Televangelist Jim Bakker, who along with his first wife Tammy Faye built an evangelical empire around the hugely successful "The PTL Club" TV show, only to lose it all over a sex scandal and financial crimes, has died. He was 86.
Bakker died Monday, his second wife, Lori Bakker, said in a statement. His cause of death was not immediately clear. "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 the Missouri entertainment town of Branson and filmed their TV show "The Jim Bakker Show" there since it launched in 2003. Bakker suffered a stroke in 2020.
At its peak in the mid-1980s, the Bakkers’ ministry included not only the TV show drawing up to 13 million nightly viewers but also the Christian-based Heritage USA theme park and hotel in Fort Mill, South Carolina. Their cultural prominence led to frequent parodies on "Saturday Night Live" and a theatrical movie about their lives, "The Eyes of Tammy Faye," released in September 2021.
Early Ministry
Bakker, born in Muskegon, Michigan, attended North Central Bible College in Minneapolis, where he met Tammy Faye. They married in 1961 and soon after began a traveling ministry. They gained 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."
In 1972, Bakker left CBN and two years later formed the PTL Satellite Network. "The PTL Club"—PTL stands for "Praise the Lord"—became its flagship program. The show, featuring interviews, sermons, and music, was taped at their sprawling complex south of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Downfall
The ministry began to unravel in March 1987 when Bakker admitted to a sexual encounter with a church clerk, Jessica Hahn. He resigned from his leadership role, and operations were turned over to pastor and broadcaster Jerry Falwell.
In 1988, Bakker was indicted on charges of mail fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy. He was convicted and sentenced to 45 years in federal prison, though the sentence was later reduced to eight years. His marriage to Tammy Faye ended in divorce in 1992 while he was still incarcerated. Tammy Faye died of colon cancer in 2007.
Bakker was released on parole in 1994. He married his second wife, Lori, in 1998. The couple launched "The Jim Bakker Show" five years later.
In June 2021, Bakker and his Morningside Church Productions Inc. settled a lawsuit accusing him of falsely claiming that the health supplement Silver Solution could cure COVID-19. The settlement required $156,000 in refunds to customers who had purchased the product.
