Jim Bakker, who built a huge television and evangelical empire with his first wife, Tammy Fayewho later collapsed into a sex scandal and financial crimes, has died. He was 86 years old.
Bakker is dead Monday, his second wife, Lori Bakker, said in a statement. The cause of death was not provided.
“It was a pioneer of Christian televisionbut to me, he was my husband, my best friend and the man I had the honor of walking with through so many seasons of life and ministry,” she said.
The couple lived near Branson, a Missouri entertainment destination, where they filmed their television show “The Jim Bakker Show” since it launched in 2003. Bakker suffered a stroke in 2020.
AP AUDIO: Jim Bakker, who lost his “PTL Club” televangelical empire in sex and financial scandals, dies at 86
A former televangelist who became a cultural icon has died. AP correspondent Mike Hempen reports.
But it was “PTL Club,” which at its peak in the mid-1980s attracted 13 million viewers each evening, which Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker cultural icons – so much so that they were often skewered in the 1980s and 1990s by late-night comedians and parody on “Saturday Night Live.”
The couple also built Heritage USA, a Christian theme park and hotel in Fort Mill, South Carolina, as well as a film about their lives, ” Tammy Faye’s eyes», was published in September 2021.
Bakker rose to prominence alongside other televangelist titans of the 1980s. His death and that of Jimmy Swaggart last year marks the end of an era. Their legacy lives on through the successful preachers of the Gospel who still fill the airwaves.
Bakker begins as an itinerant preacher
Bakker was born in Muskegon, Michigan, and attended North Central Bible College in Minneapolis, where he met Tammy Faye. They married in 1961 and dropped out of college to start their own traveling ministry. He preached and she sang and played the accordion in churches and tent revivals across the country.
They attracted the attention of televangelist Pat Robertsonand in 1965 launched a children’s show on Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network. In 1966, Bakker hosted “The 700 Club,” a Christian talk show.
Bakker left CBN in 1972 and two years later formed the PTL satellite network. “The PTL Club” – PTL stands for “Praise the Lord” – became his signature show.
At its peak in the 1980s, “The PTL Club” attracted millions of viewers and grossed millions of dollars each year.
The show featured discussions with Christian guests and artists. Bakker offered upbeat sermons and Tammy Faye — charismatic and still wearing her trademark thick mascara — sang. Most episodes were recorded at their sprawling compound just south of Charlotte, North Carolina.
They were often parodied by television comedians, mocked for their lavish lifestyles and Tammy Faye’s heavy makeup.
Sex scandal and financial crimes damage his empire
Their reputation began to plummet in March 1987, when Bakker admitted to having a sexual relationship with the church clerk, Jessica Hahn. Hahn alleged that Bakker sexually assaulted her; Bakker maintained that the encounter was consensual.
Bakker was forced to resign his empire and handed over operations to pastor and broadcaster Jerry Falwell.
Tammy Faye cornered by Bakker, often seen with mascara-stained tears running down her face.
Bakker was indicted in 1988 for mail fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy after an investigation into PTL’s finances. He was convicted the following year and sentenced to 45 years in federal prison. The sentence was later reduced to eight years.
At a press conference after he was found guilty, Tammy Faye sang the hymn “On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand.”
Their marriage collapsed, and Tammy Faye divorced the still-incarcerated Bakker in 1992, just before their 31st birthday. She later married Roe Messner, a construction contractor whose projects included the Heritage USA theme park. Messner was convicted of bankruptcy fraud in 1995 and spent about two years in prison.
Tammy Faye died of colon cancer in 2007.
Bakker was paroled in 1994 and married Lori in 1998. They launched “The Jim Bakker Show” on the PTL satellite network five years later.
As of June 2021, Bakker and his Morningside Church Productions Inc. settled a lawsuit accusing him of having wrongly claimed the health supplement Money Solution could cure COVID-19. The settlement included a refund of $156,000 to people who paid money or contributed to obtain the product at the start of the pandemic.
The lawsuit says Bakker and a guest claimed healing during 11 episodes in February and March 2020.
One of Bakker’s sons became a progressive Christian pastor
Bakker and Tammy Faye had two children. He and Lori Bakker adopted five children in 2002.
Jay Bakker, the 50-year-old son of Bakker and Tammy Faye, announced his father’s death on social media.
“We had a very complicated relationship and he was also my father and my grandfather and I need to grieve in my time,” he wrote. “I need the freedom to feel anger and loss…”
The young Bakker spoke about the harmful consequences of his parents’ scandals. He has become a progressive Christian pastor, critic of the Christian right, and advocate for LGBTQ+ inclusion.
In February, he told television station WCNC Charlotte that he and his father “have very different opinions on things like theology and politics, but we try to maintain a relationship.”
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Salter, a former Associated Press reporter, was the primary author of this obituary. Associated Press reporter Tiffany Stanley contributed from Washington, D.C.
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