Lolis Eric Elie (born April 10, 1963) is an American writer, journalist, documentary filmmaker, and food historian best known for his work as

story editor Story editor is a job title in motion picture and television production, also sometimes called supervising producer. The responsibilities of the story editor vary depending on the production; this article describes the duties the role most commo ...

of the HBO drama '' Treme'' and story editor of AMC's '' Hell on Wheels''.

Early life and education

Elie was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is the son of Lolis Edward Elie, a civil rights attorney and Dr. Gerri Elie, a school principal and university professor. He has an older sister, Migel Elizabeth Elie. Elie is an alumnus of the

New Orleans Center for Creative Arts New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, or NOCCA, is the regional, pre-professional arts training center for high school students in Louisiana. NOCCA opened in 1973 as a professional arts training center for secondary education, secondary schoo ...

(NOCCA) and a 1981 graduate of Benjamin Franklin High School. He went on to attend the

Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School ( ) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton, a co-founder of Bethlehem Steel, the Wharton ...

where he graduated in 1985 with a B.S. in Finance and Economics. In 1986 he received his M.S. from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, later becoming Alumnus of the Year in 2012. After graduating from Columbia University, Elie went on to receive an MFA in creative writing from

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

Career

Elie began his career as a business reporter for the ''

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...

''. He then went on to become the road manager for jazz musician Wynton Marsalis. In 1995 he became a columnist and reporter for the New Orleans '' Times-Picayune''. During this time he wrote several books, including ''Smokestack Lightning: Adventures in the Heart of Barbecue Country'', a book that gained a cult-like following among food enthusiasts. Elie also wrote and produced the award-winning documentary '' Faubourg Treme: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans'' (2008), which premiered at the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

, was a winner at the 2008

San Francisco International Film Festival The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by SFFILM, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in international film and vid ...

, and which made its TV debut on PBS in 2009. After leaving the ''Times Picayune'' in 2009, Elie became the story editor for HBO's '' Treme''. He wrote the episodes "I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say", "Shame, Shame, Shame" and "Santa Claus, Do You Ever Get the Blues?" for which he won an NAACP Award. In 2013, Elie moved to Los Angeles where he became the executive story editor for AMC's '' Hell on Wheels''. His work has appeared in the ''New York Times, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Saveur'', ''Gourmet, Bon Appétit'', and ''Smithsonian'' magazine and he has been featured on NPR,

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...

, and ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...

''. His work is included in ''Best African American Essays'' and ''Best Food Writing: 2008''. He is also a contributing editor to the ''Oxford American''. Elie has been featured several times on

Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, who previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in Manhattan, with ...

's '' No Reservations'' and '' The Layover'', both hosted by

Anthony Bourdain Anthony Michael Bourdain ( ; June 25, 1956 – June 8, 2018) was an American celebrity chef, author and Travel documentary, travel documentarian. He starred in programs focusing on the exploration of international culture, cuisine, and the huma ...

. Elie is one of the founders of the Southern Foodways Alliance. On July 23, 2013, his book ''Treme: Stories and Recipes from the Heart of New Orleans'' was released. ''Saveur'' named the book as one of the Best July Food Books.

Works

Television and film

* 1997 "Postcards from New Orleans" segment on ''

CBS News Sunday Morning ''CBS News Sunday Morning'' (frequently shortened to ''Sunday Morning'') is an American television newsmagazine that has aired on CBS since January 28, 1979. Created by Robert Northshield and E.S. "Bud" Lamoreaux III, and originally hosted by ...

'', correspondent * 2001 ''Smokestack Lightning: A Day in the Life of Barbecue'' (documentary), producer * 2006 ''By Invitation Only'', project advisor * 2008 ''My 1st Time: Tribeca Film Festival'' (TV short), himself * 2008 '' Faubourg Treme: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans'' (documentary), writer and co-producer * 2008 ''After Hours with Daniel Boulud'', himself * 2010 "Shame, Shame, Shame" (

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

's '' Treme'', season 1, episode 5), writer * 2011 ''Treme'', story editor, 10 episodes * 2011 "Santa Claus, Do You Ever Get the Blues?" (''Treme'', season 2, episode 4), writer * 2011 "That's What Lovers Do" (''Treme'', season 2, episode 10), actor * 2011 "Cajun Country" (

's '' Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations'', season 7, episode 16), himself * 2012 "I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say" (''Treme'', season 3, episode 5), writer * 2012 ''NOLAbound'' (documentary), narrator * 2013

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

's '' Hell on Wheels'', executive story editor, 10 episodes * 2013 "One Less Mule" (''Hell on Wheels'', season 3, episode 6), co-writer * 2013 PBS's '' Soul Food Junkies'' ('' Independent Lens'' documentary), himself * 2013 "The Paper" ''

'', himself * 2013 ''Super Bowl 2013 Pregame Special: New Orleans, Let the Good Times Roll'', himself * 2014 ''Old South, New South'' (short film), himself * 2016 WGN America's '' Underground'', co-producer, 4 episodes * 2017 "Changing Season" (

Oprah Winfrey Network The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN, also known as the OWN Network) is an American multinational basic cable television network which launched on January 1, 2011, effectively replacing the Discovery Health Channel, which one month later merged with ...

's '' Greenleaf'' season 2, episode 11), writer * 2018 "That Was Then" (''Greenleaf'' season 3, episode 7), writer * 2018 "Fried Chicken" (

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

's '' Ugly Delicious'' season 1, episode 6), himself * 2018 "Zakarian vs. Darin" (

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, who manages and operates it as a division of the Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks Group. The channel airs both televi ...

's '' Iron Chef America'' season 13, episode 3), himself * 2018 ''Gumbo'' (documentary), himself * 2019

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

's '' The Man in the High Castle'', supervising producer, 10 episodes * 2019 "All Serious Daring" (''The Man in the High Castle'' season 4, episode 6), writer * 2020 Showtime's '' The Chi'' supervising producer, 10 episodes * 2020 "Buss Down" (''The Chi'' season 3, episode 3), writer * 2020 ''Driving While Black: Race, Space and Mobility in America'' (documentary), himself and historical advisor * 2020 ''A Crime on the Bayou'' (documentary), himself and consultant * 2021

's '' Bosch'', co-executive producer, 8 episodes * 2021 "Triple Play" (''Bosch'' season 7, episode 4), writer

Books

* ''Smokestack Lightning: Adventures in the Heart of Barbecue Country'' (1996); re-published in 2005 * ''Cornbread Nation 2: The United States of Barbecue'', editor (2004) * ''Treme: Stories and Recipes from the Heart of New Orleans'' (2013) * ''Rodney Scott's World of BBQ'', co-author (2021)

Short fiction and essays

* "Silent Spaces", short fiction in ''That's What I Like (About the South)'' (1993) * "Leah Chase", essay in '' Cornbread Nation 1: The Best of Southern Food Writing'' (2002) * "A Letter from New Orleans", essay in ''Best Food Writing 2006'' * ''Prospect. 1 New Orleans'' (2008) * ''Then … Absence'', prefatory note (2008) * "Here They Come, There They Go", essay in ''Unfathomable City: A New Orleans Atlas'' (2013) * ''After: the Silence of the Lower 9th Ward'', preface (2014)

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Elie, Lolis Eric 1963 births Living people American documentary film producers Food historians Writers from New Orleans Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni Wharton School alumni University of Virginia alumni African-American film producers American television writers American cookbook writers Screenwriters from Louisiana Film producers from Louisiana 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people