How Dolly Parton Staked a Claim in ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’
What To Know
- Dolly Partonwas an uncredited producer behind both the Buffy the Vampire Slayer film and TV series.
- Her involvement remained largely unknown to the public and even some cast members until it was revealed years after the show’s original run.
Fans of chipper, fashion-forward teen blondes who spend their nights dusting vampires were stunned to discover that among the producers of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a familiar country music icon: Dolly Parton herself. In fact, the country crooner was a driving force behind bringing Buffy to both the big screen and television, but she did so quietly for many years, without any credit.
For years, people were unaware of Parton’s involvement until the news spread long after Buffy hung up her stake (well, the first time). The reveal resurfaced in 2016 when a New York Times profile on producer Gail Berman noted Parton’s behind-the-scenes role through her production company, Sandollar Productions, which helped bring the supernatural series to life.
Universal Pictures/Everett Collection
Slayer star Sarah Michelle Gellar later confirmed the story on The Tonight Show. “I read somewhere that Dolly Parton was an uncredited producer.”
“Yes!” Gellar said to host Jimmy Fallon, “Little-known fact, the legend Dolly was a producer. We’d get Christmas gifts in the beginning that would have our name on them. I was, like, ‘She doesn’t even know who I am.’ Then one day, someone asked her about it and she complimented the show and my performance. And I was like, Oh, I can die now. Dolly Parton knows who I am and thinks I’m good.”
But how did Ms. Parton get in the vampire-slaying business?
Parton’s longtime business partner was producer Sandy Gallin, and together the two of them founded Sandollar Productions. Under Sandoller, the duo produced pics like Steel Magnolias and Father of the Bride, and by 1992, the company had purchased a screenplay by a writer named Joss Whedon featuring a cheerleader chosen to fight blood-sucking nightwalkers.
The film Buffy the Vampire Slayer was not a box-office hit, but it became a cult favorite, and Sandollar executive Gail Berman believed the concept would work better as a TV series. Five years later, Whedon was given the opportunity to reimagine it for television, and since Sandollar’s name was still attached to the project, the company remained as a producer.
Courtesy of Everett Collection
Buffy the Vampire Slayer debuted on The WB in 1997, and though a silent partner, Parton wanted the cast to know that she was proud of them. “I didn’t get to meet all of the people, but I wanted them to know that I was there for them, “Parton told Business Insider. “I was proud of them, and they were doing a great job.”
Sandollar continues to celebrate Buffy and its legacy, as the company is involved with the upcoming reboot, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale, making Dolly a stakeholder in the ongoing story of the Slayer and helping preserve the franchise for a new generation.
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