked.
What surprised me most was that she didn’t spend the time talking about herself.
She kept asking about me.
For someone who was already one of the biggest stars in the world, there was remarkably little ego in the woman standing in front of me.
I told her how much I admired her—not just as an entertainer, but as a person.
When we finished, they tried to pay me for the extra photography.
I refused.
Spending those hours with Dolly was payment enough.
Her assistant later asked me to send one of the photographs so Dolly could autograph it for me.
I still have that photograph today.
And there is one other memory that no photograph could ever capture.
As I was leaving, Dolly hugged me goodbye.
She was tiny.
She smelled wonderful.
And she carried a warmth that made you feel, for those few seconds, like you mattered to her.
You don’t forget things like that.
Millions of people knew Dolly Parton as the voice behind Jolene, 9 to 5, and I Will Always Love You.
But her greatest legacy may not be found on a record at all.
It is found in the children who received books through her Imagination Library.
In the communities she quietly helped.
In the people she encouraged.
And in countless small moments of kindness that never appeared beneath a spotlight.
I was fortunate enough to experience one of those moments.
Dolly was every bit as kind, funny, gracious and loving as people hoped she would be.
Some celebrities leave behind fame.
Dolly Parton left behind something much harder to achieve.
She left people feeling better because she had been here.
God bless Dolly Parton and her family.
And thank you, Dolly, for those two unforgettable hours in 1989.
I’ll treasure them for the rest of my life . . .