Sarah Michelle Gellar reveals secret Buffy producer Dolly Parton sent the cast Christmas gifts
Dolly Parton would send annual gifts to the Buffy cast. (Getty/PinkNews)
Wolf Pack star Sarah Michelle Gellar has revealed that country legend and all-round angel Dolly Parton served as a secret producer on Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
The classic fantasy series, which enjoyed a seven season run between 1997 and 2003, shaped a generation with its story of a kickass high school teen who slayed vampires in her spare time.
For decades, it was also rumoured that Dolly Parton singer was an uncredited producer; and Gellar finally revealed the truth on a recent episode of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
“Little known fact: the legend Dolly was a producer,” she said, before explaining that the Jolene hit-maker also lived up to her yet fabled generosity by sending gifts to the cast of the series during the festive season.
“We never saw her,” Gellar explained. “We’d get Christmas gifts in the beginning that would have our name [on them], and I would think, ‘She doesn’t even know who I am’.”
But Gellar was soon proven wrong. Just like the rest of the world, Parton was immediately gripped by Buffy.
“One day, somebody asked her about it and she complimented the show and my performance,” Gellar explained.
“I was like, ‘Oh, I can die now. Dolly Parton knows who I am and thinks I’m good’.”
So how did Dolly get swept up in Sunnydale fever? Well, she was a co-founder of Sandollar Productions, the company behind both Buffy and spin-off series Angel, alongside her former manager, Sandy Gallin, who served as an executive producer on the seventh season of the show. Sandollar also produced the original Buffy film in 1992, which starred Kristy Swanson as the stake-wielding teen.
While Parton’s name does not appear as a producer on credits of Buffy, Sandollar Entertainment is credited for every episode of the series.
As well as providing gifts, Dolly also used her powers for institutional good, after former Sandollar executive Gail Berman discovered she was being paid less royalties for the show than her male counterparts.
Over lunch, Parton decided to right the wrong by handing Berman a cheque to make up for the discrepancy.
And it seems like Gellar has taken after Parton when it comes to standing up for the underdog on set. The actor has recently made her return to the small screen with Wolf Pack, in which she plays an arson investigator.
While there are no shortage of stories about the “extremely toxic” set on Buffy, with fingers pointing at creator Joss Whedon, Gellar is firmly bucking the trend.
She recently opened up about trying to make the industry a safer place for young people by firing employees who made the cast uncomfortable and putting down strict guidelines for work-life balance.
Wolf Pack is streaming now on Paramount+
