Jim Bakker: Difference between revisions

In 1966, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker began working at [[Pat Robertson]]'s [[Christian Broadcasting Network]] (CBN) in [[Virginia Beach, Virginia|Portsmouth]], [[Virginia]], which had an audience in the low thousands at the time.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker Lived Here - in a Kit Home!|url=http://www.searshomes.org/index.php/2011/11/23/jim-and-tammy-faye-bakker-lived-here-in-a-kit-home/|publisher=Sears Home|website=searshome.org|date=November 23, 2011|access-date=February 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215024019/http://www.searshomes.org/index.php/2011/11/23/jim-and-tammy-faye-bakker-lived-here-in-a-kit-home/|archive-date=February 15, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The Bakkers contributed to the network's growth, hosting a children's variety show called ''Come On Over'' that employed comic routines with [[puppet]]s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tammy Faye Bakker-Messner, "On her first television appearance and creating The Jim and Tammy Show |website=Television Academy Foundation Interviews |date=October 23, 2017 |url=https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/shows/jim-and-tammy-show |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408085932/https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/shows/jim-and-tammy-show |archive-date=April 8, 2019 }}</ref> Due to the success of ''Come On Over'', Robertson made Bakker the host of a new prime-time talk show, ''[[The 700 Club]]'', which gradually became CBN's flagship program.<ref name=wapo>{{Cite news|title=Robertson's Bakker Connection|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1988/02/06/robertsons-bakker-connection/f558f67c-c4f5-489c-b733-e768d1daacdc/|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=February 6, 1988|access-date=February 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180311081305/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1988/02/06/robertsons-bakker-connection/f558f67c-c4f5-489c-b733-e768d1daacdc/|archive-date=March 11, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The Bakkers left CBN in 1973 and, soon after, joined with [[Paul Crouch|Paul]] and [[Jan Crouch]] to help co-found the [[Trinity Broadcasting Network]] (TBN) in [[California]]. However, this partnership lasted only eight months until a falling-out between Jim Bakker and Paul Crouch caused the Bakkers to eventually leave the new network.

AfterWhile their exit fromunder TBN, the Bakkers moved to [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]], [[North Carolina]], where in May of 1973 they launched an east coast version of ''Praise The Lord'' under TBN's umbrella. Less than a year later the Bakkers formed their own non profit organization, registered the [[PTL]] trademark, left the umbrella of TBN and the Crouches, and continued their show on 36 [[WCNC|WRET]] Charlotte , 16 [[WGGS]] [[Greeville, South Carolina]], and a few other stations. In 1975, they nationally debuted their own [[late-night talk show|late night]]-style talk show, known as ''[[The PTL Club]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tammy Faye: Faith & Flamboyance |work=Biography (TV) |date=August 7, 2000 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1682420/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210075814/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1682420/ |archive-date=February 10, 2017 }}</ref> Bakker founded the [[PTL Satellite Network]] in 1974, which aired ''The PTL Club'' and other religious television programs through local affiliates across the U.S.<ref name="buzzfeed"/>