50 Fun Facts About Steel Magnolias

Which actress plays Truvy Jones, the owner of the beauty salon, in the 1989 film?

It was Parton's return to film acting after several years away, and the picture grossed over $95 million in the U.S.

What medical condition does Julia Roberts' Shelby have in Steel Magnolias?

Harling based Shelby on his sister Susan, who died in 1985 of complications from the same disease.

Which actress plays M'Lynn, Shelby's mother, in the 1989 film?

Field, already a two-time Best Actress Oscar winner, was nominated for a Golden Globe for the role.

Shirley MacLaine plays the town grouch in the film. What is that character's nickname?

Her full name is Louisa Boudreaux; she is Clairee's best friend and Drum Eatenton's next-door nemesis.

Which U.S. state provides the setting for the story of the film and play?

The action unfolds in the fictional Chinquapin Parish, and the film was shot in Harling's real hometown in the northwest of the state.

Who directed the 1989 film version?

Ross, a former ballet choreographer, had also directed Footloose and The Goodbye Girl; this was his last big hit.

Which actress plays Annelle, the shy beauty-school graduate who is new in town?

The role sees Annelle go from timid newcomer to short-lived party girl to devout Christian by the end of the story.

Which actress plays Clairee Belcher, the cheerful widow of the town's former mayor?

Dukakis had won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Moonstruck two years earlier.

The film is set in which decade?

Truvy tells Clairee to get with it because it's the '80s, and the play is likewise set in the late 1980s.

In the film, what shape is the groom's cake at Shelby's wedding?

Jackson's Aunt Fern makes animal-shaped cakes; this one is red velvet under gray icing, so cutting it looks like it's bleeding.

Shelby's wedding colors are 'blush and bashful.' What are they, according to her exasperated mother?

M'Lynn complains the sanctuary looks like it's been hosed down with Pepto Bismol.

Which character says, 'Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion'?

The line comes near the end of the story, when the women share a laugh after Shelby's funeral.

Who wrote both the original play and the film's screenplay?

It was Harling's first produced screenplay; he later wrote Soapdish and The First Wives Club.

The playwright wrote the story after the 1985 death of a family member from diabetic complications. Who?

A writer friend urged him to write it down; it started as a short story for his nephew and became a play in ten days.

Which real town, Harling's hometown, stood in for Chinquapin Parish when the 1989 movie was shot?

Before this production, the only Hollywood movie shot there was John Wayne's The Horse Soldiers in 1959.

Julia Roberts received her first Academy Award nomination for the film. In which category?

She lost the Oscar to Brenda Fricker but won the Golden Globe in the same category.

Which actress was originally cast as Shelby but dropped out to make When Harry Met Sally?

Herbert Ross personally auditioned seventy-five actresses for the part before Julia Roberts was cast in May 1988.

Who plays Drum Eatenton, Shelby's father who fires blanks at birds on the wedding morning?

He later played Sally Field's late husband again in the TV series Brothers & Sisters.

Which actor plays Jackson Latcherie, the lawyer Shelby marries?

It was only his second film after his 1987 debut in Hamburger Hill; he later starred as Bobby Donnell in The Practice.

Which Pulitzer-winning playwright plays Spud Jones, Truvy's sporadically employed husband?

Spud enclosed the carport for Truvy's salon in 1972 and later surprises her with a second shop, making her 'a chain'.

How did the original play differ from the film in its cast?

Men are only referenced in dialogue, apart from the voice of a male radio DJ heard between scenes.

Where does the entire stage play take place?

The film opened the story up to weddings, festivals and hospitals; the play stays in one room across four scenes.

Which cable network aired the 2012 remake with an all-Black cast?

It premiered on October 7, 2012 and drew 6.5 million viewers, then the network's third most-watched original.

In the 2012 television remake, who plays M'Lynn?

The film marked the first collaboration between Latifah and Jill Scott; the second was Flint in 2017.

Which singer plays Truvy in the 2012 remake?

She stepped into a role originated on screen by another singer.

Who plays the town grouch in the 2012 remake, earning an Emmy nomination and an NAACP Image Award?

Many critics singled out her performance; she was also nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for it.

Phylicia Rashad plays Clairee in the 2012 remake. Which of her relatives plays Shelby in the same film?

Condola Rashad, whose father is sportscaster Ahmad Rashad, later earned multiple Tony nominations on Broadway.

What was the film's approximate worldwide box-office gross?

It made $84.6 million in the U.S. and Canada on a $15 million budget, and stayed in the top ten for three months.

Which studio released the film in November 1989?

The picture was produced by Ray Stark's Rastar, the company behind Funny Girl and The Goodbye Girl.

At which New York venue did the play open Off-Broadway in March 1987?

It transferred to the Lucille Lortel Theatre that June and ran until 1990, clocking 1,126 performances.

The play finally reached Broadway in 2005. Who played Truvy in that production?

The Designing Women star stayed for the whole four-month run at the Lyceum Theatre; Marsha Mason was Ouiser.

Who plays Sammy DeSoto, the bartender Annelle meets at the wedding reception and later marries?

By the finale Sammy is chasing an ambulance to the hospital in an Easter Bunny costume.

Which future star made her professional stage debut as Shelby in the first Australian production in 1988?

The show opened at Sydney's Seymour Centre and went on to Melbourne's Athenaeum Theatre.

Who composed the film's score?

The French composer, called 'the Mozart of cinema' by Le Figaro, had won an Oscar for A Little Romance a decade earlier.

Which small role did the playwright himself take on screen in the 1989 film?

The film also expanded his play's cast; on stage all the men are only talked about, never seen.

Which Laverne & Shirley star played M'Lynn in the 1990 CBS sitcom pilot set after the events of the film?

The pilot kept every character except Shelby, with Elaine Stritch as Ouiser; CBS aired it once and passed on a series.

Which actress originated the role of Truvy Off-Broadway in 1987 and toured with it nationally?

Later an Emmy winner for Justified, she was the only original cast member listed across all three early stagings of the show.

Which actress plays Nancy Beth Marmillion, Clairee's niece and the town's dethroned Miss Merry Christmas?

Turner went on to play bush pilot Maggie O'Connell on Northern Exposure the following year.

What is the call sign of the local radio station Clairee buys?

Buying the station is her answer to Truvy's complaint that she needs a radio in the salon.

What is the name of the grouchy Boudreaux character's dog in the film?

Clairee remarks that if it had hair, it would be a St. Bernard.

Shirley MacLaine's only major nomination for playing the town grouch came from which organization?

The BAFTA nod came in 1991 for Best Actress in a Supporting Role; she had won the Best Actress Oscar for Terms of Endearment.

The touring play's role of Clairee was taken over late in the run by which Happy Days star?

The 1989 tour reached Los Angeles's Wilshire Theater that July with Carole Cook as Ouiser.

How many performances did the original Off-Broadway run at the Lucille Lortel reach before closing in 1990?

Replacements during the run included Anne Pitoniak and Bette Henritze.

Which basketball legend has a cameo as a clergyman in the 2012 remake?

Dr. J had also cameoed in Philadelphia and later played himself in The Office and Hustle.

Which actress originated Annelle Off-Broadway in 1987 and later voiced Patti Mayonnaise?

She was later Yoga Jones on Orange Is the New Black.

The film's dedication in the end credits reads 'For Susan, from' whom?

Harling's mother had donated a kidney to Susan, but the transplant failed and she died in late 1985 leaving a two-year-old son.

Roughly how many actresses did the director personally audition for the role of Shelby?

Ross said the winner, Julia Roberts, was poised to have 'a truly big career.'

Where was the makeshift soundstage set up during the 1988 location shoot?

Many Northwestern State University students were recruited as extras and crew, and the school gets a thank-you in the end credits.

The 1990 charity premiere in London drew a complaint from Buckingham Palace. What went wrong?

Herbert Ross's wife, Princess Lee Radziwill, took the wrong seat, bumping Julia Roberts and Olympia Dukakis and in turn the royals.

Which 1959 John Wayne film was the only Hollywood production shot in Harling's hometown before Steel Magnolias?

The 1988 shoot pumped an estimated $4 million into Louisiana's economy.