William F. Brown (writer)

William Ferdinand Brown (April 16, 1928 – June 23, 2019) was an American playwright, best known for writing the book of the musical, The Wiz (1974), which is an adaptation of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls, for which Brown received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical.