Marjoe Gortner Dies: ‘Earthquake’, ‘Falcon Crest’ Actor, Documentary Subject And Former Child Evangelist Was 82 — SkimNews
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- Marjoe Gortner died October 2 from heart complications in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at age 82, with his death announced by his family.
- Gortner was the subject and willing participant in the 1972 documentary Marjoe, directed by Howard Smith and Sarah Kernochan, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and exposed deceptive revival practices.
- Gortner was forced by his parents to preach beginning at age 4, delivering fabricated visions and miracles; he later estimated he earned his family more than $3 million by age 16 before renouncing the grifting life and inviting filmmakers to document his 1971 final revival tour.
- Gortner built a prolific acting career spanning 15 feature films and more than 20 TV series, including a prominent role as the villain in the 1974 disaster film Earthquake and 17 episodes as corrupt psychic Vince Karlotti on Falcon Crest during the 1986–87 season.
- Gortner was married five times — including a brief 1978–79 union with American Graffiti actor Candy Clark — and is survived by wife Susan Magestro.
- Victoria Principal, Gortner's Earthquake co-star, posted a Facebook tribute calling him "complicated, generous & kind" and crediting him with inspiring her move from Hollywood to Malibu.
Why it matters: Gortner's life arc — from a 4-year-old preacher exploited by his parents to a documentary whistleblower who helped win an Oscar at 27, to a working character actor for two more decades — captures a rare public reversal of a televangelist scam, and his death closes a chapter on a 1970s Hollywood figure whose *Earthquake* villain turn introduced audiences to Sensurround, cinema's first seat-shaking sound system.
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