We’ll never have another Dolly Parton.
That’s obvious on a few levels, from her legendary talent to the force of nature she exuded for decades. “One of a kind” doesn’t do her justice.
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The phrase carries another, more bittersweet meaning in popular culture.
We may never have another superstar who united the country quite like she did. Parton persevered for six decades, entertaining us without malice or dark thoughts.
She was beautiful but welcoming, rich without shoving her fortune in our faces. She opened her pink pocketbook wide when the nation was hurting, but she didn’t do a victory lap or otherwise promote herself or her brand.
And every time a prissy journalist tried to make Parton get political, she politely demurred.
Most celebrities would lunge at the chance to smite the GOP leader du jour or promote their pet causes. Not Parton.
She was too polite, and too aware of what her fame afforded her, to feel compelled to weigh in on every hot-button issue.
She made audiences happy. That was more than enough, thank you.
So what living celebrity can come close to duplicating that unique Dolly appeal? The numbers are dwindling.
Carol Burnett evokes some of Parton’s ageless charm. The 93-year-old comedian has never gotten political or dismissed segments of her fan base. She’s spent decades telling silly jokes and pratfalling across soundstages, all to make us grin.
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She’s sweet and endearing, someone who understands the cultural power she possesses but doesn’t abuse it. Burnett has won just about every award possible, from the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor to both a Tony and a Grammy.
She’s an American icon for all the right reasons.
So, too, is Mel Brooks. The funnyman just turned 100, and we’ll be seeing him in theaters next year when he reprises his Yogurt character for the Spaceballs sequel. He’s still whip-smart in interviews and boasts a legacy of spit-take-inducing comedies like Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, and The Producers. His work has always had an edge, but that rarely carried over to his off-screen persona.
He occasionally dips a toe in political waters, including his first presidential endorsement for Joe Biden in 2020. He’d rather celebrate his late, great friends and remind us of the power of laughter.
That matters.
The same can be said for Dick Van Dyke. The 100-year-old has turned getting older into performance art, flashing his toothy grin in interviews and social media clips alike. He, too, delighted us for more than half a century, a staggering achievement in fickle Hollywood. Some roles proved iconic, like his self-titled sitcom or Bert the chimney sweep in Mary Poppins.
He’s keenly aware of his image—the wacky uncle who never runs out of good spirits. He refuses to relinquish the role.
Other beloved entertainers still with us include Jerry Seinfeld, forever working comedy theaters nationwide at 72, and two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks at 70. The erstwhile Forrest Gump is more political than his peers, but he balances out the activism with all-American projects like Band of Brothers and The Pacific.
Parton’s legacy is more than just timeless tunes. She showed what celebrity can do for culture and country. She may have been just five feet tall, but she left impossibly large high heels to fill.
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