Robert M. Harling III (born November 12, 1951) is an American writer, producer and film director.
[4] 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.
[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).