Written by: Jalen Thompson / Entertainment editor and Presley Henderson / Staff writer
On Aug. 25, iconic singer-songwriter and philanthropist Dolly Parton sadly passed away at age 80 in Nashville, Tennessee. Furthermore, beloved actor, Tim Curry passed the same day, also at the age of 80. This began many fans to become superstitious that a third 80 year-old star would be next and people started begging their favorites to stay inside and stay safe.
Parton was a world-renowned country music artist often called “The Queen of Country Music.” She originally rose to fame with her debut album, “Hello, I’m Dolly,” in 1967, starting a nearly 60-year long career.
Throughout her career, Parton released almost 50 studio albums and 3,000 songs, 25 of which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Country charts. Along with 11 Grammy awards, Parton’s career is nothing short of legendary.
Parton was also well known for her philanthropic work. In 1988, Parton founded the “Dollywood Foundation” to improve educational conditions for children in her home county.
A large part of the Dollywood foundation is the Imagination Library. The Imagination Library is a program that mails one book a month to children enrolled in the program from the time of their birth until they enter kindergarten. Since its launch in 2012, the Imagination Library has mailed about 700,000 books to children across the country.
Following Parton’s death, thousands of fans created tributes to honor her. One of these tributes was by fellow country music artist, Reba McEntire. Parton and McEntire shared a decades-long friendship. At the 78th Emmy awards, McEntire performed Parton’s song “Appalachian Memories” in honor of their long standing friendship.
Sadly, Parton’s death was followed by the loss of another shining light in the entertainment industry.
Also on Aug. 25, beloved English actor and singer, Tim Curry also passed. This tragedy, along with Parton’s death, caused world-wide sadness.
Curry had his debut in the West End production of “Hair,” throughout his career, Curry became known for many iconic roles including Dr. Frank-N-Furter in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”, the Concierge in “Home Alone Two” and many more.
Curry has been recognized for his many achievements through awards such as a Daytime Emmy award for his voice acting as Captain Hook in “Peter Pan & the Pirates” and a Grammy nomination for his audiobook “A Series of Unfortunate Events: the Bad Beginning.”
In his final years, Curry was awarded an Artistic Achievement award at the 19th annual Tony Awards. In an interview with CBS news, Curry stated, “I don’t fear death. I try to avoid it, as I think we all do. But, I suspect that in the end, I will welcome it.”
