Helen Prejean inmates on Death Row and witnessed several more executions. She served as National Chairperson of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty from 1993 to 1995. She published "Dead Man Walking" (1993), an account of her relationship with Sonnier and other inmates on death row, and the factors related to her growing opposition to the death penalty. The book was adapted for a 1995 feature film of the same name; she was portrayed by Susan Sarandon. Her book was also adapted as an opera, first produced in 2000; and as a play. For her book, she drew from her
Helen Lawson she has left to play a "character role" in a television series. For the 1967 film adaptation, author Susann hoped that the Bette Davis would play the role, but Judy Garland was hired instead. Garland was replaced by Susan Hayward. Lawson made another appearance in the 2008 novel "Candy Everybody Wants" by Josh Kilmer-Purcell, where she acts as a mentor to the protagonist, 15-year-old Jayson Blocher, as he is beginning his career in Hollywood. Helen Lawson Helen Lawson is a fictional character from Jacqueline Susann's best-selling 1966 novel "Valley of the Dolls", said to be based largely on legendary stage