Elmer Gantry
/ˌelmə ˈɡæntri/
/ˌelmər ˈɡæntri/
- a novel (1927) by Sinclair Lewis. Elmer Gantry is a successful preacher who holds religious meetings in the Middle West, but does many of the bad things he warns people not to do. The book turned some Americans against this type of preacher but made others angry at the author. In a 1960 film version, Burt Lancaster played Gantry and won an Oscar.