Tammy Faye Messner (1942

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Biography

Tamara Faye Messner was an American evangelist. She co-founded the televangelist program The PTL Club with her then-husband Jim Bakker in 1974. They had hosted their own puppet-show series for local programming in the early 1960s; Messner also had a career as a recording artist. In 1978, she and Bakker built Heritage USA, a Christian theme park.

Timeline

The story of Tammy Faye Messner, told in moments.

Life

Defied evangelical convention by openly supporting LGBTQ people and visiting AIDS patients at the height of the epidemic. Her 1985 interview with pastor Steve Pieters, who had AIDS, was one of the first sympathetic portrayals on religious television.

What made you support LGBTQ people when your entire world condemned them? Was the Steve Pieters interview an act of rebellion or compassion? Did the evangelical community punish you for it?

1942 Birth

Born Tamara Faye LaValley in International Falls, Minnesota. Daughter of Pentecostal preachers who divorced shortly after her birth. Eldest child of a large blended family formed by her mother's remarriage.

What was growing up Pentecostal in International Falls like? Did your parents' divorce shape your need for love? Was being the eldest in a blended family a burden?

1974 Event

Co-founded the PTL Club televangelism program with husband Jim Bakker. They'd started with a puppet show on local TV in the early 1960s. By the mid-1980s, PTL was a media empire and Heritage USA was a Christian theme park drawing millions.

How did a puppet show become a media empire? What did Heritage USA mean to you at its peak? Was the PTL Club about faith or performance?

1987 Event

The PTL empire collapsed. Jim Bakker was indicted for fraud and conspiracy. Tammy Faye became tabloid fodder, famous for her heavy makeup and tearful on-air breakdowns. She divorced Bakker in 1992 while he was in prison.

What went through your mind when everything collapsed? Was Jim's fraud a surprise or something you sensed? Did the heavy makeup become armor during the tabloid years?

2007 Death

Died of colon cancer at 65. Had fought the disease for over a decade. Appeared on Larry King Live the day before, barely able to speak. Weighed 65 pounds.

What kept you appearing on camera weighing 65 pounds? Was the Larry King appearance courage or goodbye? What do you want remembered beyond the mascara?

Artifacts (11)

Tammy: Telling It My Way

The controversial, outrageous former co-host of the PTL tells her harrowing story of love, faith, corruption, and courageous recovery. 16 pages of photos.

1998

Works Read Talk

I Will Survive . . . And You Will, Too

Tammy Faye is known for many things, incl. her steadfast faith, the scandal that rocked a nation, & those famous eyelashes. But above all, she is a survivor. Her journey has been a bumpy one, incl....

2003

Works Read Talk

I Will Survive-- and You Can Too

Tammy Faye is known for many things, including her steadfast faith, the scandal that rocked a nation, and those now-infamous eyelashes. But above all, she is a survivor. No matter how often life tried...

2003

Works Read Talk

Tammy: Telling It My Way

In the 1980s, Tammy Faye Bakker was America's televangelical sweetheart. With her husband Jim, she led the PTL ministry, a religious organization so strong that its broadcasts were top-rated fare and...

2021

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Both are tough and able authoritarians who had extensive experience of repressin...

chelons of party power, including by "paramount leader" Deng Xiaoping. Martin Seiff of United Press International commented on Putin and Hu: "Both are tough and able authoritarians who had extensive...

Works Talk

grasp the online discourse power, enhance our ability to channel online discussi...

e idea of "channeling" public opinion, a term he first used in a 23 January 2007 Politburo meeting. Hu stated that the Party should "grasp the online discourse power, enhance our ability to channel...

Works Talk

strengthen our traditional media and new media and form a new setting for channe...

, and promote a positive mainstream discourse." In an online discussion via the Strong China Forum, Hu stated that China should "strengthen our traditional media and new media and form a new setting...

Works Talk

I Gotta be Me

1978

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How We Lost Weight and Kept it Off!

1979

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Run to the Roar

1980

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The PTL Family Devotional

1981

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