Just classic.
On August 25, 2026, Dolly Parton sadly passed away at 80-years-old in Nashville Tennessee. Dolly had been dealing with undisclosed health issues for the last year or so, and she previously shared that she was having issues with severe kidney stones. Dolly’s reps confirmed she sadly died following a “brief battle with cancer,” though the specific kind was not revealed.
She was equal parts funny as she was talented, a very rare combination, to be sure, and that was on full display through her many late night TV show appearances throughout her career.
She made many iconic TV appearances, starting in the 1970s with Johnny Carson, and later, she appeared on Conan O’Brien’s Late Night Show multiple times, each one the more memorable than the last. I still love her story about the first time she ever went to New York City with her friend in the late 60s, and if you haven’t heard it before, you should read about it HERE because it’s a classic.
But her monologue on Saturday Night Live on April 15th, 1989 might just be the best one she ever did.
She walks out and jokes that she bussed in people from Dollywood to help make the crowd noise loud, and of course, she had to show off her NBC peacock-inspired outfit, which she said Lorne Michaels, creator and executive producer of SNL, told her to wear so she could “shake her tail feathers”:
“Howdy out there. You are alive tonight… thank you so much. I think it’s only fair for you folks in the audience to know I had about 12 buses shipped down from Dollywood just so I’d get a good reception.
Thank you, thank you, you did good. Well, how do you like my outfit? You recognize it, don’t you? This is the NBC Peacock. That’s because Lorne Michaels told me to wear this because he wanted me to check my tail feathers for you, and I’m gonna do it, too.
It really is great to be here in New York, I always have a good time here, but I have to be honest with you though, I was a little nervous and a little worried about coming here. You know, it’s ‘Saturday Night Live’ and all, you hear all kinds of things, but don’t you folks believe that for a minute.”
She went on to talk about how much work goes into putting together on SNL each week, and explained how different things work in New York City versus even the entertainment capital in Hollywood.
But there’s a catch… the whole time she’s joking about them trying different things creatively, and even weird camera angles, the cameramen are zooming in on Dolly’s most famous assets as we get a close up of her chest:
“These people have gone out of their way to make me feel like one of the family. It’s amazing to me how hard these people work. I mean, they have put this thing together in just one week. I mean, Monday they start coming up with ideas and then Tuesday, they start to write them. And then Wednesday while you’re rehearsing, they build sets, and before you know it, it’s Saturday and it’s time to do this show.
But I’ve done a lot of television in Hollywood, and I’ve done a lot of TV in Nashville. But I have to honestly say, things are a lot different here in New York, really. I mean, everything is just so artistic here. I mean, like for instance, this guy. In Hollywood, they would never even try a shot like that. But up here, the spirit is just, hang the guy up there by the boots and put a camera in his hand and see what it looks like.
It may not always work, but at least you gotta give them credit for trying. God bless her little hears, they’ve been good to me. I’ll tell you what, I think we’ve got a great show tonight. I brought my band and I’m gonna be doing the singing tonight… I’m glad to be here with you.”
I’m not sure whose idea it was to do that, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if it was Dolly’s, but the woman was hysterical and she was never, ever afraid to make fun of herself.
Fans in the comments were loving it too, and I think the top on sums it up best… Dolly was always in on the joke and she was brilliant:
“A joke was never played on her, SHE herself was always in on it.”
“She’s a national treasure.”
“A Dollyism: ‘If you see a person without a smile, give them yours!’ Love Dolly.”
“Stop I’m crying. She was so beautiful and kind and funny I’m so sad.”
“Dolly can take a running joke for 50 years and still be in on it.”
“Force of nature and beautiful human.”
“Gawd, I hadn’t seen this monologue before and I was howling! Oh, this world was (and is) a better place for this woman’s spirit. May we ALL be as loving as she was.”
“Dolly is insanely BEAUTIFUL inside and out.”
“Dolly is human sunshine.”
“She was 43 here… didn’t look a day over 25. One of the most beautiful women to ever exist. Rest easy Doll.”
“I haven’t seen an interview where Dolly didn’t lean into everything she did – always felt her genuine spirit, such a loss for us.”
“R.I.P To a beautiful doll who always had a sense of humor about herself!”
“She knew how to roll with it!”
“She was one of a kind.”
If you’ve never seen this before, it shows off the best parts of Dolly’s infectious and authentic personality, and I’d love to see her full episode because I have no doubt it was incredible. They don’t make SNL episodes like this anymore, that’s for sure… she was truly one of a kind in every sense.
Check it out:
