Early in her marriage to Carl Dean, Dolly Parton vowed to keep the relationship private. For nearly 60 years, she did just that—so much so that Dean remained largely an enigma to the general public at the time of his death in March 2025. But, now the “Jolene” singer is bringing her life to the stage in the form of Dolly: An Original Musical, opening Friday (Aug. 8.) And in order to truly do her story justice, the cast members needed to know who Dean was.
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Dolly Parton Apologized For Missing Rehearsal The Day of Her Husband’s Death
Most Dolly Parton fans are familiar with the Carl Dean love story lore. They met at a laundromat on the multi-platinum country artist’s first day in Nashville, and the rest is history. Intensely private, Dean all but refused to accompany his wife to the countless public events that are part and parcel of an artist’s career.
“We were so good for each other because he’s a total loner,” Dolly told Khloe Kardashian in an interview last month. “But we could just be in the house all day and say two or three words, didn’t matter. Or we could talk all afternoon and lay in bed, talk at night, you know, in the dark.”
When the curtain rises at Belmont University’s Fisher Center in Nashville, three actresses — Katie Rose Clarke, Carrie St. Louis, and Quinn Titcomb — will portray Dolly Parton during various stages of her life. That means St. Louis, who has starred on Broadway as Glinda in Wicked, spent nearly every single day with the country music legend — until she was suddenly a no-show that day.
The “Coat of Many Colors” singer, 79, penned a letter to the cast explaining her absence. Carl Dean, her husband of nearly 60 years, had died March 3, 2025, at age 82.
Dolly’s return to set the next day was an emotional one, as St. Louis was filming scenes depicting the couple’s iconic first meeting. “That was a heartbreaking week,” she told Taste of Country Nights.
Dolly Opens Up
Over the next few days, Dolly Parton shared previously undisclosed details about her nearly six-decade marriage with the cast. The 9 to 5 star wanted to give them a sense of who Dean was to lend some more authenticity to their onstage relationship.
[RELATED: Dolly Parton’s Musical Is Here, and She Wants You To Know “This Ain’t No Hootenanny”]
St. Louis couldn’t elaborate further for spoiler reasons. However, she told Taste of Country Nights, “That’s something that’s really special about the musical, is that she’s sharing a little bit more of their relationship.”
Featured image by Sam Hodde/Getty Images for ABA
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