Jim Bakker
Jim Bakker (January 2, 1940 - October 5, 2026) was an American televangelist who was married to Tammy Faye Bakker (1942-2007) from 1961-1992. He hosted the religious TV program The PTL Club.
In 1987, Bakker was arrested for sexual misconduct with his former secretary Jessica Hahn, who he paid hush money, and for massive tax and mail fraud. He was forced to step down from his positions, while Jerry Falwell succeeeded him as host of The PTL Club. Bakker was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison in 1988, but in 1992 his jail time was reduced to just 8 years. That same year, he and his wife Tammy divorced. In 1994, Bakker was paroled, after serving almost five years of his sentence. Since then he returned to his former profession. He remained controversial for mispredicting the upcoming Apocalypse several times, spreading misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic and claiming several natural disasters and the 9/11 terrorist attacks (2001) were wrath of God.
In 2026, Bakker passed away.
Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa frequently satirized the Bakkers in his songs, including Jim & Tammy's Upper Room, Jesus Thinks You're A Jerk and in some live versions of Louie Louie, he sang: "Jim and Tammy: you gotta go!" On 29 January 1988, Zappa and Steve Allen organized a F.A. legal task force concert fundraiser, under the title: Let's Put Jim and Tammy In Their Place.
Frank Zappa about Jim Bakker
Rob Samler: "What did you think about the sentence that Jimbo [Bakker] got?"
Frank Zappa: "Too light."
Rob Samler: "Too light, huh?"
Frank Zappa: "Yeah."
Rob Samler: "Well, one day they'll all get caught."
Frank Zappa: "Well, if we're lucky."
Den Simms: "If we're lucky, yeah."
Rob Samler: "Don't ya think Tammy shoulda gotten some time too?"
Frank Zappa: "Well, no, not really, because I don't see that she broke any law, I mean, I can't say that I have any affection for Tammy Faye, but she wasn't the financial brains of the institution. Basically, he was being sent to jail for doing a criminal act, not because he was, y'know ... ."
Den Simms: "For stealin' people's money."
Frank Zappa: "Yeah, I mean, I don't see any proof that Tammy Faye stole anybody's money. If she had, then she oughta go, but ..."
Rob Samler: "Yeah, well, she sorta lived the lifestyle off of it, though."
Frank Zappa: "Yeah, but I don't know whether that's against the law, see? I think that it would have been pushing the case to bring her in as an accomplice. I think they made a stronger case by aiming it at him, because he was actually the boss of the operation. I think that ..."
- Quoted from They're Doing the Interview of the Century, Part 1, April 1990.
