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Mar 28, 2014 · Softly spoken and with a Southern accent that still hints at his Louisiana upbringing, Robert Harling wrote the play Steel Magnolias shortly after the death of his beloved sister Susan Robinson...
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- The title was inspired by real life. 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.
- Harling wrote the play in 10 days. Many writers take months or years to write a play. But Harling wrote "Steel Magnolias" in only 10 days. "Ten days later, that's all it took because I had lived the story."
- It was originally going to be a short story. Harling said when he began putting his sister's story down in writing, it began as a short story. "But I was missing the sound of the wonderful vernacular," he said.
- 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.
May 17, 2023 · Robert Harling, the author and creator of Steel Magnolias, lost his sister Susan Harling-Robinson, from diabetic complications. A friend had advised Harling to write down the story as a way to come to terms with everything that had happened.
- Jane Kenney
Jul 28, 2017 · He wrote the play after his sister, Susan, died from complications of type 1 diabetes. He'd been in New York for eight years at that point, a period during which Susan had married and decided to start a family, despite doctors' concerns that doing so could seriously jeopardize her health.
Aug 30, 2024 · Susan Harling Robinson, the sister of playwright Robert Harling, was the inspiration behind the beloved character Shelby Eatenton-Latcherie. Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at an early age, Susan faced her health challenges with a spirit that was as vibrant as it was resilient.
The play is based on the family experience of the death of author Robert Harling's sister, Susan Harling-Robinson, in 1985 from diabetic complications after the birth of his namesake nephew and the failure of a family-member-donated kidney.
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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.
