Marjoe Gortner

Marjoe Gortner is a former evangelist preacher and actor. He first gained public attention during the late 1940s when his parents arranged for him to be ordained as a preacher at the age of four, due to his extraordinary speaking ability. He was the youngest known in that position.

He became a celebrity again during the 1970s when he starred in Marjoe (1972), a behind-the-scenes documentary about the lucrative business of Pentecostal preaching, which won the 1972 Academy Award for Best Documentary Film. That documentary now is noted as one of the most vehement criticisms of Pentecostal preaching.

He began his acting career with a featured role in The Marcus-Nelson Murders, the 1973 pilot for the Kojak TV series. He made several appearances in film and television including Earthquake (1974) , The Gun and the Pulpit, Pray for the Wildcats, When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? (1979) , Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (1976), The Food of the Gods (1976) and Starcrash (1978).