Working 9 To 5 'until the day she died': Dolly Parton was planning an avatar show, a biopic, a musical documentary and a scripted series in the months leading up to her death

Working 9 To 5 'until the day she died': Dolly Parton was planning an avatar show, a biopic, a musical documentary and a scripted series in the months leading up to her death See more Daily Mail on Google – save us.

Key points

• Published: 09: 39 BST, 27 August 2026 Updated: 10: 18 BST, 27 August 2026.
• Dolly's Dog Treats are scheduled for early 2027, along with Dolly Bedding & Home Decor debuting in the third quarter of next year.
• Dolly Parton's SongTeller Hotel in Nashville has its grand opening on September 29.
• Previews for Dolly: A True Original Musical on Broadway commence in early December.
• Dolly left fans one final gift with an unreleased song which is due to be published on her 100th birthday in 20 years time.

For context, the legendary country singer's passing at the age of 80 was confirmed Tuesday in an Instagram video posted by her nephew Bryan Seaver, prompting an outpouring of grief worldwide.

For context, the musician died after 'a brief battle with cancer', and was admitted to the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville on Friday, where she died four days afterwards.

She was additionally dealing with kidney and autoimmune matters prior to her death, but despite her ailing health continued to work as hard as ever in her final months and was exploring new ways to tour her music, including an avatar show.

Inspired by the likes of ABBA, whose hugely successful ABBA Voyage residency has been running in a purpose-built London venue for four years, Dolly and her team were collaborating with firms that create 'avatar performances' shortly before her death.

After cancelling her Las Vegas residency last year due to ill health, speaking just four days before her death, Dolly remarked that she was looking into an avatar show to ensure fans could still have access to live performances of her music.

'I hate to cancel anything I'm committed to, but I just couldn't do the demonstrates at the level I would want them to be, and in the way that I know my fans would expect them to be, ' she explained.

Dolly Parton worked 'up until the day she died' and had created 'a project roadmap' to guide her team 'for decades to come' her manager has made public.

'I definitely plan to do special performances going forward, but I won't tour anymore like I applied to. But, you know, we've been working with some of those firms who produce those avatar performances, and we are in early stages of development on that.'

'It is just crazy what technology can do these days. So, I'm hopin' to launch a major show like that right here in Nashville shortly. Isn't that just wild? I'll be like George Jones – they applied to call him 'No Show Jones' – I won't have to show up in person but I still secure paid! Sounds like a pretty good accord to me.'

Dolly's avatar intends came just months after the Osbourne family unveiled that late rocker Ozzy is to be created into an AI avatar to appear on interactive touchscreens that will be placed in yet-to-be disclosed locations in the US and UK afterwards this year.

Dolly's longtime manager Danny Nozell remarked in an official note on Wednesday that the superstar had created 'a project roadmap' to assist guide her team on her career after her death.

'Dolly worked up until the day she died. She loved seeing her dreams come to life and loved knowing her work brought individuals joy, ' Nozell stated.

'Ever the planner, Dolly worked with the team that she handpicked for the past a number of years to build a project roadmap that will guide us for decades to come.'

'As the leader of the team responsible for overseeing her legacy, we will ensure the plenty of dreams she had yet to fulfill are brought to life, ' Nozell promised fans.

'Plenty of projects were in various stages of development, and we want to be transparent with her fans concerning this fact. If you see unreleased music, products, books, experiences and campaigns introduced through official Dolly Parton channels, you can have confidence in knowing that she placed her personal stamp on it, ' he went on.

Her longtime manager Danny Nozell remarked: 'Dolly worked with the team that she handpicked for the past a number of years to build a project roadmap that will guide us for decades to come'.

Notably, the various planned projects include the avatar show, a musical documentary, a biopic, a docuseries, a scripted series and an animated series based on her Billy the Kid book franchise.

There are additionally a number of projects with planned release dates for this year including Dolly's Tennessean Travel Stops which will celebrate National Truck Driver Appreciation Week beginning September 13.

Other projects include: A line of Dolly Dolls launching online on September 15; Dolly's Life of Plenty of Colors Museum's grand opening on September 29; Dolly's Cup of Ambition Coffee launching online September 29 and Dolly on the Holly – an upcoming Christmas-themed project and merchandise range.

Furthermore, previews for Dolly: A True Original Musical on Broadway commence in early December.

In practice, the hit show will then officially open January 19 on what would've been Dolly's 81st birthday after a sold-out run in her Nashville hometown last summer.

In practice, the country legend wrote the music and book and served as producer of the rags-to-riches show helmed by Tony-winning director Bartlett Sher and choreographed by Mandy Moore.

'Now, this isn't regarding a story concerning sparkle and shine on the outside, ' Dolly noted in a video last month.

'It's regarding where I really come from, what I've lived, what I've lost, what I've loved and how I've identified my way and informed it in my own words and through the music that's been part of me every step of the journey.'

For context, the national treasure continued: 'Now, the musical has some of my sizeable hits plus a lot of brand new songs that I've written just for the show. This really is a dream come true.and I can't wait to share it with all of you!'

Dolly: A True Original Musical will take audiences on a journey through her life, 'from her barefoot beginnings in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee to performing in platform heels under the bright lights of Hollywood'.

Dolly left fans one final gift with an unreleased song which is due to be published on her 100th birthday in 20 years time. The song is kept on a CD in a locked box at Dollywood.

Dolly additionally left fans one final gift with an unreleased song which is due to be issued on her 100th birthday in 20 years time.

For context, the song is kept on a CD in a locked box at Dollywood's DreamMore Resort in Tennessee. Titled 'My Place In History, ' Dolly wrote the song back in 2015, the same year she opened the DreamMore Resort.

'I don't know if I want to live to be 100 or not. But you never know, ' Dolly wrote in her 2020 book, Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics. 'I might, and if I do, I'm going to be at that opening.'

'There's no telling what music is going to be by then, ' she joked: 'Hopefully, it will play and the whole thing ain't rotted.'

In practice, the song is contained in a chestnut 'Dream Box' displayed in a glass case and additionally features a piece of wood from the front porch of her childhood home in Sevierville, Tennessee, where she grew up singing with her 11 siblings.

As well as planning decades of future projects, Dolly additionally planned the announcement of her death.

One of her nephews, Bryan Seaver. This person additionally acted as her head of security for numerous years, recorded a video at her request to release after her death.

'This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality, ' he informed fans.

'As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father Larry held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven't truly felt it until now.'

Taken together, the developments around working 9 To 5 ' until the day she died' : Dolly Parton was point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.