"I wrote him back and I said, 'Save your toast to me. ROBERT HARLING As we were going into production, Michael and Kathy Weller asked me what my parents thought about the play, and I said I hadnt told them. Julias feelings were hurt, and we lived next door to each other, and she was over every night. [Roberts grew up in Smyrna, Georgia.] She directed the Youth Choir. ROBERT HARLING I knew the actress Margo Martindale, who is now a huge star, and I wrote the role of Truvy for her. We all thought it was a drama, and then the first night it was in front of an audience, we were shocked. Why dont you let loose? Dolly very serenely smiled and said, When I was young and had nothing, I wanted to be rich and famous, and now I am. I could visibly see his chest rise up. Susan Harling-Robinson was the inspiration for the play and movie "Steel Magnolias", written by her brother Robert Harling. "He doesn't remember his mother, but he does know as a teenager that his mother was so cool, it took the biggest star in the world to play her.". Unfortunately for Susan, the pregnancy had taken a toll on her kidneys. He now lives in Austin and is happily engaged to a wonderful woman. Funeral services for Robert May Harling Jr. will be Saturday, Aug. 3 at 11 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church in Natchitoches with the Rev. Im glad you had a great trip, Cuz. Everybody likes me. She smiled that smile. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. Susan Harling-Robinson was the inspiration for the play and movie "Steel Magnolias", written by her brother Robert Harling. Steel Magnolias has been his way, he says, of keeping Susan alive for her son, now 31, about to marry for a second time this summer and living in Texas. Lets open it up. The casting director said, Theres this girl. IE 11 is not supported. So happy you got to meet your Truvy and get a do. The last time I talked to Susan was on her birthday, October 7 [1985]. See answer (1) Copy. This was pretty much her first big film.'. When Mama asked me if she could read it, I said, You dont want to. It is the image of a small, blonde-haired all-American boy beaming in the Easter sunshine that flashes up at the end of Hollywood classic Steel Magnolias and stays with you long after the credits have rolled. After her death, Susan's brother, Robert Harling, wrote the play " Steel Magnolias ". All rights reserved. but it was a good trip! Failed to remove flower. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. She wanted to be a majorette, so she made mama sew little pockets into her outfits so she could have candy, because her insulin would get all crazy on sweaty hot days. Harling said that he was particularly touched by one email from a fan of the movie, who was inspired to donate his kidney to a neighbor in need. So almost daily I think about what my life would be if she had lived. I wish they did so that more people could honor and learn about this amazing woman. We really did make fast friends, all of us, and have been ever since. My sister had to die for all that to happen. Ray called and said, Olympias doing Clairee. I knew Olympia from her work in New York theater, so I knew she could do anything, but I was worried that she wasnt Southern. Obituary of Susan Harling Robinson Then I just have to go back to the honesty of the first impulse, that I just wanted somebody to remember her. When we sat down in the theater on opening night, I was the most nervous Id ever been in my life. Shirley is from Virginia, and Sally had done Places in the Heart and Norma Rae, and then of course theres Dolly. Be sure to SHARE this article if you love the play and film, Steel Magnolias! Herbert gave me the greatest, simplest advice: Always remember who the important person is here, meaning my sister. However, he recalls calling his nephew one day as a young child, who proudly proclaimed that he was a cool kid at school, smiling: Roberts a very handsome man now, but he was a preemie, and at that age he was skinny not the definition of cool! I can make food for Johnny [Harlings younger brother], I can whip Mama and Daddy into line, but I dont know how to help you, and I wish I could. Even when she was sick, shed come home from the hospital and make a box of brownies and send them to me. Harling wrote the play, and eventual screenplay, as both catharsis and as something that Harling could pass along to his nephew. He remains close to Shirley Maclaine, who is trying to get him to write a sequel to the Steel Magnolias. I couldnt imagine it. After his daughter's death, Robert and his wife, Margaret, volunteered for many years with the Diabetes Foundation and also within the hospital where Susan had worked before she died. Kathy said, You werent there through all of that pain, you didnt watch your child die. With its 25th anniversary this year, memories of a teenage Julia eating hamburgers grilled by his dad at the family home, while Dolly Parton sang on his sofa, come flooding back as Robert, 62, speaks. The women are getting it done and the guys cannot function. And then one of the men walked into the kitchen, and I saw how the womens body language completely changed. His off-Broadway play became a hit and was then turned into a Hollywood blockbuster in 1989 starring Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley Maclaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis - and a young and unknown Julia Roberts, then just 19, who played Shelby, the character based on Susan. With nothing but the knowledge that it was on the corner of Cypress and something, I headed out with camera in hand early Saturday morning before the group field trip to the USFWS fish hatchery. Everything they talk about in the play is true. - Rob What is your son to your husband's cousin's child? Fish Fry Mixes. I had the pleasure and honor of not only touring all the filming sites but spending an afternoon with Margaret and Robert Harling talking about Susan. Laughter was very important to her. Susan left behind her husband Dr Pat Robinson and their two-year-old son Robert after years of battling diabetes, and amid the waves of his grief, Robert, then an actor, put pen to paper at the urging of close friends and wrote all about the town of Natchitoches, where his mother Margaret ruled the roost and the women spoke in bumper stickers. Robert Harling, the author and creator of Steel Magnolias, lost his sisterSusan Harling-Robinson, from diabetic complications. It chronicles the lives of Susan Harling, her mother Margaret Harling and the community of witty, strong and loving women that supported them through good times and bad. The rest of us were always complaining. Finding that park and just being there was very moving . As the years have gone by, there are a lot of lines that get quoted back to me. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. Olympia lived down the street. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. Then, her circulatory system began to shut down and her kidneys began to fail. Failed to report flower. 25 Feb/23. Stark not only understood strong women, he also had a long working relationship with Herbert Ross, with whom hed done eight films, including Funny Lady. This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of Steel Magnolias, a play Robert Harling wrote just months after his sister, Susan, died of complications from diabetes. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. Try again later. The family will receive friends from 10-11 a.m. immediately prior to the service . Robert Harling reveals: 'Susan died in the fall of 1985. "Continue, We hadnt gone far up the bayou, when Roscoe pulled up in front of the small local store and gas pumps asking me if I wanted something to drink. Wiki User. I wanted to celebrate my sister, it was a time of tumult and the way it took off, who knew. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, Robert reveals: 'Susan died in the fall of 1985. He pulled through. I put money into it and Connie Shulman [the actress who played Annelle] did, and Bobbys family did too. But when you put it in a theatrical situation, people respond to the honesty of it. Written as a tribute to the strength of his sister, his mother, and the coterie of women who supported them, the work broke records at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in Manhattan, where it ran almost three years. Less than a year into the plays run, the legendary producer Ray Stark bought the film rights, and in 1988 it was made into a movie starring Sally Field and Julia Roberts as the mother/daughter characters, MLynn and Shelby. Early Friday morning found me on a boat with Gary Rispone of Paradise Louisiana TV show and retired Col. Bruce Wilson, our fishing guide for the day. Harling says the name Annelle just came to him one dayIts so Southern to take two first names and just jam them together. And then there was Truvy, the operator of the salon. By Its an incurable, unpredictable horrible disease. But she never let her disease inhibit or alter her life in any way. As we were going into production, Michael and Kathy Weller asked me what my parents thought about the play, and I said I hadnt told them. Susan treasured the pride of heritage and the beauty one finds in her beloved Natchitoches. Funeral services for Robert May Harling Jr. will be Saturday, Aug. 3 at 11 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church in Natchitoches with the Rev. She never discussed her illness, never, not once, there was never a complaint. Susan's husband, Ben Ledyard, previously told Dateline he had gone to see a movie with a friend around 8 p.m. on Monday, July 22, 2019. . The magnolia specifically references . Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Julia said, Dolly, were dying and you never say a word. Now comes the true metaphor behind Steel Magnolia.What does it mean? Anywhere you point the camera youre going to frame a good shot. Susan left behind her husband Dr Pat Robinson and their two-year-old son Robert after years of battling diabetes, and amid the . Your Scrapbook is currently empty. April/May 2017. illustration: Steve Brodner. Resend Activation Email. I said, Its got to be a painful thing for them. The title was inspired by real life Harling said the title,. She was a majorette. This beautiful setting is among the first images seen in STEEL MAGNOLIAS, the true story of Susan Harling Robinson who inspired both the movie and the play upon which it was based. My mother and father truly both seized upon it immediately as a way of celebrating my sister and keeping her memory aliveand these two small town people from Louisiana really rose to this wonderful occasion and used it for charity. The family has taken care never to burden Susans son Robert with the legacy of Steel Magnolias, mainly on the behest of Margaret, who died aged 90 last summer. Id go to the ice cream store and the magazine place and the video store. (Robert gave his sister!) It was a memorial to my daughter. ", 4. She wanted her life to be as normal as possible., Robert - who also has a younger brother called John - reminisces: I had all these tumultuous times growing up with my dad and one time I remember it was around Christmas - we werent getting along at all and Susan was really worried I was not going to give my father a Christmas present and she went out and got him one from me., Family was the most important thing to her and taking care of us., 'My nephew told me 'Everyone likes me - Im the only kid in my class whose moms been played by Julia Roberts. So Im not going to complain about anything.. TOM WHITEHEAD [Natchitoches resident and then member of the Louisiana Film Commission] There was a buzz in the community the whole time the shoot was here. The title suggests the "female characters are as delicate as magnolias but as tough as steel". Susan Harling-Robinson was the inspiration for the play and movie "Steel Magnolias", written by her brother Robert Harling. Do you catch Paradise Louisiana with Gary and Don Dubuc? Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. Are you sure that you want to remove this flower? You might need some tissues to watch this emotional clip from Steel Magnolias: the true metaphor behind Steel Magnolia., Soda Really Does Taste Better In A Glass Bottle, Leonardo DiCaprio Donates $100 Million Towards Wildlife Conservation. Its original incarnation was a play that had a successful off-Broadway run. It stopped the show. I said, Okay, say, Oh, Im not crazy, Ive just been in a very bad mood for forty years. She wrote it on her hand. Harling ended up writing the play truly becauseall he wanted to do was have somebody remember her, particularly her two-year-old son who may have no recollection of her in the future. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. There was Dolly with a waist cincher no more than sixteen inches around and heels about two feet high and a wig that must have weighed twenty-three pounds. But even in the darkest moments, Susan would take time to marvel at the kindness and compassion of the community that surrounded her. They came to New York to visit a week before we went into rehearsal, and I got up some courage. . During the casting, Stark also made the decision that the movie would be filmed on location, an extraordinary move at the time. They married in 1979. "But I was missing the sound of the wonderful vernacular," he said. Shed come over, and Daddy would cook hamburgers and theyd talk, and shed write poetry and shed read us the poetry, and Dolly would come over and sit on the sofa and play her guitar. NATCHITOCHES, La. . 2007-2023 Garden & Gun Magazine LLC. Try again later. We did a reading of it at a small off-Broadway theater, the WPA, which had an amazing reputationLittle Shop of Horrors started there. About six thousand pounds, apparently, A lollygagging road trip off the main drag of Floridas overseas highway. They think I'm really cool. Robert Harling, living and working in New York City, not only distraught over his sister Susan's death, he was also upset with his brother-in-law, who remarried within six months of his sister's demise.