Sally Field delivered a heartfelt tribute to the late Dolly Parton at the 78th annual Primetime Emmy Awards on Monday.
"If there are truly angels on earth, then we just lost one ― Dolly Parton,” Field said during her speech. The Oscar winner recalled working with Parton on the 1989 film "Steel Magnolias," stating, “And over the years, I never stopped loving her, though we lived very apart. I adored her from Day 1 ― how could you not?”
Field described Parton as “genuine and humble ― supportive, and blisteringly funny. With a bawdy sense of humor that would send any rude guy looking for a place to hide.” She further emphasized Parton's impact, saying, “I couldn’t see then what a real giant Dolly was. Not just as an artist, but as a human. She was a humanitarian whose contributions have made a profound in the lives of so many in her home state of Tennessee and across our country.”
"God bless you, Dolly Parton, my friend. I am not the only one on earth that will love you forever and ever,” Field concluded to applause.
Following Field's tribute, Reba McEntire performed a rendition of Parton’s song “Appalachian Memories.”
Parton died last month in her home state of Tennessee after a brief battle with cancer, her nephew announced in a video shared on social media in August.