Former Televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker Messner Has Died -- Archive Interview is Online

Tammy Faye Messner lost her battle with lung cancer and died on July 20th at the age of 65 (story on CNN.com). Messner and then-husband Jim Bakker founded the PTL Club in 1974 and later expanded it into a network; the two co-hosted the PTL Club from 1976-87. The PTL Club ended in scandal and Tammy Faye divorced Jim Bakker in its wake. Since then she remarried, hosted The Jim J. and Tammy Faye Show (with Jim J. Bullock), and appeared on the reality television series The Surreal Life.

The Archive of American Television interviewed Tammy Faye in Palm Springs on January 19, 2005. The interview is currently available online at Google Video.

Click here to watch Part 1 of Tammy Faye Bakker Messner's interview. (30 minutes)
Click here to watch Part 2 of Tammy Faye Bakker Messner's interview. (12 minutes)

Interview Description:
Messner talked about her childhood desire to become an evangelist. She described meeting her future husband Jim Bakker at bible college and their subsequent collaboration as traveling evangelists. She detailed their discovery by Pat Robertson, and how they were launched on the fledging Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). She spoke about their children’s show, The Jim and Tammy Show, as well as Jim’s tenure as host of The 700 Club. She then discussed their creation of Trinity Broadcasting and their eventual split with their co-founders, which led to the formation of The PTL Club. Although she declined to discuss the subsequent “PTL scandal,” she spoke of the devastation it left on her life. She also spoke about The Jim J. and Tammy Faye Show and her recent appearance on The Surreal Life.

Televangelist Jerry Falwell Has Died

Jerry Falwell, whose earliest television appearances date back to the 1950s, has died at the age of 73.


Rev. Falwell was interviewed by the Archive of American Television on October 16, 2003 at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA. Click here to access his two hour oral history interview.

Interview Description:
Rev. Jerry Falwell talked about growing up the son of an entrepreneur, and his eventual calling to the Christian ministry. He discussed starting his first television broadcast, Thomas Road Baptist Church Presents and how it eventually became The Old Time Gospel Hour. He spoke about the growing popularity of the program and its eventual syndication worldwide as well as its transmission over satellite. Falwell also described his founding and the goals of the Moral Majority and Liberty University. He detailed the controversy surrounding his political views, the fallout from the PTL scandal that hit religious broadcasting in the late 80s and his treatment by the mainstream media. B-roll consists of a personally-guided tour of a museum dedicated to his life on the campus of Liberty University (Click here to access).

Producer Martin Hoade's Interview is Now Online

Producer Martin Hoade's seven-part interview is now available for viewing on Google Video. Mr. Hoade produced NBC's Sunday morning religious program wheel and provides much insight on the topic of how aspects of religion were portrayed on network television.

Interview description:
In his 7-part (each 30-minute segment is posted separately) oral history interview, producer Martin Hoade (1916-2006) recalls his early days in television working for NBC, on programs such as newsreels and political conventions. He talks about his move into religious programming as the producer and director of NBC’s Sunday morning religious program wheel, which was comprised of the series "Frontiers of Faith", "The Catholic Hour", and "The Eternal Light". He speaks of the craft involved in producing religious programming as well as the issue of proselytizing and of religious programming in general.

Click here to access the entire interview.

To read the Archive blog's obituary of Mr. Hoade, click on the following: Archive of American Television: Religious Series Producer/Director Martin Hoade Has Died