Hugh Marjoe Ross Gortner(born January 14, 1944) is an American formerevangelistpreacher and actor. He first gained public attention during the late 1940s when his parents arranged for him to beordainedas apreacherat 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 therevivalcircuit and brought celebrity to the revival movement.[1]
Marjoe Gortner | |
|---|---|
| Born | Hugh Marjoe Ross Gortner January 14, 1944 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Christian revivalist, actor |
| Years active | 1948–1995 |
| Spouses |
|
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 ofPentecostalpreaching, in which he actively participated. The film won theAcademy 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 thespace operafilmStarcrash(1978) and guest spots on several TV series, and also released a musical studio album titledBad but Not Evilin 1972.
Early life
editHugh Marjoe Ross Gortner was born in 1944 inLong Beach, California,into a family with a long evangelical heritage.[2][3]The name "Marjoe" is aportmanteauof thebiblicalnames "Mary"and"Joseph".[4][5][a]His father, Vernon Robert Gortner, was a third-generation Christian evangelicalministerwho 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 formimicryand 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 fromLifeandParamountstudios.[4][8][b]Until his teenage years, Gortner and his parents traveled throughout the United States holdingrevival meetings,[9]and by 1951 his younger brother Vernoe had been incorporated into the act.[10]As well as teaching Marjoescripturalpassages, his parents also taught him several money-raising tactics, including the sale of supposedly "holy" articles at revivals. He would promise that such items could be used to heal the sick and dying.
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]
In the years that followed, Gortner took a break from preaching. He grew resentful of his parents and bitter over the childhood they had forced upon him. At age 20, Gortner considered suing his parents, but he never did.
Career
editGortner spent the remainder of his teenage years as an itinerantbeatnik.[12]
In the late 1960s, Gortner experienced a crisis of conscience about hisdouble life.He decided his performing talents might be put to use as an actor or singer. When approached bydocumentariansHoward SmithandSarah Kernochan,he agreed to let their film crew follow him throughout 1971 on a final tour of revival meetings in California,Texas,andMichigan.
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 the1972 Academy AwardforBest Documentary.[13]
Gortner capitalized on the success of the documentary.[4]Ouimagazine hired him to coverMillennium '73,a November 1973 festival headlined by the "boy guru"Guru Maharaj Ji.[14]He cut anLPwithChelsea RecordstitledBad, but Not Evil,[15]named after his description of himself in the documentary.[5]
He began his acting career with a featured role inThe Marcus-Nelson Murders,the 1973pilotfor theKojakTV 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 mainantagonist.He starred in the television moviesThe Gun and the PulpitandPray for the Wildcats,and appeared in an episode ofNakia,a 1974police dramaonABC.
Gortner portrayed the psychopathic, hostage-taking drug dealer inMilton Katselas's 1979 screen adaptation ofMark Medoff's playWhen You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?.He starred in a number ofB-moviesincludingBobbie Jo and the Outlaw(1976),[16]The Food of the Gods(1976),[4]andStarcrash(1978).
In the early 1980s, Gortner hosted the short-livedreality TVseries,Speak Up, America.[18]He also appeared frequently in the 1980sCircus of the Starsspecials.[19]He also played a terrorist preacher in a second-season episode ofAirwolf,and appeared onFalcon Crestas corrupt psychic-cum-medium "Vince Karlotti" (1986–87).[18]His last role was as a preacher in thewesternWild Bill(1995).
Music career
editGortner recorded an album,Bad but Not Evilwhich was released on theChelsea Recordslabel 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 byMaxine Waters,Gwen Johnson, Clydie King andVenetta Fieldsetc. The musicians includedTom Scott,Hal BlaineandMichael Omartianetc.[20]It was reviewed inBillboard'sNovember 18 issue that year with the reviewer saying he was off to a flying start with aBob Dylancomposition, "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
editIn 1971, Gortner married Agnes Benjamin, who had appeared in his documentary.[22]From 1978 to December 14, 1979, Gortner was married to actressCandy Clark.[23]Until 2009, Gortner produced Celebrity Sports Invitational charity golf tournaments and ski events to raise money for charities such as theDream FoundationandRobert F. Kennedy, Jr.'sWaterkeeper Alliance,retiring in January 2010.[citation needed]
Stage play and film retrospective
editIn 2007, the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival commissioned actor and writerBrian Osborneto 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 asThe 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, theMelbourne Underground Film Festivalin Melbourne, Australia held the first retrospective of Marjoe Gortner's roles as part of its ninth festival.[25]
Filmography
edit| 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
edit- Al Sharpton– another well-known child preacher
- Child preacher
Notes
edit- ^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.
- ^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
edit- ^Harrell, David (1975).All Things are Possible.Ontario: Indiana University Press. pp.234.ISBN0253100909.
- ^abcCooper, Travis (2013). "Marjoe Gortner, Imposter Revivalist: Toward a Cognitive Theory of Religious Misbehavior".PentecoStudies.
- ^"Ottawa Citizen - Google News Archive Search".
- ^abcdeStowe, 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.ISBN9780807834589.
- ^abCrist, Judith(July 24, 1972)."Machine-made 'Man'".New York Magazine:57.ISSN0028-7369.
- ^Meyer, Robert (January 7, 1949)."How Can They Condemn Me?".Ottawa Citizen.Retrieved2015-02-08.
- ^Jason Schafer (February 27, 2015)."'A lot of people do bad things': The bizarre tale of child evangelist turned conman, Marjoe Gortner ".Dangerous Minds.RetrievedJuly 3,2015.
- ^ab"Marjoe the Minister".Life.Vol. 26, no. 3. January 17, 1949.Retrieved2013-02-09.
- ^"Marjoe Continues by Popular Demand (advertisement)".The Tuscaloosa News.March 16, 1951. p. 2.Retrieved2015-02-07.
- ^"World's Youngest Evangelists (advertisement)".The Tuscaloosa News.September 22, 1951. p. 2.Retrieved2015-02-07.
- ^Stollznow, Karen(2013)."Kids of the Cloth: Childhood Preacher".Skeptic Magazine.18(3). Archived fromthe originalon 27 April 2019.Retrieved20 August2015.
- ^Robert Ebert (September 25, 1972)."Interview with Marjoe Gortner".RogerEbert.com.RetrievedJuly 3,2015.
- ^"Movies: Marjoe (1972) – Cast, Credits & Awards".Movies & TV Dept.The New York Times.2011. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-02-28.Retrieved2014-05-02.
- ^Gortner, Marjoe (May 1974). "Who Was Maharaj Ji?".OUI.
- ^"Album Reviews".Billboard.Vol. 84, no. 47. November 18, 1972. p. 24.ISSN0006-2510.
- ^ab"Marjoe Gortner – About this person".Movies & TV Dept.The New York Times.2008. Archived fromthe originalon 2008-12-11.Retrieved2013-05-10.
- ^Mansour, David (2011).From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century.Andrews McMeel. p. 137.ISBN978-0-7407-9307-3.
- ^abBrooks, Tim;Marsh, Earle F. (2009).The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows(9th ed.). Random House. p. 1281.ISBN978-0-307-48320-1.
- ^Terrace, Vincent (1985).Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials.Vol. II. VNR AG. p. 91.ISBN978-0-918432-61-2.
- ^Music Metason -ArtistInfo,Marjoe Gortner,Bad but Not Evil
- ^Billboard,November 18, 1972 -Page 24 Billboard Album Reviews
- ^Sewall-Ruskin, Yvonne.High on Rebellion: Inside the Underground at Max's Kansas City.
- ^State of California. California Divorce Index, 1966–1984. Microfiche. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. p. 8613.
- ^"Genre-Defying Work".Network of Ensemble Theaters.Retrieved2015-02-08.
- ^"MUFF9: Marjoe".Melbourne Underground Film Festival.October 2008.Retrieved2015-02-08.