Why Dolly Parton Asked Burt Reynolds for Forgiveness After ‘The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas’
Dolly Parton did not have a good time filming The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, but she did like her co-star, Burt Reynolds. The pair had obvious chemistry, so much so that they sparked affair rumors. Despite this, Parton felt the need to apologize to Reynolds after filming. She somewhat jokingly asked for his forgiveness because Reynolds had medical problems after filming.
Dolly Parton apologized to Burt Reynolds after filming ‘The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas’
During one scene in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Reynolds lifted Parton and threw her over his shoulder. She said he seemed to struggle through this.
“There was a scene at the end of the movie where Burt, as Sheriff Ed Earl, had to pick me up and carry me,” Parton wrote in her book Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business. “They waited to shoot that scene last, and it was a good thing they did. The cameras rolled, Burt picked me up, and I could hear him groan. I was a real porker at the time, probably the heaviest I have ever been. Naturally, being the movies, they had to shoot the scene a few times, and each time Burt groaned a little louder.”
As it turned out, Reynolds had a double hernia and required surgery after filming ended. While it may have had nothing to do with her, Parton couldn’t help but feel responsible. She used her memoir to ask him for forgiveness.
“The week after the shooting ended, Burt was checked into a hospital to undergo a double hernia operation,” she wrote. “I am told he had been having problems prior to that, but I still couldn’t help feeling a little responsible. So if anybody ever asks me if I broke Burt Reynolds’s heart, I have to say honestly that the damage was a little further south. Forgive me, Burt. I hope they’re still working.”
Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds sparked affair rumors
Parton joked about being asked about breaking Reynolds’ heart because of the affair rumors about them. She pushed for more romantic scenes between them in the film, and some people wondered if their chemistry went beyond the screen. Parton wouldn’t outright deny this, despite being married.
“I ain’t saying yea or nay,” she said, per the book Dolly on Dolly, “Just sweeter than a love affair.”
While this may seem like evidence of an affair, Parton often uses flirtation with collaborators as a way to promote her projects.
She offered a touching tribute to her former co-star after his death
Regardless of if anything happened between them behind the scenes, Parton and Reynolds were friends. After his death in 2018, she paid tribute to her former co-star.
“Oh how sad I am today along with Burt‘s millions of fans around the world as we mourn one of our favorite leading men,” she wrote on social media (via Rolling Stone). “I know we will always remember his funny laugh, that mischievous sparkle in his eyes, and his quirky sense of humor. You will always be my favorite sheriff, rest in peace my little buddy and I will always love you, Dolly.”
