Dolly Parton’s Guitarist Said the Character of Dolly Parton Had ‘Overtaken’ Her

Dolly Parton said she created a character to present to the public when she became famous . Her hair, makeup, and clothing present an image that she said was different from her true self. While Parton believed she and the character she presented were one and the same, her guitarist thought she let the persona overtake her true self.

Dolly Parton said she created a character for herself when she became famous

Parton said she invented the character of Dolly Parton long before fame. It helped her rise to success in the music industry. She said she is proud of what she created.

“A character never grows old. A character lives forever, just like Mae West, like Zsa Zsa Gabor, Liberace,” she said in the book Dolly by Alanna Nash. “I guess I am a character. In more ways than just by look. I guess I’m a character only because I’m just totally what I am. I’m not afraid to be that and say what I want to, and just do what I want to.”

She said she treated the character like a ventriloquist does a dummy .

Dolly Parton’s guitarist believed that character overtook her real self

Parton said it was fine that she and her character became one in the same, her guitarist, Don Roth, had some concerns. Roth worked with other stars who were able to drop their persona offstage. He said Parton never did this.

“They come backstage, and they’re just regular people. They’ll offer you a beer. But Dolly is always Dolly,” Roth said. “I’ve never seen her without her wig , without her makeup. After we got close, I asked her why. She said, ‘It’s my opinion the reason I’m so successful is that the masses expect to see Dolly Parton sparkle and shine, and I don’t want them to ever not see that.’”

He worried that people were unable to get close to her because she didn’t present her true self. Roth certainly felt that Parton kept him at a distance.

“And even though I was a member of the band, I was closer to being the masses than I was to being a friend,” he said. “I don’t know if there is a character other than the spangles and sequins. If there is, it’s buried really deep. I don’t know that it’s an act at all, because the character has overtaken her.”

A reporter didn’t think Parton’s personality could all be an act

While Roth said he wasn’t sure there was anything beneath Parton’s shiny public-facing mask, others thought she presented her true self. Journalist Joan Dew didn’t think it was possible for Parton to completely conceal herself .

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“You’ve heard all these stories about her marriage being an arrangement, and you’ve heard that she is so ambitious that nothing stands in her way,” she said. “And then you spend an hour with her, and she shines those big blue eyes on you, and that soft, little-girl voice, and she’s sweet. There’s a sweetness, an innocence about her, that can’t be all phony. Unless she’s the world’s greatest actress.”

Dew said she never doubted Parton’s sincerity.