Dolly Parton dies at 80 after brief battle with cancer
There had been warning signs, including repeated cancellations, the latest involving an appearance at her Dollywood theme park, but few — perhaps not even Dolly Parton herself — expected the country music legend to leave her millions of fans so soon.
The queen of country music, who had been hospitalized since Friday at a cancer treatment center at Vanderbilt hospital in Nashville, an institution she had supported on several occasions, died at the age of 80 surrounded by loved ones “after a brief battle with cancer,” CE Report quotes ANSA.
Amid widespread mourning, a deeply polarized America ahead of the midterm elections came together for a few hours. The Empire State Building was illuminated in pink, Parton’s favorite color, while flags across the country were lowered to half-staff for an entire week on the orders of President Donald Trump, despite Dolly — a proto-feminist, supporter of the gay community and philanthropist — leaning politically to the left.
Political figures across the spectrum paid tribute to her multifaceted legacy. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani remembered her as “an irreplaceable champion of the working class,” while former Republican President George W. Bush honored “an extraordinary artist and an even more extraordinary person.”
Similar tributes came from former Democratic President Bill Clinton, Joe Biden, who described her as “an American icon,” and Barack Obama, who recalled the singer’s childhood in extreme poverty, saying: “Very few people have had a greater impact than she did.”
As one of her best-known songs, “9 to 5,” was played during the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, King Charles and Queen Camilla shared a photograph on Instagram.
The music world also united in mourning across generations, from Paul McCartney, Elton John and Mick Jagger to 27-year-old Sabrina Carpenter, who had collaborated with Parton on “Please Please Please” 18 months earlier.
For Taylor Swift, who began her career in country music, a world without Dolly Parton “doesn’t seem possible, or real, or fair,” while Beyoncé, who collaborated with her on “Cowboy Carter,” paid tribute to a star she described as “bold and brilliant, talented and tenacious.”
Hollywood figures also expressed their grief. Jane Fonda said she was “devastated” by the death of her “9 to 5” co-star, while Julia Roberts, who appeared alongside Parton in the 1989 film “Steel Magnolias,” said: “She was a magical person, full of joy. Having known her is a treasure of my life.”
Following the initial shock and tributes, Parton’s funeral will be held privately in Nashville. She will be buried beside her beloved husband Carl, wearing a pair from her collection of more than 2,000 high-heeled shoes and one of her more than 300 wigs.
“If We Never Meet Again,” an old country gospel song, will be played at the funeral. In a previous interview, Parton said it was the favorite song of her father, Robert, an extremely poor and illiterate farmer.
In his memory, after becoming wealthy and famous, she launched one of her best-known charitable initiatives, the Imagination Library.
Parton founded the program in 1995 with the goal of sending children in her home county — despite never having children of her own — one free book every month from birth until the age of five.
The local initiative later grew significantly. Beginning in 2000, it was replicated in other communities and eventually expanded beyond the United States to Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and Ireland. Today, the program distributes more than three million books every month.
Photo: Instagram/dollyparton
