Dolly Parton fans on Long Island share how her life and work inspired them and how they are processing her death

Marc Hollid-Ausset remembers the amazement he felt as a child while watching "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" starring Dolly Parton, his first movie musical.

Although he was probably too young to watch the film, the dancing and singing enamored him, he said.

"I was like, ‘What is this? I love this!’ And I remember my mom saying, 'Oh, this is called a musical,' " Hollid-Ausset recalled.

Hollid-Ausset, now the chief executive officer and president of the CM Performing Arts Center in Oakdale, is one of the Long Islanders who said Parton’s life and work heavily impacted their own.

"Whether you liked her music or not doesn't really matter," Hollid-Ausset said. "I don't think anybody could help liking her."

Watching "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" and other musicals propelled Hollid-Ausset into a career in theater, eventually becoming an actor and running the Oakdale center.

Hollid-Ausset and his husband, Craig Hollid-Ausset, bought tickets for the first night of previews for "Dolly: A True Original Musical," based on Parton’s life, which is set to open on Broadway on Jan. 19, 2027, her birthday. The two spent their first wedding anniversary at Dollywood.

In 2023, the center produced "9 to 5: The Musical," with music and lyrics by Parton, which was based on the film starring Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.

Emily Nadler, who played Tomlin’s character, Violet, said performing in the musical made her appreciate Parton’s musicianship on a whole other level.

"How lucky were we all to have her talent, joy and spirit in our lifetimes," Nadler, of East Islip, said in an email.

Rachel Maligno, 34, of Centereach, said she learned of who Parton was as a person first.

In her 20s, Maligno lived for four years in eastern Tennessee with her fiance at the time.

"I was so dirt-poor, we couldn’t afford heat for four years," she told Newsday.

Her now ex-fiance’s children received free books every month through Parton’s Imagination Library, which aims to promote literacy.

Maligno said she was inspired by Parton, who grew up poor and became wildly successful, yet generously donated to her community and to numerous causes. 

"She donated over $500 million worth of books just to help people like me and everyone else around the country," Maligno said.

After Maligno ended her engagement, she moved back to Long Island and started her own business: Woof Woof Mobile Dog Grooming.

Parton’s story inspired her to become an entrepreneur.

"I won't go a day without being hungry again, just like she did," Maligno said. "Just like her, she lets her darkness loose and makes it into beautiful colors. I do the exact same thing."

For Gregory Goodwin, 38, being a Parton superfan became a part of life after coming out as gay following college. While growing up in Port Jefferson, Goodwin said he knew of Parton’s songs and always thought of her as special.

Goodwin attended Parton concerts with his mother, Kathy Goodwin, of Mount Sinai, at Forest Hills Stadium and at Dollywood.

Goodwin, who now lives in Katonah, Westchester County, on a farmstead with his husband and daughter, said his friends often gift him Parton paraphernalia, from her collaboration cake box mixes, to kitchenware, to dog costumes.

He connected with how Parton was unapologetically herself and always rooted for those who felt like outsiders.

"I think everyone is searching for just something positive and something we can connect with, and I think Dolly Parton, for me at least, made that possible," he said.