DOLLY PARTON, MACGYVER, AND MAKE-A-WISH
What do Dolly Parton and MacGyver have in common? In the late 1980s, both were wishes of a terminally ill boy who dreamed of meeting them. Well that, and to visit Disney World of course. Richard welcomed the boy onto MacGyver set and gave him his personal pocketknife. Although Dolly couldn’t meet him in person due to scheduling restraints, sometime later a parcel arrived to the little boy from Dolly herself…
According to Krista Ball, who shared this touching thread about her neighbors in the 1980s, Dolly Parton and MacGyver, aka Richard Dean Anderson, helps to light up this little boy’s life.
“This was the late 80s. My neighbour’s young nephew was dying and had three wishes: 1. Meet Dolly Parton 2. Meet Macgyver (aka Richard Dean Anderson) 3. Go to Disney World”
“They could arrange 2 and 3, but not Dolly. She was on tour or on set (I can’t remember which now), but the travel distance + schedule was not possible to coordinate with a dying child’s medical needs.”
“So Richard Dean Anderson had the kid on set, gave him his knife (family lore is the little boy was buried with it). He was strong enough to also go to Disneyworld. Some time later, a parcel arrives…”
“Dolly Parton’s team put together whatever they could find on short notice as a “memorabilia” box, and she personalized every single piece for him. She wrote him a letter to say how sorry she was they couldn’t meet. Hoped the box of goodies was a nice surprise.”
“No one was ever allowed to say a bad word about Dolly Parton or Richard Dean Anderson around my mother, who said those ‘rich celebrities didn’t have to do that for people like us, you know? They didn’t have to.’ But Dolly and Richard did.”
Here’s to stars who use their influence to make a difference, and to the late Dolly Parton, whose legacy of generosity lives on through programs like her Imagination Library, which provides free monthly books to children.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book-gifting program that mails free high-quality age-appropriate books to children up to age five. It operates globally with a mission to foster a lifelong love of reading and ensure every child has access to books, regardless of family income.