But I was mostly feeling good, proud. We really did make fast friends, all of us, and have been ever since. SHIRLEY MACLAINE Herbert called and said, Im going to send you this script, and you can play any part you want, except for MLynn and the daughter. So I read it and I said, I want to play the really bitchy one. I think I was rehearsing for my old age. A friend had advised Harling to write down the story as a way to come to terms with everything that had happened. cemeteries found in Natchitoches, Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, USA will be saved to your photo volunteer list. We became one. 10. Through more tears I read your story and Susans. Resend Activation Email. The 32 year old left behind her husband Dr Patterson Robinson and their two-year-old son Robert after battling diabetes for years. ", 7. Afterward, off to the boys house for food and gifts. 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. what happened to susan harling robinson soncreekside middle school athletics. 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. So Pam and I are standing in the back and MLynn says her line, and then Mary, kind of glancing at her hand, said, Im not crazy The house detonated. Harling, who grew up in Natchitoches, Louisiana, did not set out to be a playwright. She was the essence of the great Southern gal: spicy, witty, smart, with a layer of compassion underneath. We thought we were just talking like the people from that part of the country talk. One thing is for sure, Mrs. Susan Robinson did not go through life without being loved!!!! Robert Harling, the author and creator of Steel Magnolias, lost his sister Susan Harling-Robinson, from diabetic complications. In true Steel Magnolia fashion she rolled with it, she asked me if she could read it and we went back to the hotel and I would walk past the door and she was just sobbing and sobbing and sobbing. This is a carousel with slides. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. I actually had to get off the call because I was going to an audition. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8696788/laura-susan-robinson. It was really hot. Id go to the ice cream store and the magazine place and the video store. If there is one moment of joy to be gained out of this experience, you cannot deny them that. 1. NATCHITOCHES, La. Im not a hairdresser. Kathy said, You werent there through all of that pain, you didnt watch your child die. ", 12. ROBERT HARLING Joan Rivers came, Lucille Ball came, Cher, Bette Davis, all of the Golden Girls. She would tell me things like, Youve only allowed a minute and fifteen seconds to wash and set a womans hair. Robert said: She walked into the room and that smile lit everything up and I said thats my sister, so she joined the party and she was magnificent., Director Herbert Ross was notoriously tough on newcomer Julia, who would go on to be nominated for her first Oscar for Steel Magnolias. BW. The park was dedicated to her after I was there but it is my motivation to come back to see it. SHIRLEY MACLAINE We immediately saw that Herbert was cruel to both Dolly and Julia. When we sat down in the theater on opening night, I was the most nervous Id ever been in my life. Had the medical profession. Try again later. Shortly after giving birth to a baby boy in 1983, Susan's circulatory system and kidneys began to fail. Don't worry about me. Its an incurable, unpredictable horrible disease. Ill have to ask Gary if and when hes going to use that footage. He says that although Robert looks just like his dad he has his mothers eyes, adding: He has a great job as an admissions director, he has his family in Texas. The untold story of what would become one of the most beloved touchstones of Southern culture. At the early stages of readings, I was attached, and when the play was finally produced, it came with me. There was a problem getting your location. JOHN HARLING Daddy never read it, so he didnt know what the hell was going on. This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. We were basically grieving with the world. A friend had advised Harling to write down the story as a way to come to terms with everything that had happened. 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. She was a proud of the Kappa Iota chapter of Phi Mu. Its the kind of humor that would sear through treacle. The feedback was Its not commercial because its a bunch of women and it takes place in a beauty parlor, but well send it out. Well, all these people wanted to do it. Although Robert was brought up by his father Pat, who is now married for a third time, Robert has remained in contact with his nephew and last saw him at his mothers funeral. Everything they talk about in the play is true. But first a lot of stuff had to happen. ROBERT HARLING My father, my uncle, and our next-door neighbor all invested, and I was horrifiedyou almost always lose money in theater, but there was no stopping them. This browser does not support getting your location. Drag images here or select from your computer for Laura Susan Harling Robinson memorial. MARGO MARTINDALE I think they actually did see me for the role of Truvy, but that was just a courtesy, and I was not upset that Dolly got the role. That all changed when an audience was brought in. Im glad you had a great trip, Cuz. 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. Oops, we were unable to send the email. Besides being based on the true story of his sister, Susan, Harling shared 13 other things fans might not know about the movie. As writer Robert Harling explains, many new fans will not even know that the movie is rooted in truth and that boy is, in fact, based on his real-life nephew and namesake. Oddly, when Dawn reached the forty-fourth floor, there was a party-like atmosphere. As writer Robert Harling explains, many new fans will not even know that the movie is rooted in truth and that boy is, in fact, based on his real-life nephew and namesake. Susan Harling-Robinson was the inspiration for the play and movie "Steel Magnolias", written by her brother Robert Harling. It was the only time Id ever seen Kathy get riled at me. I wanted a name that fit her. TOM WHITEHEAD They all lived life locally. To get more in-depth on the story, Susan had been wanting to have children, but doctors told her that she could potentially jeopardize her health as she was dealing with type 1 diabetes. Susan had been cautioned about the complications of having children, given her severe diabetes. Soon. Once again, thank you for sharing this beautiful town and story with us. I couldnt imagine it. He wanted to have the audience really know what his family endured during that time. "And, you know, Shirleys never wrong. It was a memorial to my daughter. "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.". Sara Nathan Heres his backstory, In her downsizing move from Charleston to Raleigh, the celebrated Southern chef got down to the basics. "My sister would love the idea that people are coming to her beloved hometown because of her story," says Harling. Just like in the film, Susan, who had been diabetic since the age of 12, married and decided to start a family despite the concerns of her doctors. And shes the only one who didnt sweat. "He knew she was so special that it took the biggest star in the world to play her," says Harling. Harling at first thought his story was a drama, When the play was first in rehearsal, Harling says they thought it was strictly a drama, since they were performing a dark, emotional story. While a student at Tulane University Law School in New Orleans, he sang with a big band and performed in summer community theater. To this day, Steel Magnolias-themed B&Bs and tours are still going strong. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. It's been 30 years since Steel Magnolias, the play that inspired .css-k807px{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:brandColorSenary;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#006603;-webkit-transition:background .4s ease-in-out,color .4s ease-in-out;transition:background .4s ease-in-out,color .4s ease-in-out;background:linear-gradient(to bottom,#e6f4e1 0,#e6f4e1 100%);-webkit-background-position:0 100%;background-position:0 100%;background-repeat:repeat-x;-webkit-background-size:0 0;background-size:0 0;}.css-k807px:hover{color:#29511A;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;-webkit-background-size:0.625rem 3.125rem;background-size:0.625rem 3.125rem;}the iconic film by the same name, opened off-Broadway. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. Harling said the title, "Steel Magnolias," is the perfect description for the women it profiles: They're both delicate like a flower, but also hard as steel. (2023) Table of Contents. Speaking of the characters, the play features an all-female cast in comparison to the film, which is not all-female. Many people can quote the movie line for line, but don't realize how the fictionalized group of women are grounded in reality. These days, Harling splits his time between Manhattan and Natchitoches, where he bought and renovated a circa-1830 Creole cottage, a house he'd wanted since he was a kid and finally got five years after writing the play. He now lives in Austin and is happily engaged to a wonderful woman. Michael is a wonderful playwright [Moonchildren, Spoils of War]. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. She was one of the great goddesses of cinema [Hannah had already starred in, All that was left was Shelby. This is a fun one for trivia buffs: One of Nicole Kidman's first roles on stage was playing Shelby in a Sydney, Australia, production. Susan helped Harlingwrite the "hit me" scene. He worried that the real-life Ouiser, a character defined by her cranky and brutally honest nature, would recognize herself and take offense, but as women from his hometown began to see the play, "They all said they were Ouiser." Robert Harling reveals: 'Susan died in the fall of 1985. Who turned down Steel Magnolias? I feel very fortunate to have been able to make this trip to Natchitoches; to experience the Red River, the bluffs, Susans Memorial, and more that I will share with you later. She was a majorette. Oops, something didn't work. Kathy said, You werent there through all of that pain, you didnt watch your child die. It was originally going to be a shortstory, Harling said when he began putting his sister's story down in writing, it began as a short story. The family will receive friends from 10-11 a.m. immediately prior to the service at the church. We moved the play to the Lucille Lortel. Theres a line about the sweet magnolia that originally had been steel magnolia, and she played it for my parents as she was writing it. "I always thought the women in my community were so witty and clever," he says. Julia Roberts as Shelby and Sally Field as M\lynn in \'steel magnolias\'. And as I promised in the previous story, after the fishing trip I went a few blocks from Chateau St. Denis over to All Tangled Up to get my hat-hair repaired. It takes your breath away how quick they are. Learn more about managing a memorial . And y'all-she's the owner of the shop. Eight people rode down with me to the forty-fourth-floor plaza, which was as low as we could go on that elevator.". To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. Suddenly two huge fireballs shot past my window, and everyone began to run toward the nearest elevators. We were literally going into performance. In a lot of ways, they talked in bumper stickers." This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. The story is always with me, but its a time just to stop and remember Susan and us as kids, what the town meant to her, to touch base.. He remains close to Shirley Maclaine, who is trying to get him to write a sequel to the Steel Magnolias. However, there are moments that were dramatized for the cameras, he says. I tried to quit several times during rehearsals because the actresses would piss me off, saying, Oh, youve got to roll my hair like this, dont do that. I said, I am playing a hairdresser. ROBERT HARLING Tom Skerritt was two houses down from where my father lived, so I had my fake father, Drum, out picking up sticks from a storm in the yard with his khakis rolled up, and there was my real father in his yard doing the same thing. 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. It all seemed too intimate, too cozy for me to just drive up in there. I actually had to get off the call because I was going to an audition. In Shreveport, Susan met and fell in love with a pediatrician, Patrick Robinson. My mother would speak to the Senate wives about kidney transplants and diabetes research, she embraced it as an opportunity to be about Susans life even though it was short.. "When we lost her, it was really devastating to me, and I was having a lot of trouble dealing with it.". She directed the Youth Choir. But you never know how people are going to react having that kind of personal information up there onstage. 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. Are you sure that you want to remove this flower? The play is based off a true story, centered around the author's experience of the loss of his sister. If its going to air, Ill let you know. It pays to have your mom played by Julia Roberts, Harling told Erica Hill about one time when his nephew, Susan's son, had trouble with school. I dont think the police will come get, Read More Mothers Day Weekend 2020Continue, might look something like this . She went against her doctors wishes and gave birth to a baby boy in 1983. Also, I had the voices of the women I grew up with. Well do the play, itll come and go, and they wont know anything about it. I was just chicken. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Laura Susan Harling Robinson I found on Findagrave.com. MuzicMan with thoughtful gift of, Read More Christmas Eve RevisitedContinue, I guess you could say this post is sort of a testa test to see if the Social Distance Police will come and take me away and a test to see if posting regularly on Instagram and Facebook has damaged the traffic to my actual blog posts. In the decades since its debut at New York's WPA Theatre, the script has spawned countless stage renditions across the country and abroad, including a 2005 Broadway run starring Delta Burke and Rebecca Gayheart, and TV adaptations like the 2012 Lifetime movie starring Queen Latifah and Alfre Woodard. Susan was crazy, insane in love with her young son and worshipped him, even though they were often forced them apart as she was made to spend long spells in hospital where Robert couldnt visit her. Herbert said, Its a wonderful Hollywood move. 14:14 GMT 28 Mar 2014 It made the nightly news. See New Photos from Erin Napier's Farmhouse, Heidi Klum Has Totally Toned Legs In These IG Pics, Luke Grimes Talks Amid 'Yellowstone' Season 5 News. Now comes the true metaphor behind Steel Magnolia.What does it mean? Isnt this just crazy fun? We were waiting, and there was a lot of stop and start. 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. My mother would always say to handle magnolia blossoms carefully because they bruise so easily. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. Besides being based on the true story of his sister, Susan, Harling shared 13 other things fans might not know about the movie. She was blessed with 3 grandchildren, Robert Robinson of Austin, TX, John Forbes Harling, Jr. of Garland, TX and Susan Kiturah Harling of Garland, TX. You think of this flower that is so delicate and has to be handled with care, but is actually made of much stronger stuff.. In the second act, when I talk on the phone to somebody, I would always put in, See you then, Susan. I think that finally got published in the play. Just keep being you Lyric Quotes, Words Quotes, Wise Words, Words Of Wisdom Being able to deliberately craft and sculpt your own reality is a skill that. ROBERT HARLING I had two dear friends, Kathy and Michael Weller. Herbert gave me the greatest, simplest advice: Always remember who the important person is here, meaning my sister. We did a reading of it at a small off-Broadway theater, the WPA, which had an amazing reputation. I wish they did so that more people could honor and learn about this amazing woman. Ray said, You know what, weve got a lot of Oscar winners and stars. ROBERT HARLING I knew the actress Margo Martindale, who is now a huge star, and I wrote the role of Truvy for her. and your precious son will be raised by some other woman and be a back-of-the-coucher. Lexington Ky Craigslist Motorcycles, The dedication of the Susan Harling Robinson Memorial Garden and will be held at the corner of Pine Street and Cypress Street on Saturday, April 26, 2014. I gave her the script, and Id walk past and shed be sobbing, and I felt terrible. But she wanted a child, she went ahead and had a child, and then, sure enough, her metabolism started to failcirculatory system, kidneys, the whole thing. So, I parked beside the fabulous plantation home and walked back a half block to the park at the corner. Remember, its still during Lent, and the price wont really go, Your email address will not be published. After graduating from Natchitoches High, she entered Northwestern State University and immersed herself in campus life. The title was inspired by real life. Thats about 70 pounds. "I said, 'What would Susan do?' Writer Robert Harling wrote Steel Magnolias as a way of coping with the passing of his sister . Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. Harling didnt want to use real names, so he gave the character based on his mother the name of a close friend from Alabama, who was called MLynn. They werent leaning against the counter anymore; the dish towel that was slung over a shoulder was all of a sudden being folded and hung up on the rack. photo: United ArchivesGmbH/Alamy Stock Photo. I remember the manager of the store saying to a local reporter, Yep, if it hadnt been for Herbert Ross, nobody around here would know the difference between osetra and beluga..