Fans are remembering Marjoe Gortner, who passed away on Friday, October 2.
Gortner, who first came to prominence at the age of four as an evangelical preacher, later shifted to acting, appearing in numerous films and TV series throughout the 1970s and ’80s.
According to a statement to Variety from his wife, Susan Magestro, he passed away in Santa Fe, New Mexico after suffering from congestive heart failure for several years. He was 82.
“Marjoe lived an extraordinary life, shaped by his imagination and rare gift for bringing people together,” the statement said.
A Child Evangelist
Gortner was born into a religious family — his name, Marjoe, is a combination of Mary and Joseph.
He was just four years old when he became the world’s youngest-ever ordained minister, famously performing a wedding at an age when his peers were learning to tie their shoes.
His childhood was spent traveling from town to town to speak at tent revivals throughout the U.S., with the pint-sized preacher becoming a big draw who raked in millions in donations.
Gortner quit preaching at age 16, which led his father to reportedly run off with $3 million in donations.
Gortner was the subject of the 1972 documentary, “Marjoe,” which won the Best Documentary Oscar. The film traced his unusual childhood, and followed Gortner as he returned to preaching with one last revival tour.
In the documentary, Gortner opened up about being pushed onto the stage by his parents — and candidly confirmed that the whole thing was a scam designed to convince the faithful to part with their money. That was cemented in one memorable scene in which he’s seen gleefully emptying a paper bag full of cash atop his hotel room bed.
“If you’re going to go into big-time religion, go into it as a business,” Gortner says in the film.
Reviewing the documentary for The New York Times, film critic Vincent Canby described “Marjoe” as “less a documentary about Marjoe’s final weeks on the Pentecostal church-and-tent circuit than a feature-length screen test for a career in show biz.”
A Successful Hollywood Career
Canby was far more prescient that he realized. After the success of the “Marjoe” documentary, Gortner shifted full-time from preaching to acting.
After landing some guest-starring roles in such 1970s TV series as “Barnaby Jones” and “Medical Center,” he went on to appear in the hit 1974 disaster movie “Earthquake,” playing an unhinged National Guardsman.
That led to roles a string of B-movies, including “Starcrash,” “Bobbie Joe and the Outlaw,” “The Survivalist,” “Wild Bill” and “Viva Knievel!”
During the 1980s, Gortner was a regular on television, appearing in series such as “Police Story,” “Airwolf,” “T.J. Hooker,” “Street Hawk,” “Otherworld,” “The A Team” and “Fantasy Island.”
Most memorably, Gortner had a recurring role on hit primetime soap “Falcon Crest,” appearing in 17 episodes as corrupt fake psychic Vince Karlotti, a role that mirrored his own past as a tent-show evangelist.
In an interview with film critic Roger Ebert, Gortner discussed how a childhood spent as a con-man preacher prepared him for a career as a performer.
“You have to go into the heavy religion in order to give people on excuse to loosen up and enjoy themselves,” Gortner explained.
“When I’d do a hip movement or a jump, or start walking over the backs of the seats, they’d say, ‘Hallelujah! God’s behind him!’” he added. “But if they saw Mick Jagger doing the same thing at a rock concert, that was the work of the devil.”
‘A Force of Nature’
Taking to Facebook, “Beverly Hills, 90210” alum Ian Ziering remembered Gortner for his philanthropy.
“Marjoe Gortner was a force of nature. He became an evangelist in his teens, an actor in his young adulthood. His life story won an Oscar,” Ziering wrote.
“I knew him because he produced the Marjoe Gortner celebrity sports invitationals that aired on CBS Saturdays for years,” Ziering added. “He brought celebrities all over the world to raise money for different charities …This man raised millions and millions of dollars for different charities while providing some of the most incredible celebrity experiences of my lifetime. I will never forget this man, and I will always be appreciative of not just what he did for me, but what he did for everyone who knew him.”
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Child Evangelist-Turned-Actor Known for ‘Earthquake,’ ‘Falcon Crest’ Has Passed Away at 82