Dolly Parton receives special tribute at the Emmys from Sally Field and Reba McEntire

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Set us as preferred Dolly Parton — the “queen of country,” benevolent ruler of Dollywood and America’s true sweetheart — died at age 80 last month.But she lives on forever at home in our living rooms, in the warm echo of a Tennessee twang from the speaker and, perhaps surprisingly (although that shouldn’t be so), in the flickering glow of our television screens.Parton got her start on the small screen, appearing on the “Cas Walker Farm and Home Hour” when she was 10.

Eleven years later, she had a down-home breakthrough on the widely syndicated “Porter Wagoner Show.” There were multiple interviews with Barbara Walters, “Tonight Show” appearances with Johnny Carson, two successive variety shows and many a guest spot, including on “Hannah Montana,” “Designing Women” and “Reba.”At the Emmys on Monday, Reba McEntire sang a soulful tribute to Parton with a cover of her 1983 song “Appalachian Mountains,” one of McEntire’s all-time favorites.Before that, though, came a heartfelt speech by Sally Field, Parton’s co-star in “Steel Magnolias.”“If there are truly angels on Earth, then we just lost one: Dolly Parton,” Field said.

“It was my great good fortune to have worked with Dolly in a film called ‘Steel Magnolias.’ And over the years, I never stopped loving her, though we lived very far apart.I adored her from day one; how could you not? She was 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.“I couldn’t see then what a real giant Dolly was — not just as an artist, but as a human,” she added.

“She was a humanitarian whose contributions have made a profound difference in the lives of so many in her home state of Tennessee, and across our country.God bless you, Dolly Parton, my...