Dolly Parton, who died Aug. 25 at age 80 after a private battle with cancer, opened her new Life of Many Colors museum in Nashville on Tuesday with a prerecorded video posted to the museum's Instagram, according to Page Six. In the clip, filmed before her death, Parton appears in gold glam on a wall of vintage televisions, saying, "Hi everybody, it's Dolly, and I am so proud to invite you to my Life of Many Colors Museum opening right here in the heart of Nashville at my SongTeller Hotel."
A museum is a press release with a ticket booth. The brand does not die, it changes shifts: same story, new venue, and a wall of televisions making sure the message repeats. The woman in the video is in full glam, which is the whole point. Even the eulogy has a costume department.
This is not her first posthumous appearance. In early September she accepted a lifetime achievement award from beyond the grave, and the museum is the encore. The machine does not pause for the funeral, it just moves to the venue with better lighting.
The fans are already writing the PR copy. One attendee posted, "Working beyond the grave. Such a hardworking woman and amicable too." The review section has been rebranded as the tribute section, and the tribute section has been rebranded as the marketing department.
The machine has its critics, too. Her nephew and former head of security, Bryan Seaver, threatened in texts to "destroy her entire brand" and got a restraining order from her manager. The brand, it turns out, has lawyers. The family can fight over the estate. The brand is already selling tickets.
YOUR TURN: Is a posthumous museum a tribute, or the last press release?
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