How Dolly Parton Taught Jane Fonda 1 Important Lesson About Fans
Celebrities know how important it is to have a good relationship with their fans, but sometimes they need a bit of a reminder. Jane Fonda recently revealed that 9 to 5 co-star Dolly Parton taught her an important lesson about fans while they worked on the beloved movie together.
Dolly Parton and Jane Fonda worked together on ‘9 to 5’ alongside Lily Tomlin
In 1980, 9 to 5 premiered and starred Fonda, Parton, and Lily Tomlin. The movie follows the trio as they work under a horrible misogynistic boss, Franklin Hart. After some hijinks, including mistakenly thinking they killed Franklin and kidnapping him, Fonda, Parton, and Tomlin create a perfect work environment. Things are working out great, but how long can they keep up the ruse that Franklin is still in charge?
In addition to Fonda, Parton, and Tomlin, the cast includes Dabney Coleman (Franklin Hart), Lawrence Pressman, Elizabeth Wilson, Henry Jones, and Renn Woods.
The important lesson Dolly Parton taught Jane Fonda
While working on 9 to 5, Fonda, Parton, and Tomlin all got very close and are still friends today. Fonda and Tomlin frequently work together, including on the Netflix comedy Grace and Frankie and this year’s 80 For Brady.
In a recent interview with AARP, the cast of 80 For Brady sat down to talk about their long careers in the entertainment industry and some of the lessons they learned along the way. Fonda even shouted out her 9 to 5 co-star for teaching her an important lesson about fans.
“I grew up with a father [actor Henry Fonda] who, if someone started approaching him to ask for an autograph, would literally run away,” Fonda explained, saying he “couldn’t stand being reminded of his fame.”
She continued, “But you know who taught me about the importance of fans? Dolly Parton. When we did 9 to 5, I watched how she interacted, how she listened, how she truly cared, and how grateful she was, and I thought, Oh, my gosh, Dolly’s right. Our careers depend on our fans! That changed me forever.”
Dolly Parton shared she was closer to Lily Tomlin than Jane Fonda
Parton might have taught Fonda a thing or two on the 9 to 5 set, but the country star revealed that she actually felt closer to a different cast member: Tomlin.
“I felt a bit closer to Lily during the film because I had a chance to get to know her,” Parton explained. “Jane had so much business stuff to do. And Lily and I are both with the same agency now. I spent more time talking to Lily.”
The “Jolene” singer made sure to emphasize that the closeness she felt with Tomlin was really more about Fonda’s lack of time to hang out — in addition to starring in 9 to 5, Fonda was also a producer for the movie.
“With Jane, we got to be close, but we really hadn’t gotten together enough to totally relax and just be pals,” Parton said of her relationship with the actor. “I have such respect and admiration for Jane. I’m not star-struck, but I know when a person’s great.”
