NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — There are few celebrities in Nashville that have a bigger presence, whether she's actually in town or not, than the Tennessee Treasure herself, Dolly Parton. The same cannot be said for her late husband, Carl Dean, who passed away Monday at the age of 82.
To call him shy of the spotlight, would be an understatement. Few public photos exist of the couple. Even fewer people seemed to know him personally outside of his immediate family. Really, the most we know about Dean comes from Dolly herself.
"My husband just does not want to be in the spotlight," Parton told Dan Rather in an AXS TV interview.
Their love story began with an unlikely chance meeting at a Nashville laundromat.
"The very day I got to Nashville, I met Carl Dean. And 60 years later, I’m still with Carl Dean," Parton told the Dumb Blonde podcast.
Sadly, the old laundromat on Wedgewood Avenue no longer exists. But Dolly was evidently so eager to move to Music City from her East Tennessee mountain home, she didn't have time to wash her dirty clothes before she hopped on the bus.
"I put my clothes in the washing machine and I got a cold drink. I was walking along the sidewalks just kinda looking around Nashville, and this good looking guy drove by in a Chevrolet, and me being from the country — you talk to everybody," Parton told Johnny Carson on an old "Tonight Show" clip.
That chance encounter would turn into 60 years of companionship.
"I never get tired of him. He’s got his own sense of humor. He’s got his own way of thinking," Parton told AXS TV.
However, early on at an awards dinner, Parton realized a life of fame just wasn't her husband's thing.
"We got in the car and he said, 'You know what? I want you to do really well, and I really do, and I don’t mind what you do but I ain’t ever going to more of them damn things so don’t even ask me.' So I never have and he never did," Parton told AXS TV.
Over the years, they still found their own way to have fun.
"Even on anniversaries and stuff like that, we usually stay home and make something special," Parton told E News.
She told NewsChannel 5's Meryll Rose that, every now and then, she could convince Carl to come out in public with her — sort of.
"We get out in our little RV and go to all the fast food restaurants," said Parton.
"Do you really?" asked Rose, who retired from NewsChannel 5 in 2023.
"Oh yea!" replied Parton.
All the while, Dolly and Carl never lost the spark between them, or their sense of humor. That may have been best illustrated when Dolly was speaking at an event with Keith Urban sitting next to her. She told the audience about a reporter asking her about the secret to her long marriage with Dean.
"How do you manage to keep the love alive and the romance? And I said, 'That’s easy. I just make out with my husband and pretend it’s Keith Urban,'" Parton said to a huge laugh. Urban appeared to almost fall out of his chair with embarrassment and laughter.
As far as we can tell, a video Dolly posted on X (then called Twitter) in 2021 in honor of Carl's birthday may have been his last, albeit partial, public sighting.
"You’re probably wondering why I’m dressed like this," said Parton, dressed as a Playboy bunny. "Well, it’s for my husband’s birthday."
Later in the video, a picture shows Dean receiving his gift, a framed photo of Parton's original Playboy appearance next to a recreation of the cover when Dolly was 75 years old. All you can see is the back of Dean's head.
"My husband always loved the original cover of Playboy so I was trying to think of something to do to make him happy," explained Parton. "He still thinks I’m a hot chick after 57 years, and I’m not going to try to talk him out of it."
Dean's life may not have been lived in the spotlight, but at least to his beloved wife, that didn't dim how brightly he shined.
"There’s a great comfort in that, knowing someone loves you for exactly for who you are. Because he fell in love me before I became a star," Parton told E News.
Fittingly with how Dean lived his life, in death, Dean also requested privacy. He will be laid to rest in a private ceremony, according to a spokesperson for Dolly Parton.
Do you have more information about this story or your own Carl Dean story? You can email me at Chris.Davis@NewsChannel5.com.
Shred the gnar with Patrick - the snowboarding lawyer that will remind you not to take things too seriously! His cheeky, cheerful attitude is contagious. His only complaint? The lack of chairlifts at the Tennessee State Capitol of course. Watch his story for an instant pick-me-up on a frigid day.
-Rebecca Schleicher
