Jim Bakker, who lost his ‘PTL Club’ televangelism empire in sex and
money scandals, dies at 86
[October 06, 2026]
By JIM SALTER and HALLIE GOLDEN
Jim Bakker, who along with his first wife Tammy Faye built an
evangelical empire around the hugely successful “The PTL Club” TV show,
only to lose it all over a sex scandal and financial crimes, has died.
He was 86.
Bakker died Monday, his second wife, Lori Bakker, said in a statement.
His cause of death was not immediately clear.
“He was a pioneer of Christian television, but to me, he was my husband,
my best friend, and the man I was honored to walk beside through so many
seasons of life and ministry,” she said.
The pair lived near the Missouri entertainment town of Branson and
filmed their TV show “The Jim Bakker Show” there since it launched in
2003. Bakker suffered a stroke in 2020.
But it was another evangelical program that made Jim and his first wife
Tammy Faye Bakker cultural icons — so much so that they were often
skewered in the 1980s and 1990s by late-night comedians and parodied on
“Saturday Night Live.” A theatrical movie on their lives, “The Eyes of
Tammy Faye,” was released in September 2021.
At its peak in the mid-1980s, the Bakkers’ ministry included not only
the TV show drawing up to 13 million nightly viewers but also the
Christian-based Heritage USA theme park and hotel in Fort Mill, South
Carolina.
Bakker got his start as a traveling preacher
Bakker was born in Muskegon, Michigan, and attended North Central Bible
College in Minneapolis, where he met Tammy Faye. They married in 1961
and dropped out of college to start their own traveling ministry — he
preached, she sang and played the accordion as they crossed the country
visiting churches and tent revivals.
They caught the attention of televangelist Pat Robertson, and in 1965
launched a children’s show on Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting
Network. By 1966, he was hosting “The 700 Club,” a Christian talk show.
Bakker left CBN in 1972 and two years later formed the PTL Satellite
Network. “The PTL Club” — PTL stands for “Praise the Lord” — became its
signature show.
When it hit its heyday in the 1980s, “The PTL Club” was drawing millions
of viewers — and bringing in millions of dollars annually from
followers.
The show featured chats with guests and Christian entertainers. Bakker
offered upbeat sermons and Tammy Faye — charismatic and always wearing
her trademark heavy mascara — sang. Most episodes were taped at their
sprawling complex just south of Charlotte, North Carolina.
The couple was so famous that they were often parodied by TV comedians
for their lavish lifestyle and Tammy Faye’s abundant makeup.
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Jim And Tammy Faye Bakker talk to their television audience, Aug.
20, 1986 at their PTL Ministry in Fort Mill, S.C. (AP Photo/Lou
Krasky, File)
Sex scandal and financial crimes damage his empire
In March 1987, their empire began to crack when Bakker admitted to a
sexual encounter with church clerk Jessica Hahn. Bakker was forced
to resign from his own empire, turning over operations to pastor and
broadcaster Jerry Falwell.
Tammy Faye stuck by Bakker, often with tears running down her
mascara, even as many saw his downfall as a fitting symbol of the
greed and hypocrisy of the 1980s.
Things only got worse.
In 1988, Bakker was indicted for mail fraud, wire fraud and
conspiracy after an investigation of PTL’s finances. He was
convicted and sentenced to 45 years in federal prison, though the
sentence was later reduced to eight years.
At a news conference after Bakker was found guilty, Tammy Faye stood
in front of the microphones and sang the hymn, “On Christ the Solid
Rock I Stand.”
Their marriage crumbled and Tammy Faye divorced Bakker in 1992, just
short of their 31st anniversary, while he was still in prison. She
later married Roe Messner, a building contractor whose projects
included the Heritage USA theme park. Messner was convicted of
bankruptcy fraud in 1995 and spent about two years in prison.
Tammy Faye died of colon cancer in 2007.
Bakker was released on parole in 1994. He married his second wife,
Lori, in 1998. The couple launched “The Jim Bakker Show” on the PTL
Satellite Network five years later.
In June 2021, Bakker and his Morningside Church Productions Inc.
settled a lawsuit accusing him of falsely claiming the health
supplement Silver Solution could cure COVID-19. The settlement
called for $156,000 in refunds to people who paid money or gave
contributions to obtain the product in the early days of the
pandemic.
The lawsuit said Bakker and a guest made the cure claim during 11
episodes in February and March of 2020.
Bakker and Tammy Faye had two children. He and his second wife
adopted five children in 2002.
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