Tammy Faye Bakker Messner

In her one-hour interview, Tammy Faye Bakker Messner (1942-2007) talks about her childhood desire to become an evangelist. She describes meeting her future husband Jim Bakker at Bible college and their subsequent collaboration as traveling evangelists. She details getting discovered by Pat Robertson, and how they were launched on the fledgling Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). Bakker Messner speaks about their children's show, The Jim and Tammy Show, as well as Jim's tenure as host of The 700 Club. She then discusses their creation of Trinity Broadcasting and their eventual split with their co-founders, which led to the formation of the PTL Club. Although she does not discuss the subsequent "PTL scandal," she speaks of the devastation it left on her life. She also speaks about The Jim J. and Tammy Faye Show and her appearance on The Surreal Life. Karen Herman conducted the interview on January 19, 2005 in Palm Springs, CA.