Joseph Hudak
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Reba McEntire performs a tribute to Dolly Parton during the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards NBC via Getty Images From her beginnings on The Porter Wagoner Show to her series of Christmas movies and specials, Dolly Parton had a long history with television. On Monday night, the 78th Emmy Awards paid tribute to the country songwriter and actress with a standalone homage during the telecast.
Her longtime friend actress Sally Field, who starred alongside Parton in the 1989 film Steel Magnolias, said Parton was “genuine and humble, supportive, and blisteringly funny, with a bawdy sense of humor that would send any rude guy looking for a place to hide.”
“There are truly angels on Earth, and we just lost one,” Field said. “Though we lived very far apart, I adored her from day one. How could you not? She was a humanitarian whose contributions have made a profound difference in the lives of so many in her home state of Tennessee and across our country.”
Reba McEntire then performed a string-orchestra backed rendition of the country-music icon’s song, “Appalachian Memories.” “I love you Dolly,” McEntire concluded. “So much.”
Parton died Aug. 25 after a brief battle with cancer. She was 80.
