Robert Greenblatt Remembers Longtime Friend Dolly Parton

Eleven years ago, NBC delivered one of the most memorable moments in upfront presentation history when the head of the network, Robert Greenblatt, sat behind the piano to accompany Dolly Parton‘s performance of “I Will Always Love You.” Following Parton’s death at the age of 80, the former top Showtime, NBC and WarnerMedia executive Greenblatt recalled how that stunt came about and reflected on the duo’s 23-year friendship that started when he approached her about turning her classic movie 9 to 5 into a musical. Greenblatt executive produces HBO Emmy-nominated hit The Gilded Age and just won his fourth Tony Award for Ragtime.

The loss of Dolly Parton is profound. A wound that people all over the world are feeling. It’s as if collectively we lost a guiding light in the middle of a storm, someone who could bring simple common sense to the chaos of life. She was a prolific songwriter and a galvanizing performer who somehow appealed to literally everyone, whether you liked country music or not. But to me she was a beautiful human being all about love, and just being able to call her a friend is something for which I will always be eternally grateful.

Back in 2003 when I was about to take over running Showtime, I had decided to also put my mind to producing a Broadway musical someday. I loved musicals as a teenager back home in Illinois and Broadway had always been a dream. And I thought the classic movie 9 To 5 could make a great musical. Not only is it hilarious and empowering to women, but it also has that incredible title song by Dolly herself. So to me it was inherently “musical” already.

My big idea was to somehow get Dolly to write the score for the show. But getting her on board would prove a little more difficult than I thought. After my first letter to her lawyer went unanswered, I assumed she had no interest in Broadway. But then fate — and my friend, Melissa Etheridge — stepped in. Turns out she and Dolly were about to work on a TV special together and Melissa offered to introduce me to her if I dropped into rehearsal.

“Dolly,“ Melissa said, “I want you to meet a great producer and friend of mine, Bob Greenblatt.” As Dolly shook my hand warmly, I stammered something like: “It’s such a pleasure to meet you, I’m a huge fan and I want to produce a Broadway musical based on 9 To 5 and I want you to write the score.” She looked at me for a second and then a little lightbulb went off — “Oh you’re Bob Greenblatt. My lawyer told me about you. I love this idea, and I want to do it. He’ll call you to work out all the details and I’ll see you real soon.” She went back to rehearsal and I had my composer!

In less than a year I was sitting with Dolly in Nashville along with writer Pat Resnick (who also wrote the movie), and we all got to work on crafting the show. We embarked on the joyous process alongside director Joe Mantello, my good friend from high school, who at the time was just about to open a new show on Broadway called Wicked. (We all know how that turned out!)

What fun we all had together! I fondly remember the times we would gather at my home in Los Angeles, and needless to say, Dolly was always camera-ready — wig, full makeup, and five-inch stilettos. Even for just a work session in jeans and a sweater, that sweater had more sparkle than anything you’ve ever seen. If we needed a new song, she would write it overnight and play it for us on her guitar the next day. She wrote a couple dozen songs in all, always eager to throw something out that didn’t quite work and start over if need be. No one ever worked faster — or harder — than Dolly Parton!

It eventually was time for our pre-Broadway run at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles in 2008 with an incredible cast led by Allison Janney (in the Lily Tomlin role), Stephanie J. Block (Jane Fonda), and newcomer Megan Hilty (as Dolly). Dolly was crazy about all of them. But the automation for our lavish set was so complicated that it didn’t always work and rehearsals were slow. Dolly sat out in the darkened theatre and would sometimes call out a funny comment in the middle of a scene to ease the pressure. She also knew that I had a sweet tooth and would sometimes bring us homemade fudge, just one of the many kind gestures from the little country girl at heart. We all cherished our time with her.

Opening night in L.A. finally arrived and the curtain went up to monstrous applause! We got a full 15 minutes into act one before we had set troubles and had to stop the show and bring up the house lights. Mortified, I ran backstage to see how long it would take to get started again. Unfortunately it was going to be at least ten minutes, and then came the awful sound of hammers and drilling that bled through the curtain. That’s when I ran to Dolly and asked her if she would get up in front of the audience to distract everyone until we could get the show running again.

To resounding applause, she “distracted” the hell out of the audience with her inimitable charm and wit. After many people shouted out their love for her, she explained that we were still “workin’ out some of the bugs” and then she led everyone in a sing-along chorus of 9 To 5. With still more time to kill, she sang “I Will Always Love You” acapela to a crowd that was in heaven.

The rest of the show went without a hitch, but you can imagine that the buzz at the opening night party was all about Dolly, Dolly, Dolly! This kind of thing only happens in live theatre, but if your set is going to break down, there’s nothing better in the world than having a national treasure get up and take control of the room.

Next we were on to a thrilling opening night on Broadway that I’ll never forget, with Dolly accompanied by both Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. She performed on the Tony Awards that season with our whole company and I’m proud to say she was a first-time Tony nominee for her wonderful score. Every step of the way she was there with her positive disposition and that bright light, bringing everyone into her orbit of love.

A few years later, after I went to NBC, I wanted more Dolly. So we produced a television movie with her and Sam Haskell about a young girl growing up in the Tennessee mountains finding her voice as a young singer. It was inspired by her iconic song “Coat of Many Colors” and I asked her to join me on stage at the NBC upfront at Radio City Music Hall to get the advertisers excited about it. I knew they would all go wild seeing her there, but I wanted to up the ante even more and asked if she would sing something too. She agreed, on one condition — that I accompany her on the piano as I sometimes did at my house when we were working on 9 To 5. How could this kid from the cornfields of Illinois say no to that kind of pipe dream?

On the day of the upfront she appeared wearing a bedazzled, form-fitting dress in “peacock” colors and we bantered about the movie. Then I asked her if she would sing for us before departing and, on cue, a 9-foot Steinway grand appeared. With me (nervously) at the piano, she proceeded to deliver a beautiful rendition of her signature song, “I Will Always Love You,” and the audience was putty in her hands. By the end, she had the whole room singing along with her. It’s a moment I’ll never forget. She was the pied piper in rhinestones who had cast a spell over everyone. What joy it was to be under that spell.

I had many wonderful times with this great lady over the years, and I cherish each one. Now, more than ever I suppose. She was such a radiant life force that fans of every kind adored her — young, old, male, female, gay, straight, democrat, republican, you name it. I think she was the great equalizer because she simply treated everyone equally. She was plain-talking, truthful, inclusive, spiritual, hilarious, and fundamentally just a believer in the power of human goodness.

There was never anyone like Dolly Parton before she came along, and I don’t think we’ll ever see the likes of her again. As they say, God broke the mold after creating her. Over the last two days countless people have said she was simply an angel on Earth. I don’t think truer words were ever spoken.

Rest in Peace, Dear Dolly. We will always love you.