Dolly Parton has had her hand in a lot of different projects in her long and storied career. Music, movies, cookbooks, Dollywood. But did you know there’s also a secret link between Parton and the TV show Buffy The Vampire Slayer?
Buffy began as a movie in 1992 starring Kristy Swanson as the titular Buffy. In 1997, it was turned into a TV show with Sarah Michelle Gellar as the teenage vampire hunter. Alyson Hannigan and Nicholas Brendon starred as her best friends and sidekicks, with Anthony Head as her mentor.
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The show, created by Joss Whedon, ran for seven seasons before being canceled due in part to declining ratings. By now you’re asking, “How does country music icon Dolly Parton fit into a TV series from the 90s about killing vampires?”
Parton’s link to Buffy wasn’t public knowledge for a long time, mostly because her name wasn’t attached to the show. Looking at the credits, you won’t see Parton’s name listed, but she was technically considered a producer.
How Dolly Parton Fits in With ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’
Through her production company, Sandollar Productions, Dolly Parton was an uncredited producer of the series from 1997 to 2003. The company also produced the 1992 film. Parton started the company with her former manager, Sandy Gallin.
According to Parton, who spoke about her role with Buffy last year, she was deeply involved in the show’s production. However, she never had a chance to meet the cast or visit the set often because she lived in Nashville. Buffy was filmed in Los Angeles.
“A lot of my work was done just conversing back and forth with the business people there,” she told Business Insider in 2024. “And I’d go out for meetings now and then.”
Even though Parton didn’t get to meet the cast, she made sure they knew she was there for them. Often, she would send the actors gifts and words of encouragement while they were on set.
“I didn’t get to meet all of the people, but I wanted them to know that I was there for them, I was proud of them, and they were doing a great job,” she said. She then admitted that the real heart of the show came from the people who worked on set for every episode.
“That show was pretty much run by other people,” she revealed. “I have to give more people credit on Buffy the Vampire Slayer than me. A lot of people did so much work on that.”
Still, after all these years, Dolly Parton is proud of the show. “I was very excited about the show,” she said. “That little show did great.”
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