To Be Young, Gifted and Black (play) which she eventually died at 34. The play was well received and was one of the most successful plays off-Broadway during the 1968–1969 season. The play is still anthologized and performed around the world. The autobiography adapted from the play was also critically acclaimed. To Be Young, Gifted and Black (play) "To Be Young, Gifted and Black: Lorraine Hansberry in her Own Words", was written by Lorraine Hansberry, an American writer best known for her 1957 play "A Raisin in the Sun", a play that made Hansberry the first black author of a show on Broadway. After her death in
Lorraine Collett company's 75th anniversary. After modeling for Sun-Maid, Collett moved to Hollywood to try to become an actress. She landed a small part in "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine" before returning to Fresno. There, she ran a restaurant for two years and later converted a former hospital into a nursing home. Collett died on March 30, 1983. Lorraine Collett Lorraine Collett Petersen (December 9, 1892 – March 30, 1983) was an American model hired to promote a corporate trademark as the "Sun-Maid Girl". Lorraine Collett was born to George Dexter Collett and Martha Elizabeth Falkenstein in Kansas City, Missouri. In