Hugh Marjoe Ross Gortner (January 14, 1944 – October 2, 2026) was an American evangelist preacher and actor. He first gained public attention during the late 1940s when his parents arranged for him to be ordained as a preacher at age four due to his extraordinary speaking ability, making him the youngest known in that position to this day. As a young man, he preached on the revival circuit and brought celebrity to the revival movement.
As an adult, Gortner, having grown regretful, admitted that his days as a child evangelist were filled with fake stories, lies and the sales of fake "holy" or healing items. Marjoe (1972) is a behind-the-scenes documentary about him and the lucrative business of Pentecostal preaching, in which he actively participated. The film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film, and it became known as a prominent criticism of Pentecostal preaching. Gortner had an acting career from the 1970s to the 1990s, which included a main role in the space opera film Starcrash (1978) and guest spots on several TV series, and also released a musical studio album titled Bad but Not Evil in 1972.
Early life Hugh Marjoe Ross Gortner was born in Long Beach, California on January 14, 1944, into a family with a long evangelical heritage. The name "Marjoe" is a portmanteau of the biblical names "Mary" and "Joseph". His father, Vernon Robert Gortner, was a third-generation Christian evangelical minister who preached at revivals. His mother Marge, who has been labelled as "exuberant," was the person who introduced him as a preacher, and is notable for his success as a child. Vernon noticed his son's talent for mimicry and his fearlessness of strangers and public settings. His parents claimed the boy had received a vision from God during a bath, and he started preaching. Marjoe later said that was a fictional story that his parents forced him to repeat. He claimed they compelled him to do that by using mock-drowning episodes; they did not beat him as they did not want to leave bruises that might be noticed during his many public appearances.
They trained him to deliver sermons, complete with dramatic gestures and emphatic lunges. When he was four, his parents arranged for him to perform a marriage ceremony attended by the press, including photographers from Life and Paramount studios. Until his teenage years, Gortner and his parents traveled throughout the United States holding revival meetings, and by 1951 his younger brother Vernoe had been incorporated into the act.
By the time he was sixteen, his family had amassed what he later estimated to be three million dollars. Shortly after Gortner's sixteenth birthday, his father absconded with the money.
Career Gortner spent the remainder of his teenage years as an itinerant beatnik.
In the late 1960s, Gortner experienced a crisis of conscience about his double life. He decided his performing talents might be put to use as an actor or singer. When approached by documentarians Howard Smith and Sarah Kernochan, he agreed to let their film crew follow him throughout 1971 on a final tour of revival meetings in California, Texas, and Michigan.
Unknown to everyone involvedincluding, at one point, his fatherhe gave "backstage" interviews to the filmmakers between sermons and revivals, some including other preachers, explaining intimate details of how he and other ministers operated. The filmmakers also shot footage of him later in his hotel room while counting the money he had collected during the day. The resulting film, Marjoe, won the 1972 Academy Award for Best Documentary.
He capitalized on the success of the documentary. Oui magazine hired him to cover Millennium '73, a November 1973 festival headlined by the "boy guru" Guru Maharaj Ji. He cut an LP with Chelsea Records titled Bad, but Not Evil, named after his description of himself in the documentary.
Gortner began his acting career with a featured role in The Marcus-Nelson Murders, the 1973 pilot for the Kojak television series. In 1974, he made several appearances in film and television. In the disaster film Earthquake, he was Sgt. Jody Joad, a psychotic grocery manager-turned-National Guardsman, the main antagonist.
He portrayed the psychopathic, hostage-taking drug dealer in Milton Katselas's 1979 screen adaptation of Mark Medoff's play When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? He starred in a number of B-movies including Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (1976), The Food of the Gods (1976), and Starcrash (1978).
In the early 1980s, Gortner hosted the short-lived reality TV series, Speak Up, America. He also appeared frequently in the 1980s Circus of the Stars specials. He also played a terrorist preacher in a second-season episode of Airwolf, and appeared on Falcon Crest as corrupt psychic-cum-medium "Vince Karlotti" (1986–87). His last role was as a preacher in the western Wild Bill (1995).
In 1984, Gortner directed a major photo-fumetti, "Biblical Vision", for the American pornography magazine Hustler.
Music career 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.Music Metason - ArtistInfo, Marjoe Gortner, Bad but Not Evil 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.Billboard, November 18, 1972 - Page 24 Billboard Album Reviews
In 2007, the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival commissioned actor and writer Brian Osborne to write a one-man play about Gortner. The play, The Word, premiered at the Festival with Suli Holum as director and main collaborator. In 2010, the play was recreated as The Word: A House Party for Jesus, with director Whit MacLaughlin. The play opened October 14, 2010 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and has been performed in New York (the Soho Playhouse), Los Angeles, Philadelphia (the 2011 NET Festival), and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater).
In 2008, the Melbourne Underground Film Festival in Melbourne, Australia held the first retrospective of Marjoe Gortner's roles as part of its ninth festival.
Personal life and death Gortner's first marriage was to Carol Raney on May 27, 1960, in Reno, Nevada.
Gortner married Virginia Humphreys on April 1, 1968, in Las Vegas.
In 1971, Gortner married Agnes Benjamin, who had appeared in his documentary.
From 1978 to December 14, 1979, Gortner was married to actress Candy Clark.
He married Susan Magestro in 2019 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Gortner died from congestive heart failure in Santa Fe, on October 2, 2026, at the age of 82.
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 1973–79 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 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
See also Al Sharpton – another well-known child preacher Child preacher
Notes
References
External links
The child preacher who exposed a con (BBC World Service Outlook, March 17, 2022) Resurrecting 'Marjoe' article by Sarah Kernochan. Interview with Marjoe