Dolly Parton Remembers Burt Reynolds: ‘You Will Always Be My Favorite Sheriff’
Dolly Parton remembered her former co-star Burt Reynolds following the beloved movie star’s death on Thursday, posting a photo on Instagram along with her comments.
“Oh how sad I am today along with Burt‘s millions of fans around the world as we mourn one of our favorite leading men,” she wrote. “I know we will always remember his funny laugh, that mischievous sparkle in his eyes, and his quirky sense of humor. You will always be my favorite sheriff, rest in peace my little buddy and I will always love you, Dolly.”
Parton starred opposite Reynolds in 1982, appearing in the campy classic The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Parton was cast as the madam Mona Stangley, proprietor of the titular brothel, while Reynolds played Sheriff Ed Earl Dodd, with whom Parton’s character was having an affair — the pair even duet on the original song “Sneakin’ Around” in one scene. In characteristic Parton fashion, she was happy to play up the chemistry between the two characters.
“When they started askin’ for suggestions, I said I would like to see more of a romance,” Parton told Rolling Stone in a 1980 interview. “Wouldn’t you feel like you wasted five dollars if you paid to see Whorehouse and you didn’t see me and Burt kiss?”
The attraction was evidently a mutual one. In a 2015 episode of BBC Radio’s Chris Evans Breakfast Show, Reynolds told fellow guest Kylie Minogue that it was “wonderful” working with Parton, quipping, “[I] got to work with her for so long that eventually I was looking at her face.”
Notably, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas also featured a version of Parton’s “I Will Always Love You,” a Number One in 1974 as well as again in 1982 after Best Little Whorehouse was released.
Reynolds, whose film resumé included Deliverance, Smokey and the Bandit and Boogie Nights, among many others, was 82.