Marjoe Gortner, Preacher and Actor Who Was Subject of Oscar-Winning Doc and Appeared in ‘Earthquake,’ ‘Falcon Crest,’ Dies at 82
He was not on the list.
Marjoe Gortner, whose childhood as an evangelical preacher
was the subject of the Oscar-winning documentary “Marjoe” and who went on to
have a career as an actor, died Friday. He was 82.
His wife Susan Magestro told Variety he died in Santa Fe,
N.M. Her memorial notice said he had been suffering from years of congestive
heart failure. “Marjoe lived an extraordinary life, shaped by his imagination
and rare gift for bringing people together,” the statement said.
Actor Ian Ziering remembered him for his charity work,
writing, “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. I knew him
because he produced the Marjoe Gortner celebrity sports invitationals that
aired on CBS Saturdays for years. 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.”
Born in Long Beach, California, in an evangelical family,
the name Marjoe is a combination of “Mary” and “Joseph.” His parents pushed him
to become a child preacher, staging a photo op for the press when he performed
a marriage ceremony at 4 years old. The family traveled around the country
preaching and soliciting donations, and when Gortner was 16, his father
absconded with what was reported to be $3 million in donations.
In his 20s, Gortner became disillusioned with the
evangelical movement and became an aspiring actor in New York.
When he was approached by documentarians Howard Smith and
Sarah Kernochan, he agreed to let them follow him around on his final revival
tour in 1971, partially to help publicize his acting career. The resulting
documentary, “Marjoe,” won the Oscar for best documentary. Roger Ebert saw it
at the Cannes Film Festival and wrote “The real sleeper this year is ‘Marjoe.
It generated the most electric response of anything at the festival.” It
attracted considerable attention at the time, though it was later “lost” for
many years until Kernochan was able to obtain rights to the film after tracking
down the owner.
After making a record “Bad, but Not Evil,” he scored an
acting role in the pilot for “Kojak.” Gortner went on to have roles as crazed
drug dealers, outlaws, fake psychics and preachers in B movies and on
television. In 1974’s “Earthquake,” he was the unhinged grocery store manager
turned National Guardsman Sgt. Jody Joad.
He went on to appear in movies including Milton Katselas’
1969 “When You Comin’ Back, Red Ryder?,” in which he played a troubled Vietnam
veteran. The drama co-starred Candy Clark, to whom he was briefly married the
year the film came out.
His other film appearances included “Viva Knieval,!” “Bobbie
Joe and the Outlaw,” “The Survivalist,” “Starcrash” and Walter Hill’s “Wild
Bill.” During the ’70s and 1980s he appeared on TV series including “Police
Story,” “Airwolf,” “T.J. Hooker,” “Street Hawk,” “Otherworld,” “The A Team,”
“Fantasy Island” and “Falcon Crest,” as a corrupt psychic.
Gortner recorded an album, Bad but Not Evil which was
released on the Chelsea Records label in 1972. It included the songs,
"Hoe-Bus", "The Ballad of Spider John", "Lo And
Behold!", "Wind Up", "I'm A Man", "Collection
Box", "Glory Glory Hallelujah", "I Shall Be Released",
and "Faith Healing Remedy (Jesus Is Your Friend)". Vocal backing was
by Maxine Waters, Gwen Johnson, Clydie King and Venetta Fields, etc. The musicians
included Tom Scott, Joe Osborn, Hal Blaine and Michael Omartian, etc. It was
reviewed in Billboard's November 18 issue that year with the reviewer saying he
was off to a flying start with a Bob Dylan composition, "Lo and
Behold". The reviewer also called it a strong debut. The other songs noted
as highlights were "Hoe-Bus", "Glory Glory Halelujah", and
another Dylan composition, "I Shall Be Released". The single "Lo
And Behold!" was also attracting attention.
His fifth wife, Susan Magestro, survives him.
Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1972 Marjoe himself Documentary
1972-74 The
Merv Griffin Show self 2 episodes
1973 Police Story Stanley Episode:
"Requiem for an Informer"
1973 The
Marcus-Nelson Murders Teddy Hopper TV movie and Kojak pilot
1973 The Mike
Douglas Show self Episode #12.226
1973-1979 The
Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson self 2 episodes
1973 ABC Late Night self - host Episode: "Marjoe's Country: Nashville"
1974 Medical Center David Episode:
"Demi-God"
1974 Nakia Episode: "The Moving
Target"
1974 Barnaby Jones David Colton Episode:
"A Gold Record for Murder"
1974 Pray for the
Wildcats Terry Maxon ABC Movie of the Week
1974 The Gun and the
Pulpit Ernie Parsons ABC Movie of the Week
1974 Earthquake Jody Joad
1976 Bobbie Jo and
the Outlaw Lyle Wheeler
1976 Acapulco Gold Ralph Hollio
1976 The Food of the
Gods Morgan
1976 Mayday at
40,000 Feet! Greco TV movie
1976 Break the Bank self game
show - 4 episodes
1977 Viva Knievel! Jessie
1977 Sidewinder 1 Digger
1978 Starcrash Akton
1977-78 Rowan
& Martin's Laugh-In Guest
(uncredited) 2 episodes
1979 When You Comin'
Back, Red Ryder? Teddy
1979-87 Circus
of the Stars self 5 episodes
1980 The Robber
Bridegroom Jamie Lockhart
1980 The Alan Thicke
Show self Episode #1.65
1980 Speak Up,
America self - host 2 episodes
1981-83 Fantasy
Island Lorin Robertson/Nick Corbin 2 episodes
1983 Whiz Kids Bobby Lee Janz Episode: "Return of the Big Rocker"
1983 Celebrity
Daredevils self
1983 Mausoleum Oliver Farrell
1983 The A-Team Tom Anderson Episode:
"Recipe for Heavy Bread"
1983-85 T. J.
Hooker Jack Lewis/Marino 2 episodes
1984 Matt Houston Christian Dean Episode:
"The Secret Admirer"
1984 Jungle Warriors Larry Schecter
1985 Half Nelson Dexter Breen Episode: "The Beverly Hills Princess"
1985 Hotel Frank Brenner Episode:
"Images"
1985 Otherworld Chalktrauma Episode: "Village of the Motorpigs"
1985 Street Hawk Joseph Cannon Episode: "The Adjuster"
1985 Airwolf Johann Rector Episode: "Dambreakers"
1985 Hellhole Dr. Dane
1986-87 Falcon
Crest Vince Karlotti 17 episodes
1987 The Survivalist Lieutenant Youngman
1989 American Ninja
3: Blood Hunt 'The Cobra'
1990 Fire, Ice and
Dynamite Dan Selby
1995 Wild Bill Preacher
