Jim Bakker, who built a huge TV following and evangelical empire with his first wife, Tammy Faye, which later collapsed in a sex scandal and financial crimes, has died. He was 86.
Bakker died Monday, his second wife, Lori Bakker, said in a statement. The cause of death was not provided.
“He was a pioneer of Christian television, but to me, he was my husband, my best friend, and the man I was honored to walk beside through so many seasons of life and ministry,” she said.
The pair lived near Branson, an entertainment destination in Missouri, where they had filmed their TV show “The Jim Bakker Show” since its launch in 2003. Bakker suffered a stroke in 2020.
But it was the “The PTL Club,” which at its peak in the mid-1980s drew 13 million nightly TV viewers, that made Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker cultural icons — so much so that they were often skewered in the 1980s and ’90s by late-night comedians and parodied on “Saturday Night Live.”
The couple also built Heritage USA, a Christian theme park and hotel in Fort Mill, South Carolina, and a movie about their lives, “ The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” was released in September 2021.
Bakker rose to prominence alongside other televangelist titans of the 1980s. His death and that of Jimmy Swaggart last year mark the end of an era. Their legacy lives on in prosperity gospel preachers that still fill the airwaves.
Bakker starts out as a traveling 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 caught the attention of televangelist Pat Robertson, and in 1965 launched a children’s show on Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network. By 1966, Bakker was hosting “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 its signature show.
In its heyday in the 1980s, “The PTL Club” attracted millions of viewers and brought in millions of dollars annually.
The show featured chats with guests and Christian entertainers. Bakker offered upbeat sermons and Tammy Faye — charismatic and always wearing her trademark heavy mascara — sang. Most episodes were taped at their sprawling complex just south of Charlotte, North Carolina.
They were often parodied by TV comedians, mocked for their lavish lifestyle and Tammy Faye’s abundant makeup.
Sex scandal and financial crimes damage his empire
Their standing began to crumble in March 1987, when Bakker admitted to a sexual encounter with church clerk Jessica Hahn. Hahn alleged that Bakker sexually assaulted her; Bakker maintained that the encounter was consensual.
Bakker was forced to resign from his empire, turning over operations to pastor and broadcaster Jerry Falwell.
Tammy Faye stuck by Bakker, often seen with mascara-stained tears running down her face.
