His charismatic stage show and performing talents drew attention on the evangelical circuit. All of the laughter, dancing, and shouting in religious services can be infectious. Until his teenage years, Gortner and his parents traveled throughout the United States holding revival meetings, and by 1951 his younger brother Vernoe had been incorporated into the act. Hugh Marjoe Ross Gortner was born in 1944 in Long Beach, California, into a family with a long evangelical heritage. Was it difficult for you to attend those church services, night after night, knowing what you knew about Marjoe and that industry? Marjoe Gortner was not the 1st person to turn religion into a con game. Unbeknownst 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. He was the youngest known in that position. Its eponymous subject is Marjoe Gortner, who was a child preacher in the late 40's, and 1950's. From the time he. Vernon and Marge met when her evangelical duo, the Canadian Sisters, preached at Vernns church. In the aftermath of a cataclysmic natural disaster, one's essential character is revealed. Gortner spent the remainder of his teenage years as an itinerant hippie. In the disaster film, Earthquake, he was Sgt. (He can talk fast. He is perhaps best known for his role as Starbuck in the 1978 film "Battlestar Galactica". As someone who wasn't brought up in any faithI agreed with Marjoe when he said that church could be "just a great group therapy. I think these people may very well be tapping into something real. Marjoe was a well-known child preacher, starting his career at the ripe age of 4 years old. When Marjoe came out in theaters, it benefited Marjoe. But thats just what Marjoe is telling us. The fascinating Oscar-winning documentary Marjoe (1972) that resulted, based on his life as a fake evangelist, introduced the public to a new and profoundly hypnotic performer. Now a distinguished eminence grise in the Hollywood circuit, he's a well-known organizer of charity and sporting events, sometimes acting as an auctioneer. Handed potent roles in the TV projects The Marcus-Nelson Murders (1973) and The Gun and the Pulpit (1974), roles that capitalized on his magnetism and off-center flamboyance, the extremely positive reviews he received helped catapult him into 1970's films.Unfortunately, most of Marjoe's cinematic efforts went on to earn harsh critical reviews. He is now 78 years old. From the time he was four, until he was fourteen (when his youth was no longer extraordinary enough to draw crowds), his parents used his novelty evangelist act to make money. And the great irony is that that cameraman went on to become a Hollywood director. I think in Marjoe's eyes, I was very diminished. At age 16, however, Marjoe grew acutely disillusioned with what he considered a horrible deception, eventually withdrawing from the scene. For that, we were shooting at the end of a corridor with a long lens. But then as you start moving into the operation of the He also stated that he is against Christian-Jewish dialogue: We have had more than enough of such discussions in the Middle Ages. Howard Smith and Marjoe became partners. That way, he'd be unable to go back to the churches. Definitely. The Free For All Baptist Churchwhich admits its not like most Baptist churchesplans to convert the present club into a twenty-four-hour soul-food restaurant while continuing the bar operations. I could never get that loose unless I took acid or something. When it first came out in theaters, it didn't. exploited during the child evangelist period of his life. He cut an LP with Chelsea Records entitled Bad, but Not Evil, named after his description of himself in the documentary. Someone put Marjoe out on VHS in the 80s. In 1974, he made several appearances in film and television. Behind it all was an elaborate con and years later Marjoe went public with an expose that took him to Hollywood. He claimed they compelled him to do this 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. Marjoe is more than charismatic; his animal magnetism nearly rivals that of Elvis, and he works his charmfor a fee, of coursein a wonderful way on that black congregation. The film debuted at Cannes to great acclaim but struggled to find distribution in the U.S. outside of New York and Los Angeles because theatre owners were afraid conservative moviegoers would shun the movie. Vernon was excommunicated from his church, but he and Marge ran a successful store in Long Beach, California. So the publicity is what sold tickets for a while. Yeah, after putting the film down for making religious people look stupid, he ripped off some things from Marjoe. Gortner kicked off his entertainment career by acting in action flicks like "Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw" (1976) and the Marjoe Gortner film "Sidewinder One" (1977). Want to more about Him? Gortner appeared 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? He wanted to become an actor or a singer. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1980 Press Photo Marjoe Gortner & Felicia Jeter hold a map in "Speak Up America" at the best online prices at eBay! There were things we didn't know we would get, but hoped to, like the scene of Marjoe counting money with the minister. Like the preacher who didn't know he was being recorded while counting the money? The documentary cut between scenes of Marjoe preaching to an ecstatic crowd and behind-the-scenes footage where Marjoe talks about the tools he uses to manipulate worshippers and extract as much money as possible. In 2010, the play was recreated as The Word: A House Party for Jesus, with director Whit MacLaughlin. A gifted speaker from a very young age, Gortner received his ordination as a preacher when he was only four years old and spent his childhood and early teenage years traveling throughout the United States as a celebrity Christian Revivalist movement member. Family Life. He was the youngest known in that position. The documentary went on to win the 1972 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and earned massive amounts of critical acclaim. His name is a combination of "Mary" and "Joseph", a fact his parents Marjoe left the church when he was around 16. He's the embodiment of everything skeptics assume to be true about old-time-relijun, revivalistic, faith-healing Pentecostalism. Since I'm no longer able to find this clip anywhere on the Internet I was inspired to share it here. How'd you meet Marjoe? He was a crazy person. He also starred in the TV movies "The Marcus-Nelson Murders" (CBS, 1972-73) and "Pray For the Wildcats" (ABC, 1973-74). Marjoe later said this was a fictional story that his parents forced him to repeat. Subscribers receive full access to the archives. He appeared in several B-movies, including The Food of the Gods and The Gun and the Pulpit. A glory, hallelujah meant that he was speaking too fast, a praise Jesus that he was going too slow. The name "Marjoe" is a portmanteau of the biblical names "Mary" and "Joseph". Marjoe later said this was a fictional story that his parents forced him to repeat. I could go back and do it again. And I was having a meeting with one of the guys at the lab and he says, "We're cleaning out the archives in our vault and are going to send everything to the Library of Congress." Let us know if corrections need to be made. He has them dancing in the aisles, so full of the spirit that they relinquish nearly every last dime at the altar (that altar had a crucifix on it, certainly unusual for a black Pentecostal church). Mausoleum (1983) Dvd PAL Marjoe Gortner, Bobbie Bresee, Norman Burton. His performancesand thats all they are (I would have been a rock singer or actor with a different background)are contrasted with those of the evangelists sharing services with him. By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from Vice Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content. but the amazing truth was - Marjoe was a fraud! Well, Howard and I were boyfriend and girlfriend, living together in New York. He was the youngest known in that position. You sure got them going. The congregation was still going when the two left to count the money. See terms and apply now - for PayPal Credit, opens in a new window or tab. He thoroughly instructs the camera crew about smoking, swearing, and girlchasing. Vernon noticed his son's talent for mimicry and his fearlessness of strangers and public settings. Also, quite predictably, Marjoe was accused of exaggerating and falsifying his story just to make money. They trained him to deliver sermons, complete with dramatic gestures and emphatic lunges. In the early 1980s Gortner hosted the short-lived reality TV series, Speak Up, America. The Short and Stylish Life of 1970s Hot Pants, Vernon and Marge met when her evangelical duo, the Canadian Sisters, preached at Vernns church, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHv7cnSSmaU, Marjoe Gortner Hell is a place (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHv7cnSSmaU), sermons were compelling and full of hellfire, interview with Larry Silk, the film editor for Marjoe, Editor Larry Silk, ACE Discusses How the Documentary "Marjoe" Came to Be (https://youtu.be/rZIa9ik49cg), he sits in a hotel room counting the proceeds from the nights service, Marjoe Counts the Money (https://youtu.be/1-C3trU9ljw), Vincent Canby, in the New York Times, called the movie, Marjoe Gortner Hoe Bus (1973) (https://youtu.be/4iVstq9d-58), Earthquake (1974) Cop vs. He began his acting career with a featured role in The Marcus-Nelson Murders, the 1973 pilot for the Kojak TV series. His last role was as a preacher in the western Wild Bill (1995). Share your feedback here. As a young man, he preached on the . He is a former evangelist preacher and actor. He became a celebrity again during the 1970s when he starred in Marjoe (1972), a behind-the-scenes documentary about the lucrative business of Pentecostal preaching. Will, http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/marjoe.htm, Marjoe Gortner was the first Evangelical preacher to blow the whistle on his profession. He began his acting career with a featured role in The Marcus-Nelson Murders, the 1973 pilot for the Kojak TV series. He grew resentful of his parents and bitter over the childhood they had forced upon him. So that DVD came out at exactly the right moment to have the maximum impact. His father Vernon was a third-generation Christian evangelical minister who preached at revivals. His cinematic confessional, released in mid-1972, was a momentary cause celebre of the new film journalism. He began his acting career with a featured role in The Marcus-Nelson Murders, . 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