Hollywood came to Natchitoches 25 years ago. Some of the industry’s most famous folks made it their home and walked its streets.
And they made a movie you’ve probably heard of: “Steel Magnolias.”
They moved in just after July 4, 1988, and all were gone by the second week of September.
They shopped for groceries at Brookshires, ate at Mariner’s on the lake and the now closed Just Friends on Front Street. They roamed the streets. Ordered flowers for their wives.
They turned the town into a movie set.
Many residents became “stars” — at a glimpse — even if their scenes were not.
Those stars: Sally Field, Julia Roberts, Dolly Parton, Olympia Dukakis, Daryl Hannah, Sam Shepard, Tom Skerritt, Dylan McDermott. More: director Herbert Ross, whose wife, Lee B. Radziwell, is Jackie Kennedy’s sister, and producer Ray Stark.
They hunkered down, worked, played and made the town their home.
Continue reading this article by Maggie Martin at The Shreveport Times ».