Dolly Parton Cancer Battle Revealed As Film Tributes Roll Out

Dolly Parton’s generosity is coming into sharper focus in the days following her death, with new details about her final health battle underscoring the same selflessness that defined so much of her public life. Her younger sister Stella Parton revealed that Dolly had told her that, if there was “no hope” for her, she would allow her medical team to try experimental cancer drugs in the hope of helping future patients. Stella described her sister as “one of the most generous, thoughtful and kind people I’ve ever known.”

That impulse to turn personal hardship into something useful was deeply consistent with Parton’s philanthropic legacy. She donated $1 million to COVID-19 research at Nashville’s Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in 2020, funding that contributed to the development of the Moderna vaccine, while her Imagination Library has distributed hundreds of millions of books to children.

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“My sister was always thinking of others, and if you want to honor her legacy, show more kindness, lift others up and give more of your time and resources, as she continued to do to the very end,” Stella Parton said.

Meanwhile, Parton’s screen legacy is getting an immediate big-screen salute. AMC Theatres will present special screenings of two of her most beloved films, Steel Magnolias and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, beginning tomorrow (Aug. 28) through Sept. 2 at approximately 200 U.S. locations, including theaters in her native Tennessee. Each participating location will offer two matinees per day, with one screening of each film, at AMC’s Fan Faves value pricing.

And the screen tributes won’t end there. As previously announced, Dolly: A True Original Musical will proceed to Broadway, with previews beginning Dec. 7 and an opening night set for Jan. 19, 2027—what would have been Parton’s 81st birthday—as “was Dolly’s wish.”

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