BRANSON, Mo. — Jim Bakker, the televangelist who became one of Christian television’s most recognizable figures before his PTL empire collapsed amid scandal and a federal fraud conviction, has died. He was 86.
Bakker died Monday, Oct. 5, his wife, Lori Bakker, announced on the social-media accounts for his current ministry. A cause of death was not disclosed.
A television ministry that became a cultural force
Bakker and his first wife, Tammy Faye Bakker, began as traveling evangelists before working with Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network. Bakker later formed the PTL Satellite Network, and “The PTL Club” became its flagship program.
The show blended preaching, interviews, music and repeated fundraising appeals. At its mid-1980s peak, it drew millions of viewers and made the Bakkers national celebrities. Their ministry also developed Heritage USA, a Christian resort and theme park in Fort Mill, South Carolina.
The spectacle, fundraising model and the Bakkers’ public image became a frequent subject of late-night comedy and popular culture. Their story later inspired documentaries and the 2021 film “The Eyes of Tammy Faye.”
Scandal, conviction and prison
Bakker resigned from PTL in 1987 after the disclosure of a sexual encounter with church secretary Jessica Hahn and a payment made with ministry funds. Hahn said the encounter was an assault; Bakker maintained it was consensual.
A federal investigation into PTL’s finances led to Bakker’s 1989 conviction on fraud and conspiracy charges connected to promises of lodging at Heritage USA. He was initially sentenced to 45 years in prison; the sentence was later reduced. Bakker served about four and a half years before his release on parole in 1994.
Tammy Faye Bakker divorced him while he was incarcerated. She died of cancer in 2007.
A return to broadcasting
Bakker married Lori Graham in 1998 and returned to television in 2003 with “The Jim Bakker Show,” later produced from a development near Branson, Missouri. The program combined religious discussion with products marketed to viewers and commentary on current events.
His later ministry also drew scrutiny. In 2021, Bakker and Morningside Church Productions settled a Missouri lawsuit over claims made on his program that a silver product could treat COVID-19. The settlement required refunds and barred the defendants from promoting the product as a coronavirus treatment.
Lori Bakker described him as a pioneer of Christian television and remembered him as her husband and closest companion. No funeral arrangements were immediately announced.
The Associated Press reported the death and family statement on Oct. 6. Reuters published a detailed account of Bakker’s career on Oct. 6. Entertainment Tonight also featured the news in its current entertainment coverage.
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Featured image: a studio microphone photographed by Matt Botsford via Unsplash. The image is illustrative and does not depict Jim Bakker or the PTL Club.