Parton

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. -- Dolly Parton vividly remembers the first movie she ever saw.Because of his personal interest in the subject, Parton's father broke his long-standing rule against his children going to the movies. Her dad loaded the growing family up and headed off to the local Sevierville, Tenn., drive-in. The Parton brood sprawled on the ground to watch Robert Mitchum in "Thunder Road," the 1957 action adventure about moonshiners in the hills of the Smoky Mountains."It was based on a true story, and Daddy knew all those people," Parton said recently at the annual opening of her theme park.

Pop fans, who are you going to see on Sunday, Britney Spears or Dolly Parton? The dueling concerts on Sunday - Dolly's at the Wolf Trap ; Britney's at the Verizon Center - are like a rare lunar event, a diva showtown that pits fans of both to pick one over the other. On one corner, you have Dolly, who's been wearing tacky, sequined gowns for four decades now. And on the other corner is Britney, an upstart in comparison who's only been wearing the (often medicated)

SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Dolly Parton has donated $500,000 to improve public education and keep kids in school in her native Sevier County."This is just great," said Jack Parton, Sevier County Schools superintendent and a distant relative of the performer. "It will unlock some doors for our schoolchildren."The contribution came through the entertainer's Dollywood Foundation, which raises money from annual spring concerts.

It's a good week for music in the region. Pretty much every day has a a major headliner perform in Baltimore or nearby. There's three country music acts (Emmylou Harris, Keith Urban, Dolly Parton), a corporate punk rock show (Vans Warped) and one that's on the indier side of things (Alphabet Bombers) and then there also shows by Black the Eyed Peas, Motley Crue and Lands & Peoples. On Tuesday , Emmylou Harris performs at Pier Six Pavilion, 731 Eastern Ave. Look for our review tomorrow.

HOLLYWOOD -- Dolly Parton will star as a radio-station receptionist who winds up as a talk-show psychiatrist in the Hollywood Pictures-Sandollar musical "Straight Talk." Parton will write the songs, Tim Rice will oversee the music. Barnett Kellman directs Pat Resnick's script in Chicago in June for producer Robert Chartoff.Armand Assante and Antonio Banderas will star in Pace Films' "Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love," based on Oscar Hijuelos' award-winning novel. Arnold Glimcher produces and directs Cynthia Cidre's script in New York and Los Angeles beginning March 12.

Let's hope this doesn't become a formula. Get an actress known for her glamour. Put her in a role as an abused spouse or daughter or other type of victim. Hope that the critical acclaim that follows provides a significant career change.It worked for Farrah Fawcett in "The Burning Bed." It worked for Ann-Margret in a variety of TV movie roles. Now apparently it's supposed to do the trick for Dolly Parton in "Wild Texas Wind," the NBC movie that's on Channel 2 (WMAR) tonight at 9 o'clock.It won't.

Washington--Spend 30 minutes with Dolly Parton, and two words come to mind: Too much.Too much hair, too much makeup, too much cleavage, too much giggling, too much smiling, too much enthusiasm.Too much Dolly.Which is just fine with Ms. Parton, who has used her love of excess to become to country music what Liberace was to classical piano. Her voice alone probably would have earned her fame in Nashville, where she's been a staple for more than three decades. But it's the big hair, huge chest, gaudy clothes and acres-across smile that have moved her beyond pop-star status to pop icon.

Dolly Parton was country pop when country pop wasn't cool. Back when Nashville still seemed like hicksville to a lot of radio listeners, Parton proved that a country singer could easily top the pop charts -- provided she had the right material. And thanks to crossover classics like "Here You Come Again," "Islands in the Stream" and "9 to 5," Parton had it in spades.Yet in some ways, Parton's pop success has done her more harm than good. Parton met the mainstream on its own terms, playing down the Tennessee mountain spunk that marked her work with Porter Waggoner, and while that helped make her a superstar, it also cost her some of her credibility with the country crowd.

9 TO 5 / / 20th Century Fox / $19.98 Certainly you will remember the clothes. The hemlines, the shoes, the poofy shoulders, the poofy hair. The year, 1980, will come rushing back at you in the fashions worn by stars Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton, who clearly had a rollicking good time making this working-girl movie 25 years ago. 9 to 5 is the story of three women trapped in "the pink-collar ghetto" of a corporation. They form a reluctant alliance to get their "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical, bigoted" boss, played by Dabney Coleman.

Dolly Parton has picked out her shoes, her dress and of course, her wig. But she isn't giving much away about the get-up she'll be sporting when she becomes a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors next Sunday. What she does reveal, is that her dress - created for this occasion by Robert Bahar, who designs her costumes - is a flowing white gown with a train. "If I can keep that president off of my train that'll be good. I don't want to have to slap that Texas guy. `Get off my dress, cowboy!

No 'Hello, Aunt Dolly' in 'Hannah Montana,' Parton says she's out of movie Dolly Parton says she won't be in the coming Hannah Montana movie, despite word to the contrary on the Web. But Parton wishes she had been. The country legend says producers had asked her whether she would revisit her recurring role as Aunt Dolly from the TV show in the film. But her character apparently didn't make the script. Still, Parton says she loved playing the role on the TV show because it opened her up to a new generation of fans.

Just announced Aretha Franklin -- Meyerhoff Symphony Hall on March 20. 410-547-7328 or ticketmaster.com. Chris Rock -- Lyric Opera House on Feb. 9. Also, Wayne Newton is there Feb. 11, and Jill Scott is there Feb. 26. 410-547-7328 or ticketmaster.com. Dolly Parton -- George Mason University's Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va., on March 11. 410-547-7328 or ticketmaster.com. The Silver Beats -- The 9:30 Club in Washington on Jan. 11. 800-955-5566 or tickets.com. The Radiators -- Recher Theatre in Towson on Feb. 27. 410-547-7328 or ticketmaster.

A line from Andrew Jackson has been making the rounds lately: "One man with courage makes a majority." This aphorism is today known as Jackson's most famous saying. It adorns T-shirts, mugs and posters. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Christian Coalition invoke it. Politicians repeat it endlessly, including, recently, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. But did Jackson really say it? Curiously, although everyone has heard it quoted from him and therefore "knows" that he said it, no one can pinpoint when or where.

Dolly Parton has picked out her shoes, her dress and of course, her wig. But she isn't giving much away about the get-up she'll be sporting when she becomes a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors next Sunday. What she does reveal, is that her dress - created for this occasion by Robert Bahar, who designs her costumes - is a flowing white gown with a train. "If I can keep that president off of my train that'll be good. I don't want to have to slap that Texas guy. `Get off my dress, cowboy!

9 TO 5 / / 20th Century Fox / $19.98 Certainly you will remember the clothes. The hemlines, the shoes, the poofy shoulders, the poofy hair. The year, 1980, will come rushing back at you in the fashions worn by stars Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton, who clearly had a rollicking good time making this working-girl movie 25 years ago. 9 to 5 is the story of three women trapped in "the pink-collar ghetto" of a corporation. They form a reluctant alliance to get their "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical, bigoted" boss, played by Dabney Coleman.

On January 14, 2006, GEORGE WAYNE PARTON, SR., beloved father of Stephanie Michell Parton, Jennifer Michelle Parton, George Wayne Parton, Jr. and Tyler James Parton; loving grandfather of Nathan Paul Parton and Johnathan James Parton; dear brother of William D. Parton and his wife Jackie, James D. Parton and his wife Terry and Thomas W. Parton and his wife Doris; devoted son of the late William D. Parton and Vera D. Best. Also survived by loving aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and friends.

On July 22, 2005, ROBERT EARL PATRICK, JR.; beloved husband of the late Shirley Faye (nee Seidman) Patrick; father of Anita Faye Parton and Warren Robert Patrick; grandfather of Dara, Zachary and Jessica Parton and Brian, Christopher and Kevin Patrick. Also survived by three great-grandchildren. Services from the ELINE FUNERAL HOME, 11824 Reisterstown Road (at Franklin Blvd), on Tuesday at 8 P.M. Friends may call Tuesday from 6 to 8 P.M. Interment Garrison Forest Veterans Cemetery, on Wednesday at 10 A.M.

Dolly Parton tries to go the way of Farrah Fawcett in "Wild Texas Wind," at 9 tonight on WMAR-TV (Channel 2). She's looking to revitalize her acting career and has chosen the black, blue and battered route that brought Fawcett back in "The Burning Bed" in 1984.This is news to you only if you have missed the supermarket checkout lines where, for the past two months -- on the cover of almost any tabloid that would have her -- Parton has appeared in a photo taken from a scene in which she is badly beaten.

System of a Down / 1st Mariner Arena High-octane rock band System of a Down, Bad Acid Trip and Mars Volta roll through 1st Mariner Arena, 201 W. Baltimore St., Monday night at 7. Tickets are $32.50 to $45 and are available through Ticketmaster by calling 410-547-SEAT or by visiting www.ticketmas ter.com. Dolly Parton / Constitution Hall Country legend Dolly Parton plays Constitution Hall, 18th and D streets Northwest in Washington, Tuesday night at 8. Tickets are $55 to $75 and are available through Ticketmaster.