MFM Minisode 506 - The Dolly Parton Tribute Minisode

This week’s hometowns are Dolly Parton-themed! Stories include Dolly scaring a 5 year old and a birthday wig party. For our sources, please visit https://www.myfavoritemurder.com/episodes. Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3UFCn1g. Head to social media to share your favorite moments from this episode. Instagram: instagram.com/myfavoritemurder http://instagram.com/myfavoritemurder Facebook: facebook.com/myfavoritemurder http://facebook.com/myfavoritemurder TikTok: tiktok.com/@my_favorite_murder http://tiktok.com/@my_favorite_murder Send your hometown stories to [email protected] mailto:[email protected]. Join the Fan Cult to access ad-free episodes of My Favorite Murder. Members also receive merch store discounts, exclusive audio and video content and more! Visit www.fancult.supercast.com http://www.fancult.supercast.com/ to join. Shop for My Favorite Murder and other Exactly Right merchandise here: www.exactlyrightstore.com https://www.exactlyrightstore.com. Rate, review and follow My Favorite Murder on the iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you like to listen. See omnystudio.com/listener https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Speaker 00

  This is exactly right.

• 0:07Speaker 00

  911, what's your emergency?

• 0:09Speaker 01

  Please help us, they're everywhere. We think they're murder hornets. 911 Nashville returns.

• 0:17Speaker 02

  It's a homicide detective down here.

• 0:19Speaker 03

  Three bodies on the ground.

• 0:20Speaker 01

  With emergencies of biblical proportions.

• 0:23Speaker 03

  Hell, since swarms upon you and upon your people.

• 0:26Speaker 02

  That's one of the plagues of the Bible.

• 0:27Speaker 03

  And somebody's unleashing them on Nashville.

• 0:30Speaker 01

  Brian Phillippe, 911 Nashville. All new Thursdays on ABC, next day on Hulu.

• 0:37Speaker 00

  Whether you're buying, renting, or selling, Zillow can help make your someday today. To help find a home that fits where you are in life, or that apartment that's a little closer to where you want to be. Zillow has the right information, tools, and support to help turn your future home into a reality. Because someday starts today. Visit zillow.com/today to get started.

• 1:02Speaker 04

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• 1:48Karen Kilgariff?

  Hello, and welcome.

• 1:51Georgia Hardstark?

  To my favorite murder.

• 1:52Karen Kilgariff?

  The minisode.

• 1:53Georgia Hardstark?

  Y'all.

• 1:54Karen Kilgariff?

  Hey, y'all.

• 1:55Georgia Hardstark?

  Hey, y'all.

• 1:55Karen Kilgariff?

  This is a very special minisode today. This is the Dolly Parton tribute minisode.

• 2:00Georgia Hardstark?

  That's right, and we got so many emails from you guys. Turns out, everyone has a Dolly Parton memory, or thought, or feeling, and...

• 2:06Karen Kilgariff?

  Completely.

• 2:07Georgia Hardstark?

  They were so good.

• 2:08Karen Kilgariff?

  They were. I mean, there's so many to choose from. It was like, we could do about 18 of these.

• 2:12Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally.

• 2:14Karen Kilgariff?

  And thank you, a listener suggested this. I think multiple listeners suggested it.

• 2:18Georgia Hardstark?

  What a great idea, listener.

• 2:20Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah, we're doing it. We did your thing.

• 2:22Georgia Hardstark?

  We do what the people tell us to do.

• 2:23Karen Kilgariff?

  We always do.

• 2:24Georgia Hardstark?

  Once every decade.

• 2:26Karen Kilgariff?

  Want me to go first?

• 2:27Georgia Hardstark?

  Yes.

• 2:27Karen Kilgariff?

  Okay, so the subject line of this is, "Another Reason Why Dolly Parton Is A Goddess." Hello from the UK. "I love Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, and I'm happy to talk about the difference it has made to the children in the UK."

• 2:43Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh my God.

• 2:44Karen Kilgariff?

  Have you ever even thought of this?

• 2:45Georgia Hardstark?

  No.

• 2:46Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah. "I work for an early years education charity in the UK, and we were put in touch with the UK branch of the Imagination Library. The Imagination Library has over 300 community partners in the UK, with over 7 million books shared here since 2007."

• 3:01Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh my God.

• 3:01Karen Kilgariff?

  Anyway, I think you probably don't want a bunch of facts and figures. Why not?

• 3:06Georgia Hardstark?

  Of course we do. That's what this podcast is all about.

• 3:09Karen Kilgariff?

  Let's go ahead and look at the chart.

• 3:12Karen Kilgariff?

  Because you can just look that up. So I will focus on the key things that I believe make the Imagination Library different from other language and literacy support programs out there. Firstly, and most importantly, the program must be set up by a community partner. This is usually the local council, or a local charity, etc. The community partner signs up to the program and pays a small fee per child in their catchment area. And then the... This is much better than the facts and figures.

• 3:39Georgia Hardstark?

  I need to know.

• 3:40Karen Kilgariff?

  Explain us how civics work.

• 3:41Georgia Hardstark?

  Us people with no children need to know.

• 3:44Karen Kilgariff?

  Please, who's the partner in this? But basically, they're saying, "The rest is covered by the Imagination Library." That means that every child in the area is enrolled in the program, and they all get the books. This is really important. "It isn't a program for, quote-unquote, poor kids, or for rich kids, or for kids with additional needs, or any one specific type of family. It is for everyone. There is no stigma associated with getting these books. Everyone gets them."

• 4:12Georgia Hardstark?

  That's what an idea.

• 4:13Karen Kilgariff?

  That's it.

• 4:14Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 4:14Karen Kilgariff?

  That's it. True equity.

• 4:16Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 4:16Karen Kilgariff?

  "Some preschools and community groups even use the books as part of their curriculum of activities, because they know that every family has them. Because, as Dolly says, 'I just want everybody to be treated good.'"

• 4:28Georgia Hardstark?

  All right. Oh, yeah, how many... Oh, I forgot to... How many times is Karen gonna cry?

• 4:31Karen Kilgariff?

  Well, I mean, listen.

• 4:33Georgia Hardstark?

  It has to be once per story at least, so that's six.

• 4:35Karen Kilgariff?

  I'm already unstable.

• 4:36Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay.

• 4:37Karen Kilgariff?

  This is a great thing to cry over.

• 4:39Georgia Hardstark?

  That's true.

• 4:40Karen Kilgariff?

  Because somebody said this on social media, and wait, I may have already said this on the show. But the thing of, "This is a person who broke records in the music industry, and all anyone's talking about is this shit she did."

• 4:52Georgia Hardstark?

  How wonderful she was.

• 4:53Karen Kilgariff?

  It's just crazy to think about.

• 4:56Georgia Hardstark?

  Aspirational.

• 4:57Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah. So then it says, "Then, something that people don't often think of, this program helps kids, sure, but it also stimulates language and literacy skills across whole families. The average reading age in the UK is around the level of a 10-year-old. So it shouldn't be forgotten that this program can be great to build confidence in reading for adults, too. And it was her father's illiteracy that led Dolly to set up the Imagination Library. Families who are sent the books report reading more at home, going to the library more often, and just generally reading more books with their children. Did you know kids who read one book a day will hear about 290,000 more words by age five than those who are not regularly read to?"

• 5:41Georgia Hardstark?

  Wow, huge.

• 5:43Karen Kilgariff?

  "And a child's development by 22 months serves as a strong predictor of educational outcomes at age 26."

• 5:50Georgia Hardstark?

  Wow.

• 5:50Karen Kilgariff?

  "Giving away books to children under five, and encouraging more families to read at home, is an absolute game changer when it comes to opportunities in adulthood." Anyway, Dolly forever, grace.

• 6:02Georgia Hardstark?

  That's so beautiful, because she could have just started any kind of charity she wanted and moved on. But she made it so specifically to be fair, and be inclusive, and to help throughout your entire life. Like, she didn't need to do that.

• 6:17Karen Kilgariff?

  Right, and it's like, but she was like, "Well, if I have this money, and that means it could do this thing, that then can..." It's like seeding a forest.

• 6:26Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, amazing.

• 6:28Karen Kilgariff?

  And what I think is really beautiful is that, in lieu of flowers, the Dolly Parton Estate asks that people donate to the Imagination Library. So we are going to donate, in the name of Murderinos, $10,000 to the Imagination Library, which is part of the Dollywood Foundation.

• 6:44Georgia Hardstark?

  Imagine how many little books that can buy. Oh my God, teeny-tiny little books.

• 6:48Karen Kilgariff?

  Little books for little kids. They love, the children love the books.

• 6:53Georgia Hardstark?

  The children love learning.

• 6:59Georgia Hardstark?

  This one's called, my first one's called, "I Once Sniffed Dolly Parton."

• 7:02Karen Kilgariff?

  Oh, I want to hear all about this.

• 7:04Georgia Hardstark?

  And this was sent before Dolly died, but there's an update about it, which is really sweet, and some photos. "Ladies and furballs, I once sniffed Dolly Parton. Do I have your attention now? She's the queen of the South, and as I live in East Tennessee, it had always been my dream to meet her. The summer after my sophomore year in college, a friend called me to say that Dolly was coming to Dollywood, and staff were going to have their pictures taken with her. I suddenly realized that I lived close enough to Dollywood, the happiest place on earth, and if I moved fast enough, maybe I could have a picture taken with my hero. And as luck would have it, I got hired as a..." She went and got a job.

• 7:42Karen Kilgariff?

  At Dollywood?

• 7:43Georgia Hardstark?

  At Dollywood, too neat. So she was definitely gonna be there when Dolly was there. "I got hired as a ride attendant in time for Dolly's visit to the park, and that day, I raced over to where staff were getting their photos with her. We were all in our seats in one of the big theaters in the park, as it was explained to us that we would be in groups of 20 on risers, so it's like a group photo, and Dolly would alternate between two sets of them to make the process go faster. Dolly came out on stage, and my heart beat faster than ever before. She said something amazing, like, 'I hope y'all brushed your teeth.'"

• 8:17Georgia Hardstark?

  That's so cute. And then, and they started putting folks on stage.

• 8:23Georgia Hardstark?

  "To my delight, when I got up there, I realized they were sending tall guys to the back. I'm neither tall nor a guy, and I lingered until I was on the front row. To my shock, Dolly came and stood right next to me. I couldn't believe it. Guys, I was standing next to the woman I had admired for years. I was breathing the same air as Dolly freaking Parton, and it smelled good. Oh crap, I sniffed Dolly Parton." And it says, "She smelled like a wonderful church lady, in case you wondered. And in case you did wonder..."

• 8:54Karen Kilgariff?

  No.

• 8:54Georgia Hardstark?

  "Look what Kate was able to track down for us." It's a little...

• 8:57Karen Kilgariff?

  This truly is her perfume.

• 8:58Georgia Hardstark?

  Sample of Dolly's perfume. Don't spray it, I'll get a headache.

• 9:01Karen Kilgariff?

  No, not, nothing personal.

• 9:04Georgia Hardstark?

  I can't do smells.

• 9:05Karen Kilgariff?

  My old roommate used to put on perfume before she left for school. And it's just like, you just filled the room with like,

• 9:11Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 9:12Karen Kilgariff?

  the worst, heaviest.

• 9:13Georgia Hardstark?

  We had a guy who came over. Never mind. Okay. This is for the main, main episode.

• 9:17Karen Kilgariff?

  This is.

• 9:17Georgia Hardstark?

  Dolly's perfume.

• 9:18Karen Kilgariff?

  Come on.

• 9:18Georgia Hardstark?

  Isn't that amazing?

• 9:19Karen Kilgariff?

  So good.

• 9:20Georgia Hardstark?

  In 2009, Dolly was given an honorary doctorate from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and a friend of mine was asked to interview her for a local radio station. Knowing my love for the queen of country, she called me and asked if I would be her sound tech for the interview, assuring me it wasn't that hard, just pointing a microphone, and I jumped at the chance. As everyone gathered for the interview, her security team insisted on no fan pictures, only interview questions, no autographs, et cetera. So I was a little disappointed, but Dolly soon came out and all was forgotten. My friend's interview came, and I bent down to position the microphone in front of Dolly like I'd been shown, and she looked at me and said, hello. I forced myself to get over my nerves and said, hello, back, with what I'm sure was the biggest smile ever.

• 10:06Georgia Hardstark?

  Dolly and my friend had their interview, and after, Dolly actually took a photo with me, ha, ha, suck it, security guys, and said, why, you're a little like me, want a pair of shoes? Why am I trying to do her accent?

• 10:17Karen Kilgariff?

  It's really good, though, because it's that kind of like, she was, she just had so many funny little, clippy kind of things.

• 10:22Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally, because everyone wanted that from her.

• 10:24Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 10:24Georgia Hardstark?

  And she gave it.

• 10:25Karen Kilgariff?

  Do you want a pair of shoes?

• 10:26Georgia Hardstark?

  You want a pair of shoes? I'm pretty sure I giggled, yes, and still have that photo with my family photos. No shoes, though. Stay sexy and do meet your heroes, Courtney. And then here's an update from Courtney. I lost my mom in May, and it may sound silly, but losing Dolly in the same year has been such a blow. However, at least my mom never knew a world without Dolly. She was born two years after Dolly was born. My mom took me to Dollywood for years, just she and I, when I was younger, and I did the same for her when I got older.

• 10:55Karen Kilgariff?

  Oh.

• 10:56Georgia Hardstark?

  Now that both she and Dolly are gone, my Dollywood trips will be a little bittersweet, but I hope they're both looking down on me. Here are the pics. And here are her.

• 11:06Karen Kilgariff?

  At Dollywood?

• 11:07Georgia Hardstark?

  The what, both of them?

• 11:07Karen Kilgariff?

  Oh, oh, my god.

• 11:09Georgia Hardstark?

  That's the Dollywood, oh, here, yeah. That, I knew what it meant, I'm like, that's a murder, you know? That's clearly a murder, you know? Isn't she cute? Look at Dolly.

• 11:16Karen Kilgariff?

  You're a little like me.

• 11:17Georgia Hardstark?

  You're a little like me.

• 11:18Karen Kilgariff?

  You want a pair of shoes?

• 11:19Georgia Hardstark?

  And then there's the one from the interview. Oh, look at her, look at her makeup.

• 11:23Karen Kilgariff?

  I know.

• 11:23Georgia Hardstark?

  It's flawless.

• 11:25Karen Kilgariff?

  Also, just, it's like, that's a woman just having a great time.

• 11:28Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 11:28Karen Kilgariff?

  Just really enjoying, yeah, enjoying what she's been given, or what she's earned.

• 11:33Georgia Hardstark?

  Amazing, great job. Courtney, you met her twice.

• 11:35Karen Kilgariff?

  Courtney, and you held, you held it together.

• 11:38Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 11:41Speaker 07

  911, what's your emergency? What? Please help us, they're everywhere. We think they're murder wantons.

• 11:49Speaker 01

  911 Nashville returns.

• 11:51Speaker 02

  It's a homicide detective down here.

• 11:53Speaker 03

  Three bodies on the ground.

• 11:54Speaker 01

  With emergencies of biblical proportions.

• 11:57Speaker 03

  All sins swarms upon you and upon your people.

• 12:00Speaker 02

  That's one of the plagues of the Bible.

• 12:01Speaker 03

  And somebody's unleashing them on Nashville.

• 12:04Speaker 01

  Brian Phillippe, 911 Nashville. All new Thursdays on ABC, next day on Hulu.

• 12:11Speaker 00

  Whether you're buying, renting, or selling, Zillow can help make your someday today to help find a home that fits where you are in life, or that apartment that's a little closer to where you want to be. Zillow has the right information, tools, and support to help turn your future home into a reality, because someday starts today. Visit zillow.com/today to get started.

• 12:37Karen Kilgariff?

  So this is hilarious. We got this email, and it's from your friend and mine, Vicky Ernst.

• 12:43Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh.

• 12:44Karen Kilgariff?

  Who is one of my oldest friends.

• 12:45Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 12:46Karen Kilgariff?

  I worked on Ellen with her for five years. She was one of the producers on our HBO show, Upcoming.

• 12:52Georgia Hardstark?

  Yep, stay tuned. Oh, my god, Vicky wrote in.

• 12:55Karen Kilgariff?

  Vicky wrote in because, of course, Vicky's been working in talk shows for 20 years. So the headline of this email is, working 9 to 5 with Dolly on my birthday, in brackets, from Vicky Ernst.

• 13:08Karen Kilgariff?

  It says, hi Karen in Georgia, before producing your HBO series.

• 13:12Georgia Hardstark?

  Nice plug, thank you.

• 13:14Karen Kilgariff?

  Before producing your HBO series, I was a talk show producer, and I had the pleasure of producing Dolly twice.

• 13:20Georgia Hardstark?

  Whoa.

• 13:20Karen Kilgariff?

  That's incredible. That is the amazing part of working in talk shows. It's a, every day is just a, it's a carousel of big celebrities that you kind of are like, like that, where you're kind of standing near them. If they feel like talking to you, maybe you get to.

• 13:36Georgia Hardstark?

  And then there's a dog that juggles next to them, right?

• 13:38Karen Kilgariff?

  And a little kid that can limbo so low to the ground on roller skates. Incredible.

• 13:43Georgia Hardstark?

  Wow.

• 13:43Karen Kilgariff?

  So, the first time was on my 39th birthday in 2014. Ooh, Vicky's given it all away.

• 13:49Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 13:50Karen Kilgariff?

  Dolly was traveling, so instead of doing our pre-interview by phone the day before, we met in her dressing room on the day of the show. She introduced me to everyone on her team, many of whom, if I remember correctly, were members of her family. Then she asked everyone to leave so we could talk privately. No one does this. Usually, the whole team stays while you attempt to focus in on what feels like Grand Central Station. Before I could start interviewing Dolly, she started interviewing me. She asked about my life, told me she loved jokes, and immediately shared one. There were racks and racks of clothes and tons of wigs in the dressing room, so I asked what she planned to wear for the show. She told me she had picked out something special. Then she said she was game for anything. Naturally, I decided to test that theory.

• 14:33Karen Kilgariff?

  I asked if we could borrow one of those wigs for the segment. She said yes, and suddenly I was going through wigs with Dolly Parton, which is a completely insane thing to get paid to do.

• 14:43Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 14:44Karen Kilgariff?

  The second time I produced her was remotely during COVID. Remembering how much Dolly loved planning her wardrobe, I told her team our set colors. Dolly selected an outfit, that's good producing. It's real good producing. Dolly selected an outfit that matched so perfectly that Oprah commented on it during the interview.

• 15:03Georgia Hardstark?

  Wow.

• 15:04Karen Kilgariff?

  I attached a photo, so you can see exactly what I mean.

• 15:08Georgia Hardstark?

  I need to see it. Oh, wow, she matches that little chair.

• 15:12Karen Kilgariff?

  It's.

• 15:12Georgia Hardstark?

  Perfectly.

• 15:13Karen Kilgariff?

  So good.

• 15:14Georgia Hardstark?

  Like, down to her neck, oh, my god, my ring matches, look.

• 15:16Karen Kilgariff?

  Yay, no, nice one. She was everything you would hope Dolly would be. Warm, funny, thoughtful, completely genuine, and perfectly dressed for any occasion. And the best birthday present of all. When Dolly asked me during the first pre-interview, I told her it was my birthday. She immediately sang happy birthday to me.

• 15:34Georgia Hardstark?

  Good god.

• 15:36Karen Kilgariff?

  With just the two of us in her dressing room. On my 39th birthday, I got paid to choose a wig with Dolly Parton and got my own private performance of happy birthday. I mean, how do you, this is Vicky's accent. How do you top that?

• 15:46Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, she's so New Jersey.

• 15:47Karen Kilgariff?

  I mean, how do you top that? My best, Long Island.

• 15:50Georgia Hardstark?

  Long Island, shit, sorry.

• 15:52Karen Kilgariff?

  Long Island.

• 15:52Georgia Hardstark?

  Long Island.

• 15:53Karen Kilgariff?

  Best birthday ever. I just wish I had hit record on my iPhone. I'm still mad at myself about that. And then it says, Vicky from Long Island.

• 16:03Georgia Hardstark?

  Vicky, so, I love when, like, people we know join in. Because I feel like nobody listens to this podcast.

• 16:09Karen Kilgariff?

  Everyone I know is like, you're what?

• 16:11Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 16:12Karen Kilgariff?

  Vic, thank you, Vicky. That's hilarious.

• 16:16Georgia Hardstark?

  That's great, and, yeah, I highly recommend you hang out with people who produce talk shows, because they have the best stories. Like, when we were on tour with her, and you, you'd be like, remember when we met? And it's just like, the most random.

• 16:27Karen Kilgariff?

  So crazy.

• 16:28Georgia Hardstark?

  And you find out who's actually an asshole and who's not.

• 16:30Karen Kilgariff?

  That's right.

• 16:31Georgia Hardstark?

  Pretty rad.

• 16:31Karen Kilgariff?

  That's all in the fan call to everybody.

• 16:33Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, wait for my, my tell-all. This was also sent before Dolly passed.

• 16:39Karen Kilgariff?

  I love that we had emails about meeting Dolly Parton before.

• 16:43Georgia Hardstark?

  Enough to do, like, yeah. My BFF, Dolly Parton. Hello, everyone, including all fabulous pets. After this week's Famous People conversation, I thought I would share my story about Dolly Parton. I live in Blaine, Tennessee, which is about 30 minutes from Sevier County.

• 16:58Karen Kilgariff?

  Sevier County, I want to go there.

• 17:00Georgia Hardstark?

  Home of Dollywood, you've been there.

• 17:02Karen Kilgariff?

  Oh, fucking, what a life I'm living.

• 17:04Georgia Hardstark?

  What else do you want?

• 17:05Karen Kilgariff?

  I'd love to go to Sevier County. You got it.

• 17:08Georgia Hardstark?

  You got it.

• 17:08Karen Kilgariff?

  The one place my eyebrows make sense, Sevier County.

• 17:12Georgia Hardstark?

  Dollywood used to be a park called Silver Dollar City. In 1986, Dolly reopened the park as Dollywood. There was a huge celebration. It was announced Dolly would be there to cut the ribbon and make an appearance. As a young gay boy of nine years old, yes, I knew it then, and I know it now, I was ecstatic. I begged my parents to take me and my siblings, even though back then it would cost the equivalent of a mortgage payment for us all to go. My mom and dad took only me, my oldest brothers didn't want to go. They're like, no.

• 17:43Karen Kilgariff?

  What? Go where? But they're wrong about that, they would have loved those rides.

• 17:47Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally. We stood in line for what seemed like forever to catch a glimpse of her. All of a sudden, we hear an announcement, she was coming right past where we were roped off. I look, and here comes Dolly, dressed in her best East Tennessee backwoods Barbie attire. I reached up to touch her hand, she asked the driver to stop the carriage, and she got down. She walked up to me after signing autographs, in all caps, picked me up.

• 18:14Karen Kilgariff?

  Nope.

• 18:14Georgia Hardstark?

  To hold me. She, I think I only picked ones that I have to pretend to be her voice. I have to do her voice.

• 18:20Karen Kilgariff?

  Act outs, they're all act outs.

• 18:22Georgia Hardstark?

  She pinched my cheeks and said, you have the prettiest cheeks I've ever seen.

• 18:26Karen Kilgariff?

  Oh.

• 18:27Georgia Hardstark?

  And put me back down. I died. I had been touched by an angel, you are crying again.

• 18:34Karen Kilgariff?

  That little nine-year-old boy is like, please, mother, this is important.

• 18:38Georgia Hardstark?

  Day in Tennessee, and so that's probably, and it's the 80s, that's not easy.

• 18:42Karen Kilgariff?

  No.

• 18:43Georgia Hardstark?

  Like, and he gets to have this moment.

• 18:46Karen Kilgariff?

  And she sees him.

• 18:46Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, she, she sees him. Now, of course, living here my whole life, Dolly has made hundreds of appearances at the park. Back in 2016, Andy Cohen came to Dollywood to interview her. I won tickets from Sirius XM, are we allowed to say that? To attend a town hall. I took my best friend, and off we went. We walked into the amphitheater and are told to stand in line. The woman with the clipboard said, if you guys wait patiently, we're setting up the step and repeat so you can have your photo taken with Dolly. Excuse me, I was not told this when I won the contest. I lost my mind. About 10 minutes later, it was our turn to have our photo taken with her. She asked me where we were from, and I told her, here. And she said, I love my hometown people. Oh, it's so bad.

• 19:30Georgia Hardstark?

  I couldn't help but tell her, Ms. Parton, I don't expect you to remember this, but when I was nine, you picked me up, pinched my cheeks, and told me I had the prettiest cheeks you'd ever seen. She smiles in all caps, in front of Andy Cohen, the entire Bravo crew, the audience and producers. She pinches my cheek again and says, and you still do, sugar? And you still do, sugar?

• 19:52Karen Kilgariff?

  You found your character. You've found it.

• 19:55Georgia Hardstark?

  I was really hoping you'd come in here in a fucking Dolly wig today. What?

• 19:59Karen Kilgariff?

  I forgot what I meant to do.

• 20:01Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, my god, you have a Dollywood sweater.

• 20:03Karen Kilgariff?

  I literally was like, oh, I'm going to bring it, I'm going to wear it, I'm going to do this.

• 20:07Georgia Hardstark?

  Let's start over.

• 20:08Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 20:08Georgia Hardstark?

  Let's, cut.

• 20:09Karen Kilgariff?

  Cut. I completely forgot about this, but look, look at what the best, so I got this when we went to Dollywood recently, it's a pink sweatshirt.

• 20:20Karen Kilgariff?

  Oh my God, this is gonna be so hot. I'm gonna immediately need to take it off.

• 20:23Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, it's got pockets.

• 20:24Karen Kilgariff?

  It's fucking got pockets.

• 20:25Georgia Hardstark?

  It's not a hoodie and it has the hoodie pouch.

• 20:28Karen Kilgariff?

  Right.

• 20:28Georgia Hardstark?

  That is fucking, she knows.

• 20:29Karen Kilgariff?

  She knows. And also the best color combination.

• 20:32Georgia Hardstark?

  It's so good. Pink and burgundy-ish, brownish?

• 20:36Karen Kilgariff?

  I'd say so.

• 20:37Georgia Hardstark?

  Amazing, yeah.

• 20:38Karen Kilgariff?

  I had to wait till the end of this episode so that we, so I didn't die.

• 20:41Georgia Hardstark?

  Right.

• 20:42Karen Kilgariff?

  Of the heat stroke.

• 20:43Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay, and you still do, sugar. Needless to say, everyone started laughing and I started crying. Even if she didn't remember for real, she knew how important it was to me that she did. It made my day. I have attached said picture for evidence and jealousy purposes. Love you all at MFM. Stay sexy and become best friends with your idols, Jason.

• 21:03Karen Kilgariff?

  And here they are.

• 21:05Georgia Hardstark?

  Jason. He looks so nervous. Oh, he's got a Dolly shirt on. They both do.

• 21:10Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 21:10Georgia Hardstark?

  That's so cute.

• 21:12Karen Kilgariff?

  I wish we had the nine-year-old picture, too.

• 21:13Georgia Hardstark?

  I know. That's gotta be somewhere in the archives of Dollywood, like, celebration.

• 21:18Karen Kilgariff?

  Her picking up a little boy and just being like, look at this.

• 21:21Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 21:21Karen Kilgariff?

  So cute.

• 21:22Georgia Hardstark?

  So cute.

• 21:23Karen Kilgariff?

  So exciting.

• 21:26Speaker 07

  911, what's your emergency? Please help us. They're everywhere.

• 21:31Speaker 01

  We think they're murder wantons. 911 Nashville returns.

• 21:36Speaker 02

  What's a homicide detective doing here?

• 21:38Speaker 03

  Three bodies on the ground.

• 21:39Speaker 01

  With emergencies of biblical proportions.

• 21:42Speaker 03

  Hell, since swarms upon you and upon your people. That's one of the plagues for Bible. And somebody's unleashing them on Nashville.

• 21:49Speaker 01

  Brian Phillippech, 1911 Nashville. All new Thursdays on ABC, next day on Hulu.

• 21:56Speaker 00

  Whether you're buying, renting, or selling, Zillow can help make your someday today. To help find a home that fits where you are in life, or that apartment that's a little closer to where you want to be. Zillow has the right information, tools, and support to help turn your future home into a reality. Because someday starts today. Visit zillow.com/today to get started.

• 22:22Karen Kilgariff?

  Okay, here's my last one. Similar. It's, the subject line is, "Please don't embarrass me in front of Dolly Parton." Karen, Georgia, and the whole MFM crew. Hey, y'all. I started writing this email on the day of Dolly's passing, tucked away in a conference room at work, tears in my eyes after hearing the news from the family group chat. I put the email aside, unsure if this felt like enough of a story to tell, despite this often being used as my fun fact when needed. But since you asked for Dolly stories, here's what I've got to share. When I was in elementary school, my family was scouted by a talent agent at church.

• 22:55Georgia Hardstark?

  Whoa.

• 22:56Karen Kilgariff?

  Uh-huh. Now, how those conversations came together and what deal was signed was beyond me. All I knew was that my little thespian heart was thrilled to be in front of the camera. And while we only did a few small commercials for amusement parks and local spots, to me, I felt like I was living the Hollywood dream. But all of that paled in comparison to the job offer. To sing in a Christmas commercial with the one and only Dolly Parton at Dollywood.

• 23:23Georgia Hardstark?

  Holy shit.

• 23:24Karen Kilgariff?

  As an East Tennessee kid and an avid Dolly fan, my entire acting career of three months amounted to this very moment. On the day of the shoot, they rounded up me, my three siblings, and the rest of the children's ensemble to teach us the theme song, give us our cues, and set us at our marks. Bundled in jackets with fake snow falling all around, I couldn't stop looking over at my older sister, Yasmin, and beaming. This was about to be the best day of our little lives. When it was finally time to start shooting, Dolly emerged. She was a vision in a tight, red velvet Mrs. Claus dress, hair done up to heaven. She made her way through the adoring children, taking time to smile and welcome each of us. My younger sister, Autumn, only being five or six at the time, was in the front row

• 24:09Karen Kilgariff?

  as Dolly waded through to take her center mark. As she did, she placed one perfectly manicured hand on my sister's shoulder and smiled down at her. To my abs, to my absolute horror, my baby sister turned around, took one look at Dolly, and burst into tears. Not tears of joy, dear reader, abject horror, uncontrollable fear.

• 24:31Georgia Hardstark?

  What?

• 24:32Karen Kilgariff?

  Now, in her defense, Dolly, in the flesh, was a sight. She was short and petite, with the tiniest waist you've ever seen, big boobs, a head of platinum hair piled high, and bright red acrylics that were long as talons. In that moment, I was ready to disown my sister swiftly and without regret. But Dolly, being Dolly, took it all in stride. She mused that it was probably pretty crazy to see a Barbie doll come to life and start talking like that.

• 24:59Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh my God.

• 25:00Karen Kilgariff?

  After a quick rearrangement of the kid choir, making sure my sister was still at the front, but far from Dolly, we shot the commercial.

• 25:07Georgia Hardstark?

  She was scared of Dolly.

• 25:08Karen Kilgariff?

  She was fucking scared of Dolly.

• 25:09Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh my God. It's like when you go to see Santa at the mall and the little kid loses it.

• 25:14Karen Kilgariff?

  Yes.

• 25:14Georgia Hardstark?

  It's the same kind of idea where it's like, I don't know, this is too far beyond my understanding of reality.

• 25:20Karen Kilgariff?

  And don't you think with a star like that, there's a vibe that's coming three feet in front of her and a little kid's just like, what, how did the temperature change?

• 25:28Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally, like, here she comes, or, yeah, I'm sure it was overwhelming.

• 25:31Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 25:32Georgia Hardstark?

  No excuse.

• 25:34Karen Kilgariff?

  So it says, "For 20-plus years, I've been telling this story and everyone's immediate response is, where can I watch this commercial? I have scoured the internet, but since it was a local production shot in 2007, I assumed it would never materialize online. That is, until the day Dolly passed away. As my family and I were reflecting on Dolly's legacy and what she meant as our hometown hero, my younger sister, of all people, found a link to the video."

• 26:00Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh my God.

• 26:01Karen Kilgariff?

  "Which had been uploaded just last year. It felt like a little parting gift from her to our family. So I present to you, Dollywood Toyland Commercial Spot 2007."

• 26:13Georgia Hardstark?

  Holy shit.

• 26:14Karen Kilgariff?

  Get ready.

• 26:20Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh my God, that's her.

• 26:22Karen Kilgariff?

  Screaming child over on the side.

• 26:24Georgia Hardstark?

  Holy crap.

• 26:25Karen Kilgariff?

  Uh, so it says, "We are scattered in this scene. Me, Mads is the writer, my older sister Yasmin, my younger brother Makin, and my younger sister Autumn."

• 26:35Georgia Hardstark?

  Wow, so Yasmin's right next to her. That's amazing.

• 26:39Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah, Yasmin's right there. But is it, who was the crier?

• 26:44Georgia Hardstark?

  Autumn, I think, yeah. It's always Autumn.

• 26:46Karen Kilgariff?

  They're like, push Autumn to the front. It's always Autumn. So basically, it says, "Dolly lived fearlessly, advocated for the underdog, and refused to be anything but herself. May we all learn to live a little like her. Stay sexy and don't be afraid to be in on the joke. Mads."

• 27:04Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh my God, that was great.

• 27:06Karen Kilgariff?

  So good.

• 27:06Georgia Hardstark?

  I love all these memories.

• 27:08Karen Kilgariff?

  It's, and we have so many. I think we could do this more. Like, once a month if we need it, or once a quarter.

• 27:15Georgia Hardstark?

  Whenever we, yeah, whenever we're feeling down and we'd like, pick me up.

• 27:17Karen Kilgariff?

  You know what we need right now?

• 27:19Georgia Hardstark?

  I need a Dolly story. What if we just ended every ep, like, real episode with a Dolly story?

• 27:24Karen Kilgariff?

  Done and done.

• 27:25Georgia Hardstark?

  And it's our fucking hooray?

• 27:26Karen Kilgariff?

  Yep.

• 27:26Georgia Hardstark?

  Like, comment in, on social media, your little quick story about Dolly, or what Dolly meant to you, and we'll read them.

• 27:33Karen Kilgariff?

  Yes.

• 27:33Georgia Hardstark?

  Just read one or two at the end of every episode.

• 27:35Karen Kilgariff?

  It'll be the end of the main episode. We'll call it, "Here You Come Again with Another Dolly Story."

• 27:39Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, DMs, yes.

• 27:41Karen Kilgariff?

  That was a song.

• 27:42Georgia Hardstark?

  We'll work on it. No, I'm kidding. I'm kidding, I'm kidding.

• 27:46Karen Kilgariff?

  You know, let's keep spitballing, we'll get there.

• 27:50Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay, my last one is called, "Dolly Parton Tribute Story." Dear Karen and Georgia, I never got to meet Dolly in person, although I did get to attend her tour in 2002. But I feel like I have. In 2019, during a period of great upheaval in my life, I started to see a new therapist. She suggested we form an emotional support team that I could bring into my consciousness and help me during times of intense distress. At first, I was embarrassed by this visualization technique and had trouble picking anyone, probably due to my trust issues more than anything else. Then one day, I was staring into space at work and realized that I had the perfect person already, one Miss Dolly Parton. From that moment on, I had Dolly help me with everything, from revisiting old traumas,

• 28:32Georgia Hardstark?

  where she would help escort me out of bad memories, to having her watch over my younger self when it was too painful for me to do. I came to know the Dolly in my head so well, she was always by my side, kind, never judgmental. So when I heard the news of her passing, I was shattered. How could my favorite person in the whole world be gone? I quickly realized, of course, that she would never leave me. Dolly would be with me forever. Sure, my Dolly might not be the same Dolly everyone else knew, but that's okay, too. In a time when I was incredibly lost, she helped me find my true self. If you ever miss her and want to say hi, I know exactly where she'll be waiting for you. We've all got a Dolly in our heads and in our hearts, just waiting with a giggle and

• 29:15Georgia Hardstark?

  a beautiful song to get us through the tough times.

• 29:18Karen Kilgariff?

  Ugh, God.

• 29:19Georgia Hardstark?

  Stay sexy and remember to give back to others. Crystal.

• 29:23Karen Kilgariff?

  Crystal, my God.

• 29:26Georgia Hardstark?

  Got me.

• 29:27Karen Kilgariff?

  Crystal, Crystal, you broke Georgia. Yeah, that's a good one. Amazing.

• 29:32Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 29:32Karen Kilgariff?

  It's such a beautiful idea.

• 29:34Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally.

• 29:35Karen Kilgariff?

  It's very smart of her, but I also want to say to Crystal, you are Dolly Parton, because it was you.

• 29:40Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally.

• 29:41Karen Kilgariff?

  You were, that was just the idea of it, but you were the one doing that with yourself. And that was your, you solved that internally.

• 29:48Georgia Hardstark?

  You were Dolly.

• 29:49Karen Kilgariff?

  With, with Dolly, with Dolly's help, but it was you.

• 29:52Georgia Hardstark?

  And if you ever need, like, to go crazy and steal some shit, call us.

• 29:56Karen Kilgariff?

  Yes.

• 29:56Georgia Hardstark?

  In your mind, we'll come with you.

• 29:57Karen Kilgariff?

  We'll be in your mind.

• 29:58Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, think of us.

• 29:59Karen Kilgariff?

  And we'll be like, do it.

• 29:59Georgia Hardstark?

  Do it, you should totally steal that Brevlon lipstick.

• 30:01Karen Kilgariff?

  Why, don't you think you should drink during the day? We're the worst.

• 30:08Georgia Hardstark?

  Depends on what you need us for.

• 30:09Karen Kilgariff?

  That's right. It depends on what you're going through.

• 30:12Georgia Hardstark?

  Wow, that was so great.

• 30:13Karen Kilgariff?

  That was the best.

• 30:15Georgia Hardstark?

  My favorite Dolly.

• 30:16Karen Kilgariff?

  We want to give credit where credit is due. Von Nar on Instagram is the listener who wrote in and was like, you better do an all Dolly mini-sode. So Von Nar, we hope you're happy.

• 30:25Georgia Hardstark?

  Thank you. We hope you're fucking happy.

• 30:27Karen Kilgariff?

  We hope you're fucking happy. Thank you so much, this was a joy.

• 30:31Georgia Hardstark?

  Love it. That's right, Dollywood.

• 30:35Karen Kilgariff?

  Stay sexy.

• 30:35Georgia Hardstark?

  And don't get murdered.

• 30:37Karen Kilgariff?

  Goodbye, y'all.

• 30:38Georgia Hardstark?

  Goodbye, y'all.

• 30:39Karen Kilgariff?

  Elvis, do you want a cookie?

• 30:48Karen Kilgariff?

  This has been an Exactly Right Production.

• 30:50Georgia Hardstark?

  Our managing producer is Molly Smith.

• 30:52Karen Kilgariff?

  Our consulting producer is Kate Schellbach.

• 30:54Georgia Hardstark?

  Our creative lead is Allison Agosti.

• 30:56Karen Kilgariff?

  Our associate producer is Tessa Hughes and our editor is Aristotle Acevedo.

• 31:01Georgia Hardstark?

  This episode was mixed by Leona Scolacci.

• 31:03Karen Kilgariff?

  Email your hometowns to [email protected] and follow the show on Instagram at MyFavoriteMurder.

• 31:09Georgia Hardstark?

  Listen to My Favorite Murder on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 31:14Karen Kilgariff?

  Or watch new episodes every week on Netflix. Search for My Favorite Murder, add us to your list, and hit the double thumbs up button. Goodbye.

• 31:28Karen Kilgariff?

  Calling all amateur detectives and podcast obsessives.

• 31:32Georgia Hardstark?

  Virgin Voyages' second True Crime Voyage sets sail March 20th, 2027, for a five-night escape to Grand Turk and the Beach Club at Bimini.

• 31:40Karen Kilgariff?

  As part of the On Air at Sea collection, this immersive sailing brings together fan favorite podcasts, including DisgraceLand, Buried Bones, and Wise Crack, for live recordings, behind-the-scenes access, exclusive meet and greets, and crime-themed programming that you won't find anywhere else.

• 31:57Georgia Hardstark?

  All aboard our award-winning, kid-free ships.

• 31:59Karen Kilgariff?

  Head over to virginvoyages.com/truecrime to secure your spot. Goodbye.

• 32:05Speaker 00

  Okay, laundry stinks, literally. I mean, you could just keep buying new underwear, not that I've ever done that. Or maybe sort your clothes into piles based on how re-wearable or filthy they are. Or just use Arm & Hammer Deep Clean. It's made for real life stinks and stains. So even if you don't do laundry the, quote, "right way," Deep Clean will knock it out. I mean, it is from the number one liquid detergent brand that tackles more loads than any other. Come clean with Arm & Hammer Deep Clean. Number one claim based on total wash loads sold.

• 32:41Karen Kilgariff?

  This episode sponsored by Eureka Ergonomic. Why should your standing desk make your home feel like a fluorescent-lit cubicle? You've worked hard to make your space feel warm, clean, and intentional, so your desk should fit right in. That's why Eureka Ergonomic stands out. Eureka Ergonomic creates standing desks, ergonomic chairs, and workspace furniture that look beautiful in your home and feel great to use every day. Choose from designs that blend into your home while giving you the height adjustability and support you need every day. With Eureka Ergonomic, you're not choosing between style and comfort, you get both. Visit Eureka Ergonomic at eurekaergonomic.com.

• 33:20Karen Kilgariff?

  That's E-U-R-E-K-A, ergonomic, E-R-G-O-N-O-M-I-C, dot com. And find a standing desk that works hard without making your home feel like a cubicle.