SANTA FE, N.M. (THECOUNT) — Marjoe Gortner, the former child evangelist whose extraordinary life story became the subject of an Oscar-winning documentary before he built a vast career as an actor, has died in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He was 82.
Gortner’s wife, Susan Magestro, confirmed his death to Variety, saying he died Oct. 2 of congestive heart failure. In a statement, Magestro said Gortner “lived an extraordinary life, shaped by his imagination and rare gift for bringing people together.”
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Gortner was born Jan. 14, 1944, in Long Beach, California, and became a nationally known figure at an extraordinarily young age after his parents had him ordained as a preacher when he was 4.
His parents promoted him as a gifted young evangelist, and Gortner traveled the revival circuit as a child and teenager. He later said the family preaching operation generated millions of dollars, with the money ultimately taken by his father when he left the family.
At 16, Gortner continued preaching on the evangelist circuit to support himself. By the early 1970s, however, he had become disillusioned with the world of revival preaching and agreed to let filmmakers document what became his final tour.
The resulting 1972 documentary, Marjoe, provided an unusually candid look behind the scenes of his childhood and teenage evangelist career. The film became a critical sensation and won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 1973 Oscars.
The documentary also helped launch Gortner into a second career in entertainment. After releasing the 1972 album Bad But Not Evil, he began appearing on television, including in the pilot for Kojak in 1973.
His best-known film role came the following year in the disaster epic Earthquake, in which he played Jody Joad, a psychologically unstable National Guard member who becomes one of the film’s principal antagonists. The 1974 movie starred Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, George Kennedy and Victoria Principal.
Gortner went on to appear in films including Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw, The Food of the Gods, Viva Knievel!, Starcrash and When You Comin’ Back, Red Ryder? He also accumulated numerous television credits during a career that often drew on the unusual intensity and larger-than-life personality that had defined his earlier years.
On television, Gortner hosted the short-lived program Speak Up America and made guest appearances on numerous series. One of his most memorable later roles was Vince Karlotti on Falcon Crest in 1986 and 1987, a character whose deceptive and flamboyant personality provided a fitting showcase for Gortner’s unusual screen presence.
Gortner’s career also extended beyond acting. Actor Ian Ziering remembered him for producing celebrity sports invitationals that aired on CBS and raised money for charitable causes. Ziering said Gortner brought celebrities together around the world for charity events and credited him with raising millions of dollars while creating memorable experiences for participants.
“Marjoe Gortner was a force of nature,” Ziering said in a tribute following Gortner’s death. He described Gortner’s journey from evangelist to actor and said he would never forget his charitable work or the impact he had on people who knew him.
Gortner retired from acting after appearing in the 1995 Western Wild Bill, although he occasionally appeared at autograph and fan conventions in the years that followed.
His life remained unusual from beginning to end, encompassing a childhood spent preaching before packed revival audiences, a documentary that exposed the mechanics of the evangelist business, an Academy Award-winning film about that experience and a subsequent Hollywood career that included one of the era’s most recognizable disaster movies.
Gortner was married five times, including a marriage to actress Candy Clark in the 1970s. He is survived by Magestro, whom he married in 2019, along with his daughters.
Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico, is located in north-central New Mexico approximately 60 miles northeast of Albuquerque and is known for its historic architecture, arts community and long-standing connection to the film and entertainment industries.
Google Maps: Santa Fe, New Mexico
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