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Dolly Parton and Sylvester Stallone shared the screen in the 1984 movie Rhinestone. Parton fondly recalled their collaboration, noting how Stallone lifted her spirits during a difficult time in her life. However, she also observed that his treatment of others was lacking in kindness, prompting her to tell him he needed more compassion.
Dolly Parton offered Sylvester Stallone some advice
The duo worked together in 1984, and while Parton enjoyed a good rapport with Stallone, she noticed that he often displayed a sharp edge towards others.
Parton, reflecting on their interactions, explained, “I understand how his mind operates. If you were close to him, he’d identify your weaknesses, using them either to support or undermine you,” according to the book Dolly on Dolly. She candidly told him, “‘Sly, please, please, please don’t treat me like you do others. I know and accept who I am.’ As a result, he left me alone, but whenever his mood soured, I braced myself to see who he’d lash out at or dismiss next.”
Parton addressed Stallone’s need for greater kindness, leading to occasional friction between them.
“I constantly reminded him of his remarkable qualities but pointed out he lacked compassion and spirituality,” Parton remarked. “He found my directness amusing, yet struggled with my straightforward nature, making daily interactions challenging for him.”
“I always told him he was spectacular, but that he had a blind spot where compassion and spirituality ought to be,” she said. “He was amused by me, I think, but he couldn’t deal with me on a day-to-day basis because I’m too raw and honest.”
Dolly Parton enjoyed working with Sylvester Stallone
While Parton thought Stallone had some room for growth, she enjoyed working with him. Rhinestone was a critical and financial flop. But Parton said it was worth it to be able to work with Stallone.
“No matter how big a financial disaster Rhinestone was, it was not all bad for me,” she wrote in her book Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business. “Sylvester Stallone made me laugh at a time when I really needed it. I have found no therapy more effective than laughing, although in this case, there were probably less expensive ways to get it. I should point out that Sly Stallone is certifiably crazy. But he was a good kind of crazy, the kind I needed at that point in my life.”
Parton said Stallone was so full of life that it helped pull her out of a low point in her life.
Parton chewed Stallone out on set
Parton and Stallone were most at odds during a night shoot for Rhinestone. Parton noticed a man shivering in an alleyway.
“We were working all night, and it was that New York kind of damp cold. I noticed a man lying there next to some garbage, and he was shivering,” she wrote. “We had a big heater and blankets on the set. So I thought I’d go back there and get warm and put a heavy shawl I was wearing around this poor man. I didn’t realize anybody was watching.”
Stallone stopped her as she went to give the man her shawl. He snapped at Parton not to give it to him, as he could have made something of himself like they did.
“Well, you could have knocked me over with an angel feather,” she wrote. “I couldn’t believe what a man I considered a friend was saying. I grabbed the shawl back from him and wrapped it back around the man. Then I stood up right in Sly’s face and said, ‘Hey, look! That could have been you, you ungrateful son of a b****! Except by the grace of God. Who knows. It could be an angel sent to show you what an a** you really are. At least he’s one of God’s creatures, and that’s good enough for me.’”
She said Stallone seemed ashamed of his behavior.
