Lonne Elder III was an influential American actor, playwright, and screenwriter, renowned for his contributions to African-American theater and film. His acclaimed play, Ceremonies in Dark Old Men, debuted in 1969 and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, offering a poignant portrayal of a Harlem family navigating societal challenges. In 1972, Elder adapted William H. Armstrong’s novel Sounder into a screenplay, earning him an Academy Award nomination and marking him as one of the first African Americans recognized in the writing category. Additionally, he wrote the screenplay for the 1978 television miniseries A Woman Called Moses, which depicted the life of Harriet Tubman and starred Cicely Tyson. Elder’s work significantly influenced the representation of African-American experiences in the arts.