Jerry Falwell
Jerry Falwell (1933-2007) was an American preacher and televangelist, notorious for his ultraconservative viewpoints and opposition against atheists, homosexuals, feminists, pornography and supporters of abortion. Between 1968 and 2007, he has his own religious TV show, which often attracted millions of viewers. In 1979, he was one of the founders of the Moral Majority, a conservative religious organisation who sponsored Ronald Reagan's presidential campaign and who received political influence afterwards.
In 1984, Falwell sued Hustler for libel after publisher Larry Flynt had printed a satirical ad in which Falwell was described of having lost his virginity to his mother in an outhouse. The case was taken to three courts and Flynt even reprinted the article again, before in 1988 the highest court eventually ruled in Flynt's favor that it was obvious satire.
Falwell also famously criticized the children's TV show Teletubbies for advocating LGBT rights. [1]
Frank Zappa and Jerry Falwell
- Texas Medley: "We might go to hell, but we'll have lots of company, Falwell and Pat and that weasel."
- Thou Shalt Not Kill: "The 80's arrive, everybody bends over. If, you know, Falwell's pulls a string, the enema comes out, the entire industry goes "Hey, thanks a lot! We needed that!", okay?Broadcasters have bent over, the record companies bent over, the songwriters -either out of ignorance- ah, w[eren't]- they weren't informed of what's happening or they just wanted to keep their mouth shut to protect their interest. Nobody said anything."
During the concert on Feb. 14, 1988 at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby (Philadelphia), Pennsylvania a fan presented Zappa with a Fleet enema (a ready to use disposable enema), and Frank informed the audience, "See this? It's a Fleet enema. You know where they make these things? Lynchburg, Virginia, exactly the same place where (televangelist) Jerry Falwell conducts his ministry. I suspect a symbiotic relationship." - They're Doing the Interview of the Century, Part 3, 1990.
- Thou Shalt Honor Thy Father And Thy Mother: "As you know, the major industry in Lynchburg right now is not the Moral Majority. It's the Fleet Enema Corporation and you need to have some other kind of business there to boost the local G&P. That's true, that's the biggest employer in Lynchburg. Well, I think that there's a reason why the Fleet Enema company located its factory right next to Falwell's church. Or maybe it's vice versa. Maybe there's a reason why Jerry located his church right next to the Fleet Enema Corporation.Maybe there's a fundraising balance between them. Maybe they have something that those- they each have something that the other needs for their work."
Frank Zappa about Jerry Falwell
"The PMRC loudly decries the label of censorship when it is applied to their plan. Jesse Jackson reminded Jerry Falwell in a recent CNN debate that "You do not judge a tree by the bark it wears, but by the fruit it bears..."" - Frank Zappa, Z-Pack - Letter to the President, 29 August 1985.
"Heavenly Bank Account" Zappa's indictment of the Falwells and the Bakkers of the television world, was both lethal and precise. If those lyrics aren't relevant today, I'll eat the record jacket," Zappa laughs, referring to the song's figurehead who has "20 million dollars in his heavenly bank account," "thousand dollar suits" and "a private plane ... all for the use of his special friends. And if you think it's all over now with Falwell taking over the board of directors, don't bet on it," Zappa predicts. "There's a guy with some skeletons in his closet I'll bet ya." - Frank Zappa's Revenge, Ted Templeman, Music Magazine, 2 July 1987.
"I also suggested we could make the world better by going into media, which is exactly the reason why Falwell and Robertson have these colleges to train people to go into media. They're going to use the same thing to put their clones in place to keep the lid on stuff, and they're out there. There was a guy who graduated from Robertson's University who was working at Fox Television Network on the Joan Rivers Show. They're out there, they're already in place. These are like moles. You don't know that they came from that brainwash camp, but if you're talking about a Christian Lord, you're talking about doing the work of an imaginary deity that wants to keep people stupid. That's the job. So, these are people who ultimately, when they are in place, will keep "content" from managing to get into the airwaves." - Interview by Bob Marshall, 22 October 1988.
