Robert M. Harling III

November 12, 1951 (1951-11-12) (age 72)

1987–present

Biography[edit]

Early life[edit]

He was born in 1951 in Dothan, Alabama, one of three children of Robert M. Harling Jr (1923-2019) and Margaret Jones Harling (1923-2013).[1][2][3][4] He graduated from Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana and obtained a Juris Doctor from Tulane University Law School in New Orleans.[3][4][5] While in law school, he sang in a band which performed in New Orleans on weekends.[4]

Career[edit]

However, Harling never used his legal education: skipping the bar exam, he instead moved to New York City to become an actor, auditioning for bit parts in plays and television commercials as well as working as a ticket seller for Broadway shows.[3][4]


After the death of his younger sister, Susan, in 1985 due to diabetes, Harling wrote a short story and adapted it into the play Steel Magnolias,[3][4][5][6][7] which was produced off-Broadway in 1987 to great acclaim and was translated into 17 languages.[4]


Harling also wrote the screenplay for the film version of the play that was produced in 1989.[8][9][10][11] He played a small role in the film as a minister.[8]


Harling wrote more screenplays: Soapdish (1991), The First Wives Club (1996), and Laws of Attraction (2004); he also worked as an uncredited script doctor on a number of films. Harling also wrote and directed the sequel to Terms of Endearment titled The Evening Star (1996).[5][8][12]


In the spring of 2012, he served as writer and producer of the TV show GCB.[5][8][11] In the same year, it was reported that Harling was adapting Soapdish into a musical.[5][13]

Personal life[edit]

He is Presbyterian and openly gay.[7][13] He owns the Oaklawn Plantation in Natchitoches, Louisiana.[14][15]

1989 [8]

Steel Magnolias

1990 (TV pilot)[8]

Steel Magnolias

1991 [8]

Soapdish

1992 Coiffure pour dames

[8]

1996 [8]

The First Wives Club

1996 [8]

The Evening Star

2004 [8]

Laws of Attraction

2012 [8]

GCB