Haiku: Back from Vacation - ©Theda Bara

Haiku and Art by ©Theda Bara — 2026

 Refreshed and rested.
I’m back home.
Let’s get to work... the vacation are over!

Vacation - ©Theda Bara

 Finally, vacation!

I’m taking a few days off from my weekly film column for the LA Times, and I'll use that time to take a break from the blog.

I'll be back in October!

 

💋Kisses💋 ©Theda Bara

Dolly Parton - ©Theda Bara

Dolly Parton, one of my favorite actresses and singers, passed away yesterday, August 25, at the age of 80. She became a legend of American country music, universally acclaimed and an extremely beloved figure in the United States due to her generosity, charisma, and significant philanthropic work.

Dolly Parton acted in several films, but the one that cemented her fame was a project for which she wrote both the screenplay and the music: “9 to 5” (1980). The film was nominated for an Oscar in 1981 but did not win the statuette. In the plot, Dolly plays “Doralee” alongside Jane Seymour Fonda (1937–) as “Judy” and Lily Tomlin, born Mary Jean Tomlin (1939–) as “Violet”; three employees of a sexist and prejudiced boss played by Dabney Wharton Coleman (1932–) as “Frank Hart”. In the story, the three women end up kidnapping the boss and holding him prisoner in his own home. While holding him captive, the trio takes charge of the office.

Dolly Parton did not win an Oscar for acting, whether as a lead or supporting actress, or for Best Original Song, but she did receive an honorary Oscar, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, in November 2025.

Among her best-known songs are: “I Will Always Love You” (1973), originally written and recorded by Dolly as a farewell to her musical partner Porter Wagoner (1927–2007), a track that became a global phenomenon years later when performed by Whitney Elizabeth Houston (1963–2012); “Jolene” (1973), one of the most famous melodies in country music history, telling the story of a woman pleading with a stunning redhead not to steal her partner; “9 to 5” (1980), an upbeat pop-country anthem about the exhausting routine of office work, featured in the film of the same name in which she starred; and “Coat of Many Colors” (1971), a moving, autobiographical song about a coat made of scraps, sewn by her mother when she was a child. There is also “Islands in the Stream” (1983), an unforgettable duet recorded with Kenneth Donald “Kenny” Rogers (1938–2020), which achieved enormous success on pop and country music charts, among others.

Dolly Parton received 54 Grammy nominations, winning eleven times (including the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011). She also won seven Golden Globe Awards between 1981 and 2019.

Dolly Parton has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, awarded in 1984. Located at 6712 Hollywood Boulevard, the star honors her significant contribution to the recording industry.

Dolly Rebecca Parton was born on January 19, 1946, in Pittman Center, Tennessee, United States, and passed away (as previously mentioned) on August 25, 2026, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, United States.

Dolly Parton married only once, to Carl Thomas Dean (1942–2025), the owner of an asphalt paving company in Nashville. The couple lived together for 59 years, from 1966 to 2025. They had no biological or adopted children. The singer repeatedly stated that the absence of heirs gave her the freedom needed to work and build her musical career.

Richard Dreyfuss - ©Theda Bara

 

The name I highlight in this post is Richard Dreyfuss, an American actor best known for his work in the 1970s and 1990s. Dreyfuss won few awards during those decades, but in 1978, he won the highest award in cinema, the Academy Award for Best Actor for “The Goodbye Girl” (1977), playing the character “Elliot Garfield”.

In addition to the 1978 Best Actor Oscar, “The Goodbye Girl” earned Richard Dreyfuss the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor.

Richard Dreyfuss has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard, in the Film category.

Richard Stephen Dreyfuss was born on October 29, 1947, in Brooklyn, New York, United States, and is 78 years old.

Richard Dreyfuss has been married three times throughout his life. His first marriage was to American screenwriter and film producer Jeramie Rain (1948-), from 1983 to 1995. The couple had three children: journalist Emily Dreyfuss (1983-), journalist Benjamin Dreyfuss, known as Ben Dreyfuss (1986-), and actor Harry Dreyfuss (1990-). In 2025, Dreyfuss revealed that he had been estranged from his three children for almost a decade. The reason for the estrangement, according to his youngest son, Harry, was a sexual assault he suffered in 2008, in the presence of his father (who did nothing), allegedly committed by American actor, director, screenwriter, producer and comedian Kevin Spacey Fowler (1959-); His second marriage was to socialite Janelle Lacey (1970-), from 1999 to 2005; and his current wife is Russian-American socialite Svetlana Erokhin (1960-), whom he has been married to since 2006.

Haiku: Flowers For Myself - ©Theda Bara

Haiku and Art by ©Theda Bara — 2026

 I went to the garden
And picked flowers
For myself!

 

🎨 Painting by Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839-1924) “Young woman seated in a garden picking flowers” ​​(American Public Domain)