Tammy Faye
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Tammy Faye Bakker Messner (born Tamara Faye LaValley on March 7, 1942 in International Falls, Minnesota), is the former wife of televangelist and later convicted felon Jim Bakker. They were married from 1961 to 1992. They have two children, Tammy Sue Bakker Chapman (b. March 2, 1970) and Jay Bakker (b. December 18, 1975).
She is best known for both her tendency to wear a great deal of mascara in public and on the televangelist show The PTL Club (aka The Jim And Tammy Show), as well as the infidelity and scandal of her former husband. She has since remarried Roe Messner (since 1993) and goes by the name Tammy Faye Messner. She is the subject of a 1999 documentary film entitled The Eyes of Tammy Faye (Lions Gate Films, Toronto).
In 1996, she co-hosted another TV chat-show entitled The Jim J. and Tammy Faye Show, with Jim J. Bullock, an HIV-positive and openly gay man. The show lasted only several months. She also appeared on The Drew Carey Show, playing the mother of Mimi Bobek, also known for wearing excessive amounts of mascara.
On March 19, 2004, Messner, a survivor of colon cancer, announced on the Larry King Live show that she had inoperable lung cancer, and would soon begin chemotherapy. On November 30, 2004, also on Larry King Live, she announced that she was cancer free. She also described details of her chemotherapy (the torment, the drug names...).
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PTL Scandal
Her husband Jim Bakker was charged with fraud, and his image tainted with infidelity. Due to Bakker's operational flaws, PTL went bankrupt after being taken over by Jerry Falwell.
The Surreal Life
In early 2004, Messner appeared on the second season of the Warner Bros. reality series, The Surreal Life. The show chronicled a twelve-day period when Messner, porn star Ron Jeremy, rapper Vanilla Ice, Baywatch actress Traci Bingham, CHiPs actor Erik Estrada, and Trishelle from The Real World: Las Vegas all lived together in a Los Angeles house and were assigned various bizarre tasks and activities.
Together, the six put on a children's play, visited a nudist resort, managed a restaurant for a day, and got readings from a psychic. During the filming, Messner forged close bonds with all of the other six house mates, many of whom came to look up to her as a mother-figure and a spiritual inspiration.
During the shows taping, Messner attended a book signing for her recent best-seller, I Will Survive... And You Will Too, it became apparent that Messner's fan base exceeds expectations. Messner's book signing brought people of all ages, from all walks of life, including punks, homosexuals, transvestites and religious followers. At the signing, Messner spoke candidly about her relationship with Bakker and how she had to learn to let go. She made an impassioned plea for all people to grant themselves permission to cast off the things that are holding them back, to forgive themselves and others, to be happy with themselves whoever they are, to persevere in the face of opposition, and to show each other unconditional love. Her speech moved her four roommates that were present (Ron Jeremy stayed home) to tears; Bingham later confessed to Messner that it had been a life-altering moment for her.
In addition to surprising some of her room mates with her willingness to accept all people and lifestyles, her close friendship with Ron Jeremy and willingness to laugh at his (and the others') dirty jokes, supported her claims that she was "not a prude" and even "a bit cool". Her revelation of hopelessness and despair that she experienced after her divorce from Bakker, and the subsequent media backlash against her also stunned her castmates. It gave her common ground with Vanilla Ice, who had similarly fought depression and a media backlash, and whom she came to think of like a son by the end of the show. Her unerring faith in God and constant efforts to spread love and friendship with all in the house earned deep respect from her room mates.
Though the show presented a side of Tammy Faye, and of evangelism, that many Americans had probably never seen before, of open-minded, compassionate, and non-judgmental friend to all she met, there were also moments during the show where Messner was clearly uncomfortable. Messner refused to visit the nudist colony, instead requesting to stay in a hotel the moment she saw a naked man and realized that she was at a nudist colony. She also did not take part in the psychic séance, and was noticeably offended when Jeremy's backyard pool party became clothing-optional, after which point she stayed in her room.
At the end of the show, Messner said she thought of Vanilla Ice and Trishelle like children and could relate to them deeply because she had had similar feelings and problems when she had been their age. She stated that Ron Jeremy was one of the nicest and most gentlemanly people she had ever met in her life. She also revealed that although she had been incredibly reluctant to take part in The Surreal Life, and only did so at the pushing of her husband, it ended up being one of the most rewarding experiences in her life.
Tammy Faye's involvement with the IRS
The Charlotte Observer newspaper reported that the Internal Revenue Service still holds Bakker and Roe Messner, Tammy Faye's husband since 1993, liable for personal income taxes owed from the 1980s when they were building the Praise The Lord empire, taxes assessed after the IRS revoked the PTL ministry's nonprofit status. Tammy Faye Messner's new husband said Bakker and his former wife didn't want to talk about the tax issues: "We don't want to stir the pot." He also said that the original tax amount was about $500,000, with penalties and interest accounting for the rest. The notices reinstating the liens list James O. and Tamara F. Bakker as owing $3 million, on which liens the Bakkers still pay.
Tammy Faye in popular culture
Tammy Faye and previous husband Jim Bakker are referred in Frank Zappa's song Jesus Thinks You're a Jerk, in which he lampooned and castigated evangelical television ministries. Science-fiction writer Margaret Atwood loosely based her character Serena Joy in the novel The Handmaid's Tale on Tammy Faye.
Tammy Faye's Official Web Site
http://www.tammyfaye.com