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{{short description|American actor and evangelist}}
'''Marjoe Gortner''' (born [[January 14]], [[1944]] in [[Long Beach, California]]) was an [[Evangelism|evangelical]] [[minister]] who first gained notoriety in the late 1940s and early to mid 1950s when he became the youngest [[ordination|ordained]] [[preacher]] at the age of four, and again in the 1970s when he made a documentary film about himself, in which he both exposed himself as a [[con artist]] and revealed that several other evangelical ministers were likewise [[fraud|defrauding]] their congregants out of large sums of money.
{{BLP sources|date=November 2012}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Marjoe Gortner
| birthname = Hugh Marjoe Ross Gortner
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1944|1|14}}
| birth_place = [[Long Beach, California]]
| nationality = American
| occupation = Christian revivalist, actor
| yearsactive = 1948–1995
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* Agnes Benjamin<br/>({{abbr|m.|married}} 1971; {{abbr|div.|divorced}} 19??)
* {{marriage|[[Candy Clark]]|1978|1979|end=divorced}}
}}
}}


'''Hugh Marjoe Ross Gortner''' (born January 14, 1944) is an American former [[Evangelism|evangelist]] preacher and actor. He first gained public attention during the late 1940s when his parents arranged for him to be [[Ordination|ordained]] as a [[preacher]] at age four due to his extraordinary speaking ability, making him the youngest known in that position to this day. As a young man, he preached on the [[revival meeting|revival]] circuit and brought celebrity to the revival movement.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title = All Things are Possible|last = Harrell|first = David|publisher = Indiana University Press|year = 1975|isbn = 0253100909|location = Ontario|pages = [https://archive.org/details/allthingsareposs00harr/page/234 234]|url-access = registration|url = https://archive.org/details/allthingsareposs00harr/page/234}}</ref>
When Marjoe was three, his father, a second generation evangelical minister, noticed his son's talent for mimicry and overall fearlessness of strangers and public settings. Seeing a moneymaking opportunity, his parents concocted a series of stories about Marjoe receiving a vision from God during a bath and began training Marjoe to deliver sermons by using broad gestures, lunges, and hand movements which acted as [[mnemonics]]. By the time Marjoe was four, his parents arranged for him to perform a marriage ceremony for a film crew from Paramount studios; although his parents referred to him as "the youngest ordained minister in history," it never became clear who exactly ordained him, if his father ordained him, or if he was even ordained at all.


As an adult, Gortner, having grown regretful, admitted that his days as a child evangelist were filled with fake stories, lies and the sales of fake "holy" or healing items. ''[[Marjoe]]'' (1972) is a behind-the-scenes documentary about him and the lucrative business of [[Pentecostalism|Pentecostal]] preaching, in which he actively participated. The film won the [[Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film]], and it became known as a prominent criticism of Pentecostal preaching.<ref name=":0" /> Gortner had an acting career from the 1970s to the 1990s, which included a main role in the [[space opera]] film ''[[Starcrash]]'' (1978) and guest spots on several TV series, and also released a musical studio album titled ''Bad but Not Evil'' in 1972.
Until the time he was a teenager, Marjoe and his parents travelled the rural United States, holding revival meetings which doubled as "fund raisers;" as well as teaching him scripture passages, Marjoe's parents had also taught him several grifting tactics, involving Marjoe selling supposedly "holy" articles at revivals which promised to heal the sick and dying. By the time Marjoe was sixteen, he had amassed a fortune of three million dollars; shortly after his sixteenth birthday, Marjoe's father absconded with the money, and a disillusioned Marjoe left his mother and went to live as a [[hippie]] in [[San Francisco]], where he was taken in by and became the lover of an older woman. Marjoe spent the remainder of his teenage years as an intinerant hippie, living in communes and smoking marijuana. In his early twenties, a further disillusioned Marjoe decided to put his old skills to work and re-emerged on the evangelical circuit, this time consciously scamming people out of their money with a charismatic stage-show modeled after those of contemporary rock and roll singers, most notably [[Mick Jagger]]. Marjoe quickly grew rich again, and began to take six months off every year, during which he returned to California to live as a hippie, surviving on the previous six months' earnings.


==Early life==
In the late 1960s, Marjoe suffered a crisis of conscience, and resolved to not only expose himself but other evangelical ministers he had learned were participating in schemes identical to his own. Under the pretense of making a documentary on the evangelical and [[non-denominational]] faiths, Marjoe reunited with his father and assembled a documentary film crew to follow him around the Southern United States during 1971; unbeknownst to everyone else involved, Marjoe gave "backstage" interviews to the filmmakers in between sermons and revivals, talking about his hedonistic lifestyle (which included routinely seducing airline stewardesses), informing them of scams he was about to pull, and giving intimate details of how he and other ministers operated. After sermons, the filmmakers were invited back to Marjoe's hotel room to tape him counting the massive amounts of money he collected during the day. The resulting film, '''[[Marjoe]]''', won the 1972 Academy Award for best documentary, although the distributor refused to allow it to be screened in theatres south of [[Des Moines]], [[Iowa]], for fear that it would spark a backlash from [[The Bible Belt]].
Hugh Marjoe Ross Gortner was born in 1944 in [[Long Beach, California]], into a family with a long evangelical heritage.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|title = Marjoe Gortner, Imposter Revivalist: Toward a Cognitive Theory of Religious Misbehavior|last = Cooper|first = Travis|date = 2013|journal = PentecoStudies}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19490107&id=g_8uAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MtwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4104,1333211|title = Ottawa Citizen - Google News Archive Search}}</ref> The name "Marjoe" is a [[portmanteau]] of the [[Bible|biblical]] names "[[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Mary]]" and "[[Saint Joseph|Joseph]]".<ref name=no_sympathy/><ref name=Crist/>{{efn|The formation of his name from combining the names of Mary and Joseph is alluded to in numerous sources; however, some early sources state that he was named for his mother, Marge.<ref name=OttawaCit/> cf. His brother's name, Vernoe, father, Vernon; and sister's name, Starloe.}} His father, Vernon Robert Gortner, was a third-generation Christian evangelical [[Minister (Christianity)|minister]] who preached at revivals.<ref name=no_sympathy/> His mother Marge, who has been labelled as "exuberant," was the person who introduced him as a preacher, and is notable for his success as a child.<ref name=":0" /> Vernon noticed his son's talent for [[mimicry]] and his fearlessness of strangers and public settings. His parents claimed the boy had received a vision from God during a bath, and he started preaching. Marjoe later said that was a fictional story that his parents forced him to repeat. He claimed they compelled him to do that by using mock-drowning episodes; they did not beat him as they did not want to leave bruises that might be noticed during his many public appearances.<ref name=DangerousMinds>{{cite web |url=http://dangerousminds.net/comments/a_lot_of_people_do_bad_things_the_bizarre_tale_of_child_evangelist_turned_c |title='A lot of people do bad things': The bizarre tale of child evangelist turned conman, Marjoe Gortner |website=Dangerous Minds |date=February 27, 2015 |author=Jason Schafer |access-date=July 3, 2015}}</ref>


They trained him to deliver sermons, complete with dramatic gestures and emphatic lunges. When he was four, his parents arranged for him to perform a marriage ceremony attended by the press, including photographers from ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' and [[Paramount News|Paramount]] studios.<ref name=no_sympathy/><ref name=life_magazine/>{{efn|The ceremony was performed on January 2,<ref name=life_magazine/> just 12 days before Gortner's fifth birthday, leading to differing reports as to his age.}} Until his teenage years, Gortner and his parents traveled throughout the United States holding [[revival meeting]]s,<ref name=advert1/> and by 1951 his younger brother Vernoe had been incorporated into the act.<ref name=advert2/>
With the film forever preventing Gortner from returning to his previous lifestyle, he attempted to break into both Hollywood and the recording industry. He cut an LP with Columbia records, entitled "Bad, but not Evil" (Gortner's description of himself in the documentary), which met with poor sales and reviews. Gortner appeared in several films shortly thereafter, most notably in the 1974 [[disaster film]] [[Earthquake (movie)|"Earthquake"]] as a psychotic National Guardsman. In 1974 he also appeared in the [[television movie]] ''[[Pray for the Wildcats]]''.


By the time he was sixteen, his family had amassed what he later estimated to be three million dollars. Shortly after Gortner's sixteenth birthday, his father absconded with the money.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Stollznow|first1=Karen|author-link=Karen Stollznow|date=2013|title=Kids of the Cloth: Childhood Preacher|journal=Skeptic Magazine|volume=18|issue=3|url=http://karenstollznow.com/kids-of-the-cloth-child-preachers/|access-date=20 August 2015|archive-date=27 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427073751/http://karenstollznow.com/kids-of-the-cloth-child-preachers/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
During the late 1970s, Marjoe attempted to self-finance another film, this time a pseudo-fictional drama about an evangelist [[con-man]] and based in part on his real-life experiences. The film started shooting in [[New Orleans, Louisiana]], but went [[bankrupt]] less than 6-weeks into production. Marjoe disappeared late one night with several thousand dollars worth of unused [[film stock]] and left the crew stranded in [[Dallas, Texas]] where they had been moved for shooting. The film was never completed.


==Career==
Gortner's most memorable film performance was as the psychopathic hostage-taking drug dealer in [[Milton Katselas]]'s 1979 screen adaptation of Mark Medoff's play ''When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?'', also starring [[Peter Firth]], [[Lee Grant]] and [[Hal Linden]].
Gortner spent the remainder of his teenage years as an itinerant [[beatnik]].<ref name=Ebert>{{cite web |url=http://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/interview-with-marjoe-gortner |title=Interview with Marjoe Gortner |website=RogerEbert.com |date=September 25, 1972 |author=Robert Ebert |access-date=July 3, 2015}}</ref>


In the late 1960s, Gortner experienced a crisis of conscience about his [[double life]]. He decided his performing talents might be put to use as an actor or singer. When approached by [[Documentary film|documentarians]] [[Howard Smith (director)|Howard Smith]] and [[Sarah Kernochan]], he agreed to let their film crew follow him throughout 1971 on a final tour of revival meetings in California, [[Texas]], and [[Michigan]].
Gortner reappeared a few years later, starring in several [[B-movies]] such as ''[[Starcrash]]'' and hosting an early-1980s [[reality TV]] series called ''[[Speak Up America]]'' before ending his movie career in [[1995]]. Today he sponsors charity golf tournaments and other events. The name "Marjoe" is a combination of the names "Mary" and "Joseph".

Unknown to everyone involved{{spaced ndash}}including, at one point, his father{{spaced ndash}}he gave "backstage" interviews to the filmmakers between sermons and revivals, some including other preachers, explaining intimate details of how he and other ministers operated. The filmmakers also shot footage of him while counting the money he had collected during the day, later in his hotel room. The resulting film, ''[[Marjoe]]'', won the [[45th Academy Awards|1972 Academy Award]] for [[Academy Award for Best Documentary|Best Documentary]].<ref name=NYTmovies/>

Gortner capitalized on the success of the documentary.<ref name=no_sympathy /> ''[[Oui (magazine)|Oui]]'' magazine hired him to cover [[Millennium '73]], a November 1973 festival headlined by the "boy guru" [[Prem Rawat|Guru Maharaj Ji]].<ref name=Oui/> He cut an [[LP album|LP]] with [[Chelsea Records]] titled ''Bad, but Not Evil'',<ref name=Billboard/> named after his description of himself in the documentary.<ref name=Crist/>

He began his acting career with a featured role in ''[[The Marcus-Nelson Murders]]'', the 1973 [[Television pilot|pilot]] for the ''[[Kojak]]'' TV series.<ref name=NYTbio/> In 1974, he made several appearances in film and television. In the disaster film, ''[[Earthquake (1974 film)|Earthquake]]'', he was Sgt.&nbsp;Jody Joad,<ref name=Mansour2011/> a psychotic grocery manager-turned-[[California National Guard|National Guard]]sman, the main [[antagonist]].

Gortner portrayed the psychopathic, hostage-taking drug dealer in [[Milton Katselas]]'s 1979 screen adaptation of [[Mark Medoff]]'s play ''[[When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? (film)|When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?]]''. He starred in a number of [[B-movie]]s including ''[[Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw]]'' (1976),<ref name=NYTbio /> ''[[The Food of the Gods (film)|The Food of the Gods]]'' (1976),<ref name=no_sympathy /> and ''[[Starcrash]]'' (1978).

In the early 1980s, Gortner hosted the short-lived [[reality TV]] series, ''[[Speak Up, America]]''.<ref name=BrooksMarsh/> He also appeared frequently in the 1980s ''[[Circus of the Stars]]'' specials.<ref name=Terrace1985/> He also played a terrorist preacher in a second-season episode of ''[[Airwolf]]'', and appeared on ''[[Falcon Crest]]'' as corrupt psychic-cum-medium "Vince Karlotti" (1986–87).<ref name=BrooksMarsh/> His last role was as a preacher in the [[Western (genre)|western]] ''[[Wild Bill (1995 film)|Wild Bill]]'' (1995).

In 1984, Gortner directed a major photo-fumetti, "Biblical Vision", for the American pornography magazine [[Hustler (magazine)|Hustler]].

==Music career==
Gortner recorded an album, ''Bad but Not Evil'' which was released on the [[Chelsea Records]] label in 1972. It included the songs, "Hoe-Bus", "The Ballad of Spider John", "Lo And Behold!", "Wind Up", "[[I'm a Man (The Spencer Davis Group song)|I'm A Man]]", "Collection Box", "Glory Glory Hallelujah", "I Shall Be Released", and "Faith Healing Remedy (Jesus Is Your Friend)". Vocal backing was by [[Maxine Waters Willard|Maxine Waters]], Gwen Johnson, Clydie King and [[Venetta Fields]] etc. The musicians included [[Tom Scott (saxophonist)|Tom Scott]], [[Hal Blaine]] and [[Michael Omartian]] etc.<ref>Music Metason - [https://music.metason.net/artistinfo?name=Marjoe%20Gortner&title=Bad%20But%20Not%20Evil ArtistInfo, <u>Marjoe Gortner</u>, Bad but Not Evil]</ref> It was reviewed in ''[[Billboard Magazine|Billboard's]]'' November 18 issue that year with the reviewer saying he was off to a flying start with a [[Bob Dylan]] composition, "Lo and Behold". The reviewer also called it a strong debut. The other songs noted as highlights were "Hoe-Bus", "Glory Glory Halelujah", and another Dylan composition, "[[I Shall Be Released]]". The single "Lo And Behold!" was also attracting attention.<ref>''Billboard'', November 18, 1972 - [https://books.google.com/books?id=NQ8EAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22Marjoe+Gortner%22Billboard&pg=PA24 Page 24 Billboard Album Reviews]</ref>

==Personal life==
In 1971, Gortner married Agnes Benjamin, who had appeared in his documentary.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sewall-Ruskin|first1=Yvonne|title=High on Rebellion: Inside the Underground at Max's Kansas City}}</ref> From 1978 to December 14, 1979, Gortner was married to actress [[Candy Clark]].<ref name=Calif/>

==Stage play and film retrospective==
In 2007, the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival commissioned actor and writer [[Brian Osborne]] to write a one-man play about Gortner. The play, ''The Word'', premiered at the Festival with Suli Holum as director and main collaborator. In 2010, the play was recreated as ''The Word: A House Party for Jesus'', with director Whit MacLaughlin. The play opened October 14, 2010 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and has been performed in New York (the Soho Playhouse), Los Angeles, Philadelphia (the 2011 NET Festival),<ref name=TheWord/> and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (the Kelly Strayhorn Theater).

In 2008, the [[Melbourne Underground Film Festival]] in Melbourne, Australia held the first retrospective of Marjoe Gortner's roles as part of its ninth festival.<ref name=MUFF9/>

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1972 || ''[[Marjoe]]'' || himself || Documentary
|-
| 1973 || ''[[Police Story (1973 TV series)|Police Story]]'' || Stanley|| Episode: "Requiem for an Informer"
|-
| 1974 || ''[[Barnaby Jones]]'' || David Colton || Episode: "A Gold Record for Murder"
|-
| 1974 || ''[[Pray for the Wildcats]]'' || Terry Maxon || TV movie
|-
| 1974 || ''[[The Gun and the Pulpit]]'' || Ernie Parsons || TV movie
|-
| 1974 || ''[[Earthquake (1974 film)|Earthquake]]'' || Jody Joad ||
|-
| 1976 || ''[[Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw]]'' || Lyle Wheeler ||
|-
| 1976 || ''[[Acapulco Gold (1976 film)|Acapulco Gold]]'' || Ralph Hollio ||
|-
| 1976 || ''[[The Food of the Gods (film)|The Food of the Gods]]'' || Morgan ||
|-
| 1976 || ''[[Mayday at 40,000 Feet!]]'' || Greco || TV movie
|-
| 1977 || ''[[Viva Knievel!]]'' || Jessie ||
|-
| 1977 || ''[[Sidewinder 1]]'' || Digger ||
|-
| 1978 || ''[[Starcrash]]'' || Akton ||
|-
| 1979 || ''[[When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? (film)|When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?]]'' || Teddy ||
|-
|1980
|''[[The Robber Bridegroom (musical)|The Robber Bridegroom]]''
|Jamie Lockhart
|
|-
| 1983 || ''[[Mausoleum (film)|Mausoleum]]'' || Oliver Farrell ||
|-
| 1984 || ''[[Jungle Warriors]]'' || Larry Schecter ||
|-
|1985
|[[Otherworld (TV series)|''Otherworld'']]
|Chalktrauma
|-
| 1985 || ''[[Street Hawk]]'' || Joseph Cannon || Episode: "The Adjuster"
|-
| 1985 || ''[[Airwolf]]'' || Johann Rector || Episode: "Dambreakers"
|-
| 1985 || ''[[Hellhole (1985 film)|Hellhole]]'' || Dr. Dane ||
|-
| 1987 || ''The Survivalist'' || Lieutenant Youngman ||
|-
| 1989 || ''[[American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt]]'' || 'The Cobra' ||
|-
| 1990 || ''[[Fire, Ice and Dynamite]]'' || Dan Selby ||
|-
| 1995 || ''[[Wild Bill (1995 film)|Wild Bill]]'' || Preacher ||
|}

==See also==
* [[Al Sharpton]] – another well-known child preacher
* [[Child preacher]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name=no_sympathy>{{cite book |last=Stowe |first=David W. |title=No Sympathy for the Devil: Christian Pop Music and the Transformation of American Evangelicalism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zt_kCEvP4KcC&pg=PA121 |year=2011 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |isbn=9780807834589 |pages=121–122}}</ref>
<ref name=life_magazine>{{cite magazine |title=Marjoe the Minister |magazine=Life |date=January 17, 1949 |volume=26 |issue=3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hUoEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA40 |access-date=2013-02-09}}</ref>
<ref name=advert1>{{cite news |title=Marjoe Continues by Popular Demand (advertisement) |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1817&dat=19510316&id=lOA-AAAAIBAJ&sjid=G00MAAAAIBAJ&pg=2460,5656802 |newspaper=[[The Tuscaloosa News]] |date=March 16, 1951 |page=2 |access-date=2015-02-07}}</ref>
<ref name=advert2>{{cite news |title=World's Youngest Evangelists (advertisement) |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=XUmZziu-z7kC&dat=19510922&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |newspaper=[[The Tuscaloosa News]] |date=September 22, 1951 |page=2 |access-date=2015-02-07}}</ref>
<ref name=NYTmovies>{{cite web |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/31480/Marjoe/details |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110228020928/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/31480/Marjoe/details |url-status=dead |archive-date=2011-02-28 |department=Movies & TV Dept. |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2011 |title=Movies: Marjoe (1972) – Cast, Credits & Awards |access-date=2014-05-02}}</ref>
<ref name=NYTbio>{{cite web |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/person/27902/Marjoe-Gortner |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211165930/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/27902/Marjoe-Gortner |url-status=dead |archive-date=2008-12-11 |department=Movies & TV Dept. |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2008 |title=Marjoe Gortner – About this person |access-date=2013-05-10}}</ref>
<ref name=Oui>{{cite journal |last=Gortner |first=Marjoe |date=May 1974 |title=Who Was Maharaj Ji? |journal=OUI}}</ref>
<ref name=Calif>State of California. California Divorce Index, 1966–1984. Microfiche. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. p. 8613.</ref>
<ref name=Billboard>{{cite magazine |magazine=Billboard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NQ8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA24 |date=November 18, 1972 |volume=84 |issue=47 |page=24 |title=Album Reviews |issn=0006-2510}}</ref>
<ref name=Crist>{{cite journal |last=Crist |first=Judith |author-link=Judith Crist |journal=New York Magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=reYCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA57 |date=July 24, 1972 |page=57 |title=Machine-made 'Man' |issn=0028-7369}}</ref>
<ref name=Mansour2011>{{cite book |last=Mansour |first=David |title=From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7GN0E_diWbAC&pg=PA137 |year=2011 |publisher=Andrews McMeel |isbn=978-0-7407-9307-3 |page=137}}</ref>
<ref name=BrooksMarsh>{{cite book |last1=Brooks |first1=Tim |last2=Marsh |author-link1=Tim Brooks (television historian) |first2=Earle F. |title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w8KztFy6QYwC&pg=PA1281 |edition=9th |year=2009 |publisher=Random House |isbn=978-0-307-48320-1 |page=1281}}</ref>
<ref name=TheWord>{{cite web |title=Genre-Defying Work |website=Network of Ensemble Theaters |url=http://www.ensembletheaters.net/programs/micro-festivals/genre-defying-work-philadelphia |access-date=2015-02-08}}</ref>
<ref name=MUFF9>{{cite web |title=MUFF9: Marjoe |website=Melbourne Underground Film Festival |date=October 2008 |url=http://www.muff.com.au/vault/2008/marjoe.html |access-date=2015-02-08}}</ref>
<ref name=OttawaCit>{{cite news |last=Meyer |first=Robert |title=How Can They Condemn Me? |newspaper=Ottawa Citizen |date=January 7, 1949 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19490107&id=g_8uAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MtwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4104,1333211 |access-date=2015-02-08}}</ref>
<ref name=Terrace1985>{{cite book |last=Terrace |first=Vincent |title=Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AKlgjBCPPnsC&pg=PA91 |volume=II |year=1985 |publisher=VNR AG |isbn=978-0-918432-61-2 |page=91}}</ref>

}}


==External links==
==External links==
*{{imdb name|id=0331374|name=Marjoe Gortner}}
*{{IMDb name|id=0331374|name=Marjoe Gortner}}
*[https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0bvxhx7 The child preacher who exposed a con] ([[BBC World Service]] ''Outlook'', March 17, 2022)
*[http://www.sarahkernochan.com/documentaries/index.html Resurrecting 'Marjoe' article] by [[Sarah Kernochan]].
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20000901002143/http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/marjoe.htm Interview with Marjoe]

{{Authority control}}


[[Category:1944 births|Gortner, Marjoe]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gortner, Marjoe}}
[[Category:Living people|Gortner, Marjoe]]
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:Evangelists|Gortner, Marjoe]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Falcon Crest actors|Gortner, Marjoe]]
[[Category:American evangelists]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:Male actors from Long Beach, California]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:People from Long Beach, California]]

Latest revision as of 16:22, 25 December 2024

Marjoe Gortner
Born
Hugh Marjoe Ross Gortner

(1944-01-14) January 14, 1944 (age 80)
Long Beach, California
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Christian revivalist, actor
Years active1948–1995
Spouses
  • Agnes Benjamin
    (m. 1971; div. 19??)
​
​
(m. 1978; div. 1979)​

Hugh Marjoe Ross Gortner (born January 14, 1944) is an American former evangelist preacher and actor. He first gained public attention during the late 1940s when his parents arranged for him to be ordained as a preacher at age four due to his extraordinary speaking ability, making him the youngest known in that position to this day. As a young man, he preached on the revival circuit and brought celebrity to the revival movement.[1]

As an adult, Gortner, having grown regretful, admitted that his days as a child evangelist were filled with fake stories, lies and the sales of fake "holy" or healing items. Marjoe (1972) is a behind-the-scenes documentary about him and the lucrative business of Pentecostal preaching, in which he actively participated. The film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film, and it became known as a prominent criticism of Pentecostal preaching.[2] Gortner had an acting career from the 1970s to the 1990s, which included a main role in the space opera film Starcrash (1978) and guest spots on several TV series, and also released a musical studio album titled Bad but Not Evil in 1972.

Early life

[edit]

Hugh Marjoe Ross Gortner was born in 1944 in Long Beach, California, into a family with a long evangelical heritage.[2][3] The name "Marjoe" is a portmanteau of the biblical names "Mary" and "Joseph".[4][5][a] His father, Vernon Robert Gortner, was a third-generation Christian evangelical minister who preached at revivals.[4] His mother Marge, who has been labelled as "exuberant," was the person who introduced him as a preacher, and is notable for his success as a child.[2] Vernon noticed his son's talent for mimicry and his fearlessness of strangers and public settings. His parents claimed the boy had received a vision from God during a bath, and he started preaching. Marjoe later said that was a fictional story that his parents forced him to repeat. He claimed they compelled him to do that by using mock-drowning episodes; they did not beat him as they did not want to leave bruises that might be noticed during his many public appearances.[7]

They trained him to deliver sermons, complete with dramatic gestures and emphatic lunges. When he was four, his parents arranged for him to perform a marriage ceremony attended by the press, including photographers from Life and Paramount studios.[4][8][b] Until his teenage years, Gortner and his parents traveled throughout the United States holding revival meetings,[9] and by 1951 his younger brother Vernoe had been incorporated into the act.[10]

By the time he was sixteen, his family had amassed what he later estimated to be three million dollars. Shortly after Gortner's sixteenth birthday, his father absconded with the money.[11]

Career

[edit]

Gortner spent the remainder of his teenage years as an itinerant beatnik.[12]

In the late 1960s, Gortner experienced a crisis of conscience about his double life. He decided his performing talents might be put to use as an actor or singer. When approached by documentarians Howard Smith and Sarah Kernochan, he agreed to let their film crew follow him throughout 1971 on a final tour of revival meetings in California, Texas, and Michigan.

Unknown to everyone involved – including, at one point, his father – he gave "backstage" interviews to the filmmakers between sermons and revivals, some including other preachers, explaining intimate details of how he and other ministers operated. The filmmakers also shot footage of him while counting the money he had collected during the day, later in his hotel room. The resulting film, Marjoe, won the 1972 Academy Award for Best Documentary.[13]

Gortner capitalized on the success of the documentary.[4] Oui magazine hired him to cover Millennium '73, a November 1973 festival headlined by the "boy guru" Guru Maharaj Ji.[14] He cut an LP with Chelsea Records titled Bad, but Not Evil,[15] named after his description of himself in the documentary.[5]

He began his acting career with a featured role in The Marcus-Nelson Murders, the 1973 pilot for the Kojak TV series.[16] In 1974, he made several appearances in film and television. In the disaster film, Earthquake, he was Sgt. Jody Joad,[17] a psychotic grocery manager-turned-National Guardsman, the main antagonist.

Gortner portrayed the psychopathic, hostage-taking drug dealer in Milton Katselas's 1979 screen adaptation of Mark Medoff's play When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?. He starred in a number of B-movies including Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (1976),[16] The Food of the Gods (1976),[4] and Starcrash (1978).

In the early 1980s, Gortner hosted the short-lived reality TV series, Speak Up, America.[18] He also appeared frequently in the 1980s Circus of the Stars specials.[19] He also played a terrorist preacher in a second-season episode of Airwolf, and appeared on Falcon Crest as corrupt psychic-cum-medium "Vince Karlotti" (1986–87).[18] His last role was as a preacher in the western Wild Bill (1995).

In 1984, Gortner directed a major photo-fumetti, "Biblical Vision", for the American pornography magazine Hustler.

Music career

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Gortner recorded an album, Bad but Not Evil which was released on the Chelsea Records label in 1972. It included the songs, "Hoe-Bus", "The Ballad of Spider John", "Lo And Behold!", "Wind Up", "I'm A Man", "Collection Box", "Glory Glory Hallelujah", "I Shall Be Released", and "Faith Healing Remedy (Jesus Is Your Friend)". Vocal backing was by Maxine Waters, Gwen Johnson, Clydie King and Venetta Fields etc. The musicians included Tom Scott, Hal Blaine and Michael Omartian etc.[20] It was reviewed in Billboard's November 18 issue that year with the reviewer saying he was off to a flying start with a Bob Dylan composition, "Lo and Behold". The reviewer also called it a strong debut. The other songs noted as highlights were "Hoe-Bus", "Glory Glory Halelujah", and another Dylan composition, "I Shall Be Released". The single "Lo And Behold!" was also attracting attention.[21]

Personal life

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In 1971, Gortner married Agnes Benjamin, who had appeared in his documentary.[22] From 1978 to December 14, 1979, Gortner was married to actress Candy Clark.[23]

Stage play and film retrospective

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In 2007, the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival commissioned actor and writer Brian Osborne to write a one-man play about Gortner. The play, The Word, premiered at the Festival with Suli Holum as director and main collaborator. In 2010, the play was recreated as The Word: A House Party for Jesus, with director Whit MacLaughlin. The play opened October 14, 2010 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and has been performed in New York (the Soho Playhouse), Los Angeles, Philadelphia (the 2011 NET Festival),[24] and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (the Kelly Strayhorn Theater).

In 2008, the Melbourne Underground Film Festival in Melbourne, Australia held the first retrospective of Marjoe Gortner's roles as part of its ninth festival.[25]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1972 Marjoe himself Documentary
1973 Police Story Stanley Episode: "Requiem for an Informer"
1974 Barnaby Jones David Colton Episode: "A Gold Record for Murder"
1974 Pray for the Wildcats Terry Maxon TV movie
1974 The Gun and the Pulpit Ernie Parsons TV movie
1974 Earthquake Jody Joad
1976 Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw Lyle Wheeler
1976 Acapulco Gold Ralph Hollio
1976 The Food of the Gods Morgan
1976 Mayday at 40,000 Feet! Greco TV movie
1977 Viva Knievel! Jessie
1977 Sidewinder 1 Digger
1978 Starcrash Akton
1979 When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? Teddy
1980 The Robber Bridegroom Jamie Lockhart
1983 Mausoleum Oliver Farrell
1984 Jungle Warriors Larry Schecter
1985 Otherworld Chalktrauma
1985 Street Hawk Joseph Cannon Episode: "The Adjuster"
1985 Airwolf Johann Rector Episode: "Dambreakers"
1985 Hellhole Dr. Dane
1987 The Survivalist Lieutenant Youngman
1989 American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt 'The Cobra'
1990 Fire, Ice and Dynamite Dan Selby
1995 Wild Bill Preacher

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The formation of his name from combining the names of Mary and Joseph is alluded to in numerous sources; however, some early sources state that he was named for his mother, Marge.[6] cf. His brother's name, Vernoe, father, Vernon; and sister's name, Starloe.
  2. ^ The ceremony was performed on January 2,[8] just 12 days before Gortner's fifth birthday, leading to differing reports as to his age.

References

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  1. ^ Harrell, David (1975). All Things are Possible. Ontario: Indiana University Press. pp. 234. ISBN 0253100909.
  2. ^ a b c Cooper, Travis (2013). "Marjoe Gortner, Imposter Revivalist: Toward a Cognitive Theory of Religious Misbehavior". PentecoStudies.
  3. ^ "Ottawa Citizen - Google News Archive Search".
  4. ^ a b c d e Stowe, David W. (2011). No Sympathy for the Devil: Christian Pop Music and the Transformation of American Evangelicalism. University of North Carolina Press. pp. 121–122. ISBN 9780807834589.
  5. ^ a b Crist, Judith (July 24, 1972). "Machine-made 'Man'". New York Magazine: 57. ISSN 0028-7369.
  6. ^ Meyer, Robert (January 7, 1949). "How Can They Condemn Me?". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 2015-02-08.
  7. ^ Jason Schafer (February 27, 2015). "'A lot of people do bad things': The bizarre tale of child evangelist turned conman, Marjoe Gortner". Dangerous Minds. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  8. ^ a b "Marjoe the Minister". Life. Vol. 26, no. 3. January 17, 1949. Retrieved 2013-02-09.
  9. ^ "Marjoe Continues by Popular Demand (advertisement)". The Tuscaloosa News. March 16, 1951. p. 2. Retrieved 2015-02-07.
  10. ^ "World's Youngest Evangelists (advertisement)". The Tuscaloosa News. September 22, 1951. p. 2. Retrieved 2015-02-07.
  11. ^ Stollznow, Karen (2013). "Kids of the Cloth: Childhood Preacher". Skeptic Magazine. 18 (3). Archived from the original on 27 April 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  12. ^ Robert Ebert (September 25, 1972). "Interview with Marjoe Gortner". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  13. ^ "Movies: Marjoe (1972) – Cast, Credits & Awards". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-02-28. Retrieved 2014-05-02.
  14. ^ Gortner, Marjoe (May 1974). "Who Was Maharaj Ji?". OUI.
  15. ^ "Album Reviews". Billboard. Vol. 84, no. 47. November 18, 1972. p. 24. ISSN 0006-2510.
  16. ^ a b "Marjoe Gortner – About this person". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-12-11. Retrieved 2013-05-10.
  17. ^ Mansour, David (2011). From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century. Andrews McMeel. p. 137. ISBN 978-0-7407-9307-3.
  18. ^ a b Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (2009). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows (9th ed.). Random House. p. 1281. ISBN 978-0-307-48320-1.
  19. ^ Terrace, Vincent (1985). Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials. Vol. II. VNR AG. p. 91. ISBN 978-0-918432-61-2.
  20. ^ Music Metason - ArtistInfo, Marjoe Gortner, Bad but Not Evil
  21. ^ Billboard, November 18, 1972 - Page 24 Billboard Album Reviews
  22. ^ Sewall-Ruskin, Yvonne. High on Rebellion: Inside the Underground at Max's Kansas City.
  23. ^ State of California. California Divorce Index, 1966–1984. Microfiche. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. p. 8613.
  24. ^ "Genre-Defying Work". Network of Ensemble Theaters. Retrieved 2015-02-08.
  25. ^ "MUFF9: Marjoe". Melbourne Underground Film Festival. October 2008. Retrieved 2015-02-08.
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