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Jim Bakker, televangelist who co-founded "The PTL Club" empire but fell into disgrace, dies at 86
CBS News • • general
Key Points:
- Jim Bakker, co-founder of the evangelical "The PTL Club" TV show and a prominent Christian television pioneer, has died at age 86; his cause of death has not been disclosed.
- Bakker and his first wife Tammy Faye built a massive ministry empire in the 1980s, including a TV show with millions of viewers and the Heritage USA theme park, but their success ended amid a sex scandal and financial crimes.
- In 1987, Bakker admitted to a sexual encounter with a church employee, leading to his resignation, and in 1988 he was convicted of fraud and sentenced to prison; he was released on parole in 1994.
- After his release, Bakker remarried and relaunched a TV ministry, but faced controversy again in 2021 when he settled a lawsuit over false COVID-19 cure claims related to a health supplement.
- Bakker is survived by his second wife Lori and their adopted children; his first wife Tammy Faye died in 2007.
