"Folks, this is Pearl," boomed the familiar voice after Amtrak's Chicago-to-New York train collided last week in the middle of the night with a stalled truck and derailed near Mansfield, Ohio. The unofficial conductor was Pearl Bailey, 67, traveling to Manhattan to chair the opening of the 1985 Christmas Seal ceremonies. Talking through a loudspeaker, the veteran singer soothed jangled nerves among the 425 passengers. After two more days of traveling, Bailey hit a traffic jam outside New York City. Christmas Seal officials who had spotted Dolly Parton, 39, having lunch asked her to stand in for Pearlie Mae. As Parton...
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