Forget Red Bull, ginseng or even a nice, stiff Caffè Americano in the morning. Dolly Parton could perk up a warty old bullfrog in a land without flies.
The five-foot-two, voluptuous, often-sequined blond drawls easily over the phone, bubbling with goodwill and enthusiasm for her latest TV project.
The country star is promoting The Book Lady, a Canadian half-hour documentary about her campaign for children’s literacy, which debuts this Sunday on CBC.
Dubbed the Imagination Library, the project teams Parton with Miley Cyrus (her goddaughter), Keith Urban, Canadian singer-songwriters Sarah Harmer and Justin Rutledge, and Canadian children’s author Robert Munsch. Parton even donated four songs to it.
The Imagination Library mails free books each month to preschool children in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. In Nova Scotia, all 13 First Nations communities participate in the program. Last year, it delivered more than five million books.
With all the pep of a high school cheerleading squad, Parton dished about The Book Lady, what it was really like working with Simon Cowell on American Idol, and whether she spies another TV series on the horizon.
Dolly Parton: So I guess we’re going to be talking about that Book Lady thing I’ve been hearing about!
TVGuide.ca: I guess so! Why are you so excited about this project?
DP: I like to do things for children. As you know I grew up in a family of 12 children, with eight children younger than me, and I’ve always been close to them.
My father didn’t get a chance to get an education or many of my people, so it was a very personal cause to me. And as the Whitney Houston song says, the children are our future. We started this about 13 years ago and I’ve just become the book lady, and I think that’s kind of cute!
TVG: What was your favourite book as a child?
DP: Well, the funny thing is it’s the first book in our program, The Little Engine That Could. I think I can, I think I can … I always say it must have worked because I’m the little engine that did!
That’s really what the program’s about. It teaches children to love books. If you can read, you can study just about anything even if you don’t go to school or can’t afford an education.
I wrote a book this year called I Am a Rainbow, and it’s tailor-made for children from zero to five years old, so hopefully we’ll have that book in the Imagination Library next year. [Parton doesn’t choose the books, a committee does.]
TVG: I know you also have a new CD/DVD out – congratulations!
DP: Yes! It’s called Dolly Live From London, and we’re excited about that. It just came out. I always do concerts to give money to the Imagination Library every year. We donate a portion, as we did with that concert.
TVG: You’ve done the variety show Dolly in the past, and you’ve done guest spots here and there, but would you ever headline a series again?
DP: Well, I would like to do some things later on – I do have some ideas for a couple of series and hopefully my music will play a big part in them.
Maybe I could do some semi-regular stuff, but now I’m busying myself for the next year with writing my life story as a musical. And I’m also putting my life story on the screen as a movie. But I would never turn down some wonderful projects if they came up for TV.
TVG: You were on American Idol last season, so I have to ask you, what was Simon Cowell really like?
DP: You know what? He’s really a nice guy. He’s a smart man and he knows what he’s doing. There wouldn’t be an American Idol if it wasn’t for Simon. I don’t think he minds playing the bad guy, but I don’t think he’s really a bad guy.
And I think he plays his part really well – I’m sure we all at times want to smack him upside the head for being so critical. It pains me! I can’t stand to hurt somebody’s feelings. Whether they’re good or bad, I know it means as much to them. I’m not going to be the one to criticize them.
TVG: Would you go back to that show? Have they asked you back?
DP: I certainly would if they asked me and if they had something that would make sense for them and me – of course! I’d love to do it.
TVG: Finally, I have to ask you, what’s the best piece of advice you’ve had? You’ve been in the business for four-and-a-half decades – what’s kept you going all these years?
DP: Well, I think it always helps if you love what you do, have enough talent to back up your dreams, and enough guts to stick it out. And to be willing to sacrifice. I just love seeing things happen and making things happen. So if you’re serious about it, you just have to stick with it. If you can dream it, you can do it.
The Book Lady debuts Sunday, Nov. 22, at midnight on CBC. (Set your PVRs!)
Thoughts? melissa@tvguide.ca
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