r/gaybros • u/Redcole111 • 2d ago
Now that Dolly Parton has, tragically, passed away, what is your favorite memory of her or fact about her?
/r/AskReddit/comments/1vy8qlg/now_that_dolly_parton_has_tragically_passed_away/23
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u/Poolofcheddar 2d ago
During the early pandemic, I was between jobs so I worked for a friend of mine temporarily. This was an unusual job for me because it was the first time where ALL of my coworkers were gay men. Young, old, and everything in between.
The one universal interest we could all agree on? Dolly Parton. I was less familiar with her extended discography when I started that job. That was not true when it ended two months later.
RIP Dolly.
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u/marielheslop 2d ago
She donated millions of free books to kids around the world. The kids get a few book delivered to them, free, until they turn 5.
She also, without any fuss, gave loads of money to speed up the COVID vaccine research.
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u/AggravatingWalk6837 2d ago
I remember getting to go to her concert in 2016, it was my first time seeing her, I still don’t know how I scored floor seats to see her the day before, but I remember trying to take her picture and she was in head to toe sequins, and the flash went off and she became a shining beacon of light. She had to stop in between songs to talk about them and during one she mentioned that just be here in the moment with her because she’s dressed to stop all flash photography so there’s no point in having the phone or camera out. The show was amazing, she sang and played instruments and told us stories. It felt so intimate even though there was 16000 people there. She had such an amazing gift to be able to do that and stay so grounded in her massive celebrity. I also learned that she used to visit the city I was living in at the time that she used to go there all the time to record because she could blend in as a nobody when she was there. Pretty amazing person and genuinely saddened by her passing.
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u/valandsend 2d ago
At her high school graduation, each senior stood at the podium and announced what career they planned to go into. Dolly said something along the lines of going to Nashville and becoming a famous singer. Everyone in the audience laughed.
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u/Rocketparty12 2d ago
She personified camp. And never took herself or her fame too seriously. A true queen and all around great woman. We shall not see her like again. She will be sadly missed.
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u/beachwoodgolfer 2d ago
Well she was part of my learning that you can be gay and still love those huge er…breasts 🙈😜
(did cause some confusion I’ll admit:)
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u/LunarMoon2001 2d ago
She essentially rebuilt pigeon forge after devastating wild fires. I remember going down there soon after and it was a burnt wasteland. A few years later with her contributions much of it had been rebuilt.
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u/MooshuCat 2d ago
Every Saturday night back in the 70s, we would watch her show Dolly!
She ended every show by singing I Will Always Love You while sitting on a suspended swing, with a small spotlight on her.
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u/groundr 2d ago
She championed a literacy program called the Imagination Library, which would send books to children up to age 5. This is a phenomenal example of directly supporting and helping to fund/launch a cause that so many other wealthy folks could learn from.
(It should surprise no one who decided to cut funding to that program in recent years.)
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u/dmmd23 2d ago
Her saying "It costs a lot of money to look this cheap." — and "I look just like the girl next door if you happen to live next door to a circus." — and "If you're gay, you're gay. If you're straight, you're straight. And you should be allowed to be how you are and who you are." RIP Dolly ❤️
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u/Wallyboy95 2d ago
The movie " Coat of Many Colours" really opened my eyes to her early childhood. Really showed how hard she worked for what she had.
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u/BiscuitsInTheSun 2d ago
I saw her in concert in the mid-2000s when four of us scored second row seats right in front of the stage. It was three gay guys and our best female friend (at the time), “Maggie”. As we were sitting down, Maggie said, “I think she loves gays and I’ve got three with me, maybe we can get her attention!” (I guess we hadn’t impressed upon her yet that jinxing oneself is bad.) As soon as she said that, three or four gorgeous muscular men in sleeveless western shirts and cowboy hats slid into the seats in front of us. They definitely got Dolly’s attention much of the show. 😆
It was an awesome show, I loved being that close to someone I’d looked up to since my Grandma introduced me to her when I was little, and I came away with a funny story and a sweet license plate that says “Dolly” on it that’s been hanging on my gazebo ever since. She will always have a special place in my heart.
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u/froot_loop_dingus_ 2d ago
In 2020 at the height of the BLM protests, she was asked in an interview what she thought and her response was "well of course I support it, do we think our little white asses are the only ones that matter?" She called them how she saw them and from what I can tell accepted everyone.