Jim Bakker, televangelist felled by sex and fraud scandals, dies at 86
Version 2: Additional outlets — NPR, ABC News, Newsweek, The Washington Post, NBC News and a second Reuters report — have published obituaries since the first version, but they add no new facts about the cause or place of death, which remain unstated.
In short
Jim Bakker, the television evangelist who built the PTL ministry and the Heritage USA theme park with his first wife, Tammy Faye, before a sex and financial scandal brought the empire down, died Monday at 86. His wife, Lori Bakker, announced the death in a statement that did not give a cause or say where he died. Bakker resigned from PTL in 1987 and served just under five years in prison for fraud.
Read the full story 3 min read
Jim Bakker, the television evangelist who built the PTL ministry and a Christian theme park with his first wife, Tammy Faye Bakker, before scandal and a prison term brought the enterprise down, died Monday. He was 86. His wife, Lori Bakker, announced the death. “It is with a broken heart that I share that my beloved husband, Jim Bakker, went home to be with the Lord this evening,” she said in the statement. She did not cite a cause of death or say where he died, and the Associated Press reported the cause was not immediately clear. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 14 ]
Bakker and Tammy Faye Bakker rose to prominence preaching the gospel of prosperity, the notion that genuine Christian faith would bring material rewards, The Seattle Times reported. Their pulpit was “The PTL Club,” and CNN reported the couple ran the “Praise the Lord” empire from suburban Charlotte, North Carolina, for about 15 years. At its peak in the mid-1980s, the ministry included a TV show that drew up to 13 million nightly viewers, according to AP, CBS News and The Boston Globe, as well as the Heritage USA theme park and hotel in Fort Mill, South Carolina. The Seattle Times reported yearly revenue as high as $129 million. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 14 ]
Bakker resigned from PTL in 1987 amid a sex and financial scandal involving church secretary Jessica Hahn, whom he had paid to keep quiet, CNN reported. The New York Post put the hush-money payment at $279,000 and said Hahn accused Bakker of raping her in 1980; Bakker admitted to having sex with her but said it was consensual. CNN reported he was charged with fraud two years later and sentenced to 45 years in prison, though he served just under five; the New York Post said he was found guilty of 24 counts of fraud and was paroled in 1994. CNN quoted Bakker telling Larry King in 2000: “I wanted people to believe in my dream, and my dream became more important than the people.” [ 3 , 4 ]
Bakker later lived near the Missouri entertainment town of Branson, where “The Jim Bakker Show” was filmed from its launch in 2003, according to AP, CBS News and The Boston Globe. AP and CBS News reported he suffered a stroke in 2020. AP noted that he and Tammy Faye Bakker were often parodied on “Saturday Night Live” and that a film about their lives, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” was released in September 2021. CNN said the couple divorced in the 1990s; the New York Post said they divorced in 1992 after 31 years of marriage. Tammy Faye Messner died in 2007, CNN and the New York Post reported. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 14 ]
Outlets differed on where Lori Bakker made the announcement: The Seattle Times said she posted on Bakker’s official Instagram account, while CNN, the New York Post and NBC News said the statement appeared on the Facebook page of “The Jim Bakker Show.” The New York Post also referred to a 2021 matter involving Bakker and Morningside Church Productions, but its account is cut off and no other document describes the case. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 6 ]
Why it matters
Bakker was one of the defining figures of American televangelism in the 1970s and 1980s, and the collapse of his PTL ministry and his fraud conviction became a reference point for scrutiny of religious broadcasters and their finances. His death prompts a recounting of that rise and fall rather than raising new questions; the documents in this set are retrospective obituaries.
Key facts
- Jim Bakker died on Monday at the age of 86. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]
- His wife, Lori Bakker, announced the death; she did not cite a cause or say where he died. [ 2 , 3 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 14 ]
- With his first wife, Tammy Faye Bakker, he built the PTL ministry and its signature show, “The PTL Club.” [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 14 ]
- At its peak in the mid-1980s the ministry’s TV show drew up to 13 million nightly viewers and included the Heritage USA theme park and hotel in Fort Mill, South Carolina. [ 2 , 4 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 14 ]
- Bakker resigned from PTL in 1987 amid a scandal involving church secretary Jessica Hahn and a hush-money payment. [ 3 , 4 ]
- He was convicted of fraud, sentenced to 45 years in prison and served just under five before being paroled in 1994. [ 3 , 4 ]
- Bakker suffered a stroke in 2020 and lived near Branson, Missouri, where “The Jim Bakker Show” had been filmed since 2003. [ 2 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 14 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Jim Bakker died Monday at 86; his wife, Lori Bakker, announced the death. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]
- Lori Bakker’s statement gave no cause of death and no location for the death. [ 2 , 3 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 14 ]
- Bakker and his first wife, Tammy Faye Bakker, built the PTL ministry and “The PTL Club” television show. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 14 ]
- Bakker resigned from PTL in 1987 amid a scandal involving Jessica Hahn and a hush-money payment. [ 3 , 4 ]
- He was convicted of fraud, sentenced to 45 years and served just under five years in prison. [ 3 , 4 ]
- Bakker suffered a stroke in 2020. [ 2 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 14 ]
- He lived near Branson, Missouri, where “The Jim Bakker Show” was filmed from its 2003 launch. [ 7 , 9 , 10 , 14 ]
Still unclear
- The cause and place of Jim Bakker’s death. Lori Bakker’s statement did not cite a cause or say where he died, and no outlet reports either.
- Which platform carried Lori Bakker’s announcement. The Seattle Times says she posted on Bakker’s official Instagram account, while CNN, the New York Post and NBC News say the statement appeared on the Facebook page of “The Jim Bakker Show.”
- The year Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Bakker divorced. The New York Post says 1992 after 31 years of marriage; CNN says only that they divorced in the 1990s.
- A 2021 case involving Bakker and Morningside Church Productions. The New York Post says the two were “force…” before the text is cut off; no other document mentions the case, so its subject and outcome are unknown.
- What happened to the Heritage USA theme park after the PTL collapse. Only the New York Post states that it shuttered in 1989; no other document gives its fate.
- Whether the encounter with Jessica Hahn was consensual. The New York Post reports that Hahn accused Bakker of rape in 1980 while Bakker admitted to sex with her but insisted it was consensual; no other document addresses the dispute.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- The New York Times publishes the first report in this set that Jim Bakker has died at 86. [ 1 ]
- The Seattle Times publishes a detailed obituary describing the PTL ministry, Heritage USA and Bakker’s fraud conviction. [ 2 ]
- CNN reports the death and quotes Lori Bakker’s statement posted on “The Jim Bakker Show” Facebook page. [ 3 ]
- The New York Post reports the death, citing the hush-money payment to church secretary Jessica Hahn and Bakker’s prison term. [ 4 ]
- The Washington Post publishes an obituary summary describing the PTL empire and his fall after sex and fraud scandals. [ 5 ]
- NBC News reports the death, quoting Lori Bakker’s statement. [ 6 ]
- The Associated Press reports that Bakker died Monday and that his cause of death was not immediately clear. [ 7 ]
- Reuters reports the death, attributing it to The New York Times. [ 8 ]
- The Boston Globe carries the AP report on Bakker’s career and the PTL empire. [ 9 ]
- CBS News reports the death and Bakker’s career from Branson, Missouri. [ 10 ]
- Reuters publishes a second headline reporting Bakker’s death at 86. [ 12 ]
- NPR publishes a summary of the death and the collapse of the PTL empire. [ 13 ]
- ABC News reports the death and recounts the Bakkers’ rise from a traveling ministry to the PTL Club. [ 14 ]
- Newsweek publishes a summary on the scandals that brought down Bakker’s empire. [ 15 ]