Dolly wins People's Choice Award for Favorite Female Performer in a New TV Show for herr self-titled show, "Dolly," which began airing on ABC in September of 1987.
Dolly talked about what motivated her to try the variety show,
''I convinced them that I should be on television. I felt I was sitting around waiting for good scripts for the movies; I wasn't on the road (doing concerts) so much. So I just decided now was the time for me to do a TV show.”
The other nominees were Lisa Bonet in "A Different World" and Linda Hamilton in "Beauty and the Beast." In her acceptance speech Dolly said,
“I want to thank all of you very much for voting for me as your favorite because it’s very much an honor to be nominated for any of these awards and it’s really a great honor to win, especially when the people vote for you.”
That same night, Dolly received the award for All-Around Female Entertainer presented to her by Kenny Rogers.
The 14th Annual People's Choice Awards were telecast on CBS and hosted by Barbara Mandrell and Carl Reiner.
In 1986, Dolly was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, an organization that serves to honor and preserve the songwriting legacy associated specifically with the Nashville music community.
One of the world’s most prolific songwriters, Dolly once said,
"Anybody can sing, but not everybody can write.”
For Dolly, writing is more of a self-expression, as evidenced by the powerful storytelling exhibited in some of her greatest hits. On several occasions, when asked what she is proudest of in her career achievements, Dolly places her songwriting at the top of the list.
Dolly officially opened Dollywood to the public, realizing her dream of bringing family entertainment to her home in the mountains. She told People magazine how she named the park,
"A few years back, when I first started seeing the Hollywood sign, I kept thinking how cute it would be if I could change the H to a D—and see how long it would take anybody to notice. It just popped into my mind that it would be a good name for a park."
The Dollywood opening featured many family attractions including the Flooded Mine, Blazing Fury, the Dollywood Express, Smoky Mountain River Rampage and Fun Country, featuring a family favorite, the Big Log Flume.
Dollywood was known as “the friendliest town in the Smokies.” It was built to honor two of the things Dolly holds near to her heart, family and The Great Smoky Mountains.
In 1982, Dolly starred alongside Burt Reynolds in the American musical comedy film, "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas." The film revolves around a sheriff, played by Burt Reynolds, and a regular patron who fights to keep a historical whorehouse open when a television preacher targets it as the devil’s playhouse.
The film was Dolly’s second appearance in a major theatrical release, her first being "9 to 5." The film was successfully positioned as a star vehicle for Dolly and Burt Reynolds.
With a budget of $35 million and gross box office sales of $69 million, the film was a huge success. It earned Golden Globe nominations for Best Motion Picture in a Comedy or Musical and Best Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical for Dolly.
The song appears on her album, "9 to 5 and Odd Jobs." It is based on the film of the same name in which Dolly starred alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. Dolly explained in her Rolling Stone interview why she accepted the role that inspired the hit song,
"'Nine to Five' fascinated me, and I knew instantly that I should do it – I knew that it was a career move. And it fell together really well – just according to my lists."
Dolly was unable to attend the awards show. Her "9 to 5" co-star, Dabney Coleman, accepted the award on her behalf and Ann Jillian performed the song.
The 7th Annual People's Choice Awards were held at the Desilu TV studios in Los Angeles, California on, March 9, 1981. The show was broadcast on CBS.
