James Orsen Bakker (; born January 2, 1940), better known as Jim Bakker, is an American televangelist, entrepreneur, and convicted fraudster.
Bakker attended North Central University, a Minneapolis bible college affiliated with the Assemblies of God, where he met fellow student Tammy Faye LaValley in 1960.
Bakker worked at a restaurant in the Young-Quinlan department store in Minneapolis; Tammy Faye worked at the Three Sisters, a nearby boutique. The Bakkers married on April 1, 1961, and left college to become intinerant evangelists.
In 2002 they adopted five children. ==Career== ===Early career=== In 1966, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker began working at Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) in Portsmouth, Virginia, which had an audience in the low thousands at the time.
They had two children, Tammy Sue "Sissy" Bakker Chapman (born March 2, 1970) and Jamie Charles "Jay" Bakker (born December 18, 1975).
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. Throughout the 1970s, Bakker built a headquarters for PTL in the Carolinas called Heritage Village.
The Bakkers left CBN in 1972 and, the following year, joined with Paul and Jan Crouch to help co-found the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) in California.
Between 1974 and 1987, Bakker hosted the television program The PTL Club with his then wife, Tammy Faye, and developed Heritage USA, a now-defunct Christian theme park in Fort Mill, South Carolina. In the late 1980s, Bakker resigned from the PTL ministry over a cover-up of hush money to church secretary Jessica Hahn for an alleged rape.
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. Throughout the 1970s, Bakker built a headquarters for PTL in the Carolinas called Heritage Village.
They had two children, Tammy Sue "Sissy" Bakker Chapman (born March 2, 1970) and Jamie Charles "Jay" Bakker (born December 18, 1975).
However, this partnership only lasted eight months until a falling-out between Jim Bakker and Paul Crouch caused the Bakkers to leave the new network. ===PTL=== After their exit from TBN, the Bakkers moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, where in 1976 they debuted their own late night-style talk show, The PTL Club.
On January 18, 2019, ABC's 20/20 aired a two-hour special, entitled Unfaithfully Yours, about the PTL scandal. ==== Early investigations ==== In 1979, Bakker and PTL came under investigation by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for allegedly misusing funds raised on the air.
Between 1974 and 1987, Bakker hosted the television program The PTL Club with his then wife, Tammy Faye, and developed Heritage USA, a now-defunct Christian theme park in Fort Mill, South Carolina. In the late 1980s, Bakker resigned from the PTL ministry over a cover-up of hush money to church secretary Jessica Hahn for an alleged rape.
Bakker used the controversy to raise more funds from his audience, branding the investigation a "witch-hunt" and asking viewers to "give the Devil a black eye". A confidential 1985 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) report found that $1.3 million in ministry funds was used for the Bakkers' personal benefit from 1980 to 1983.
The FCC report was finalized in 1982 and found that Bakker had raised $350,000 that he told viewers would go towards funding overseas missions but that was actually used to pay for part of Heritage USA.
Bakker used the controversy to raise more funds from his audience, branding the investigation a "witch-hunt" and asking viewers to "give the Devil a black eye". A confidential 1985 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) report found that $1.3 million in ministry funds was used for the Bakkers' personal benefit from 1980 to 1983.
Bakker used the controversy to raise more funds from his audience, branding the investigation a "witch-hunt" and asking viewers to "give the Devil a black eye". A confidential 1985 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) report found that $1.3 million in ministry funds was used for the Bakkers' personal benefit from 1980 to 1983.
Between 1974 and 1987, Bakker hosted the television program The PTL Club with his then wife, Tammy Faye, and developed Heritage USA, a now-defunct Christian theme park in Fort Mill, South Carolina. In the late 1980s, Bakker resigned from the PTL ministry over a cover-up of hush money to church secretary Jessica Hahn for an alleged rape.
Bakker responded to inquiries about his use of mass media by saying: "I believe that if Jesus were alive today, he would be on TV". Two scandals brought down PTL in 1987: Bakker was accused of sexual misconduct by church secretary Jessica Hahn, which led to his resignation, and his illegal misuse of ministry funds eventually led to his imprisonment.
Bakker was dismissed as an Assemblies of God minister on May 6, 1987.
The report recommended that PTL be stripped of its tax-exempt status, but no action was taken until after the Jessica Hahn scandal broke in 1987.
Reporters for The Charlotte Observer, led by Charles Shepard, investigated PTL's finances and published a series of articles. On March 19, 1987, after the disclosure of a payoff to Hahn, Bakker resigned from PTL.
In 1990, the biographic television movie Fall from Grace, starring Kevin Spacey as Bakker, depicted his rise and fall.
The couple divorced on March 13, 1992.
On September 4, 1998, Bakker married Lori Beth Graham, a former televangelist, fifty days after they met.
In 2002 they adopted five children. ==Career== ===Early career=== In 1966, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker began working at Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) in Portsmouth, Virginia, which had an audience in the low thousands at the time.
On January 18, 2019, ABC's 20/20 aired a two-hour special, entitled Unfaithfully Yours, about the PTL scandal. ==== Early investigations ==== In 1979, Bakker and PTL came under investigation by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for allegedly misusing funds raised on the air.
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