Dolly Parton spent the very end of her storied life doing what she loved – working on her many projects, even while hospitalized. That’s per a press statement her longtime manager, Danny Nozell, gave The Hollywood Reporter. She’s seen below with Danny at her side, and her lifelong best friend-turned-assistant Judy Ogle in the background.
In his statement, Nozell revealed that the vivacious musician “worked up until the day she died.” This means Dolly was still working on her projects from inside the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. The icon checked into the hospital on Friday, August 21, after telling her fans she was suffering from dehydration in her final speech, which was broadcast at Dollywood 2 days earlier on August 19. She died 4 days later.
“She loved seeing her dreams come to life and loved knowing her work brought people joy. Ever the planner, Dolly worked with the team that she handpicked for the past several years to build a project roadmap that will guide us for decades to come,” Nozell’s statement went on.
He also shared that “many projects were in various stages of development” when the icon’s health suddenly declined, and assured fans that Dolly placed her “personal stamp” on her forthcoming yet-to-be-released projects. He said any “music, products, books, experiences and campaigns” that fans may see fall under that category, so long as they are put out by the singer’s official channels.
Nozell’s statement aligns with Dolly’s August 21 promise to People magazine in her final media interview that she was “still working.” She also optimistically declared that she was “healing” in the brief comments.
TMZ reported soon after her death they were told by sources that due to her quick downturn, Dolly’s team had to quickly jump into action mode to arrange for all her closest friends and family to get into to town and be at her side.
Her hospital stay was initially expected to be temporary, says the story.
Dolly Parton’s Upcoming Projects Include a Hotel & Museum
A museum called Dolly’s Life of Many Colors will open later this year and allow visitors to “experience Dolly’s career and personal memories through the eyes of Dolly herself,” according to it Instagram page.
One of the most special rooms in the museum, of which a sneak peak has been shared, is the Imagination Library area, an homage to Dolly’s childhood literacy project that sends free books each month to program participants from birth to age 5.
Dolly was inspired by her father Robert Lee Parton to star the reading initiative, whom she spoke about in her 2020 book that shares the “Songteller” name with her new hotel, which is set to open in September.
She reflected in the book’s pages, “Daddy got to live long enough to see it doing really well, and he just loved it when kids would call me ‘The Book Lady.’ He took pride that he was a part of that.” She even noted that he may have been even prouder of the project than her stratospheric music career.
She says in her book that dream started off small, with Dolly thinking she could perhaps provide books for “a county or two.” After things took off, she expanded the program to the entire state of Tennessee, before adding Canada as well. “We’ve given away 130 million books so far, and we’re still growing,” the Sevierville native marveled.
