I love this movie which I saw for the first time in 2006.  I was 12 in 72, didn’t go outta my way to see documentaries

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-178629120699935619#

I loved it so much that I wanted to meet Marjoe.  So I did.

That documentary played at the SF Atheist Film Festival last year. One of his nephews comes to all of the festivals, I think he belongs to one of our local atheist groups. He has talked about how screwed up his grandparents were. I’m glad Marjoe found some joy and peace in his life, it was a powerful damnation of the whole movement.

does the nephew even know Marjoe?  I know that he has nothing to do with his family.  When his father died, he only sent flowers. He wouldn’t come to the funeral

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I have the docu but haven’t watched it yet (but can’t wait:)

Marjoe Gortner was great as the psycho military guy terrorizing afro-wearing Victoria Principal (yep, you heard right:) in the 1974 disaster flick “Earthquake” !

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Wow. Never saw that before. It’s great that such an honest exposure of religion exists. God delivered a dog - Halleluja! 

Edit to add: I have to say that I developed a terrible (upbeat, and hand-clapping) “earworm” after watching this. I’m going to take a shower.

Axegrrl - 28 November 2011 01:48 AM

`
I have the docu but haven’t watched it yet (but can’t wait:)

Marjoe Gortner was great as the psycho military guy terrorizing afro-wearing Victoria Principal (yep, you heard right:) in the 1974 disaster flick “Earthquake” !

`

she claims that was her hair that she had permed and it ruined it.  When they taped some additional scenes for the extended TV broadcast she wore a wig.  I’ve never seen the added scenes but I’ve been hunting for them.

I’m not sure if the nephew knows him. His father was estranged from the parents. It sounds like it was a good move. I did get the idea from talking to the nephew that he did know his uncle, at least slightly. He’d only met his aweful grandparents a few times, and was not terribly impresses with their christian goodness!

the grandparents would have been long divorced ages before nephew came along.  Not sure if Marjoe’s mother is alive or dead, she would be very old if she is still alive

I jumped through the video a bit, this is the first time I’ve heard of Marjoe, so I got curious.  I saw lots of the “Praise Jesus!” and “Hallelujah Jesus” preaching and hollering, and some candid moments where he was just chit-chatting, and then the end where he doubts it all.  An exciting show with all that energy, but so strange in my eyes.  At least he had a change of heart as an adult, children eventually grow up to question and doubt their past, thank the Lord.

“Leap of Faith” with Steve Martin, Liam Neeson, and Meatloaf might have been modeled after that “Marjoe” movie.  “Leap of Faith” was focused on a man “Jonus” who toured small towns across the USA, set up a big circus tent, and performed “religious revivals”.  But the Steve Martin movie was done with a vein of doubt through-out the movie.  Though “Leap of Faith” was all fiction, and “Marjoe” was a real documentary, I’d still recommend “Leap of Faith” to skeptics because it was very realistic, but done with that good vein of doubt, and a lot of heart too, and over-all excellent quality film, rather than low budget one. 

Marjoe has an acting career.  He appears in that A-team video [21:40] as a bad guy.

Leap of Faith is actually more based on Peter Popoff.

The Last Exorcism is formatted directly from the Marjoe documentary.

Peter Popoff?  His video on his web site says that if we have is spring water, our debts will be canceled, and will have more money!  You know the street hustlers, and the email scams use greed to get you into trouble too.  Beware my friends.  The also use false love (We met last night, and I just had to write you. Send money so we can get together, soon), false children in trouble (My baby!  My baby! Save my baby!  Send money to this address.), and threats to get you in trouble (You weren’t watching, but I saw what you did last night.  Send the money).

If anyone can pick up a Bible and give people the business, then why isn’t the Bible a tool of crime, why isn’t possessing it a crime?

Popoff now casts his spells in the UK

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ-7beRITYM