Marjoe Gortner, whose childhood as an evangelical preacher was the subject of the Oscar-winning documentary “Marjoe” and who continued his career as an actor, died on Friday. He was 82 years old.
His wife Susan Magestro told Diversity He died in Santa Fe, NM. The memorial notice said he had suffered from congestive heart failure for years. “Marjoe lived an extraordinary life shaped by her imagination and rare ability to bring people together,” the statement said.
Actor Ian Ziering remembered him for his philanthropic work, writing, “Marjoe Gortner was a force of nature. An evangelist in his youth, an actor in his young adulthood. His life story won an Oscar. I knew him because for years he produced the Marjoe Gortner celebrity sports invitationals that aired on CBS Saturdays. He brought in celebrities from all over the world to raise money for different charities… This man raised millions and millions of dollars for different charities and also provided some of the largest charities.” Incredible celebrity experiences of my life. I will never forget this man and will always be grateful for what he not only did for me, but for everyone who knew him.
Born into an evangelical family in Long Beach, California, the name Marjoe is a combination of the words “Mary” and “Joseph.” His parents forced him to become a child preacher, and when he was 4 years old, he posed for photographs for the press when he had a wedding ceremony. The family traveled the country preaching and soliciting donations, and when Gortner was 16, his father absconded with a reported donation of $3 million.
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 on his final revival tour in 1971, in part to help promote 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 exciting response at the festival.” It received great attention at the time, but was later “lost” for years until Kernochan acquired the rights to the film after tracking down the owner.
After making an album called “Bad But Not Bad”, he took on an acting role in the pilot episode of “Kojak”. Gortner continued to appear in B movies and on television as crazy drug dealers, outlaws, fake mediums, and preachers. He went from unstable grocery store manager to National Guard Sergeant in 1974’s “Earthquake.” Jody Joad.
He starred in Milton Katselas’ 1969 film “When You Comin’ Back, Red Ryder?”, in which he played a troubled Vietnam veteran. He starred in films such as. The series also starred Candy Clark, to whom he was married for a short time the year the film was released.
Other film appearances include “Viva Knieval!” There was. “Bobbie Joe and the Outlaw,” “The Survivalist,” “Starcrash” and Walter Hill’s “Wild Bill.” In the 70s and 1980s, he appeared as a corrupt medium in TV series such as “Police Story,” “Airwolf,” “TJ Hooker,” “Street Hawk,” “Otherworld,” “The A Team,” “Fantasy Island” and “Falcon Crest.”
He is survived by his fifth wife, Susan Magestro.