Dolly Parton Mourns Burt Reynolds: ‘One of Our Favorite Leading Men’

Dolly Parton is mourning to her The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas co-star Burt Reynolds after the iconic actor died of a heart attack Thursday at the age of 82.

The country superstar shared a photo of herself and Reynolds on the set of the 1982 musical comedy on Twitter after news of his passing broke, penning an emotional note to her late co-star alongside it.

“Oh how sad I am today along with Burt’s millions of fans around the world as we mourn one of our favorite leading men,” she wrote. “I know we will always remember his funny laugh, that mischievous sparkle in his eyes, and his quirky sense of humor. You will always be my favorite sheriff, rest in peace my little buddy and I will always love you, Dolly.”

In the Golden Globe-nominated film, Reynolds played Sheriff Ed Earl Dodd, while Parton played brothel owner Mona Stangley, who had an unconventional romantic relationship in the town of Gilbert, Texas. Filming the movie was a “nightmare,” she told PEOPLE in 1982.

“There was a lot of blood on this project. When it started, it was the most painful thing I’d ever done,” she said. “People think of me as all smiles, but I can get aggravated. When I got somethin’ to say, I’ll say it.”

While the two formed on a bond on set, Parton said she and Reynolds had “sensitive times” that “brought tears to his or my eyes.”

“Burt was just comin’ out of a lot of heartache with Sally Field,” she explained. “They had evidently loved each other a great deal,” before saying both of them were easy to rise to their temper on set, “but so did I, and probably more times than he did. Because he’s the big star he is, he’d get hacked down quicker. People don’t take me that serious.”

The two were rumored to be having an affair at one point, but Parton said the two never turned their “special” relationship into anything sexual.

“We’re too good friends to want to screw it up havin’ an affair. If he marries and has children, I want to be friends with his wife without her feelin’ we’d ever been lovers,” she said at the time, though she didn’t mind fantasizing. “As a woman, I like to think he imagined how great it might have been.”

Photo credit: Instagram/Dolly Parton