Marjoe Gortner, whose entertainment career began as a child evangelist and went on to star in high-profile projects like Earthquake and Falcon Crest, has died.
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Gortner, who was profiled in the Oscar-winning 1972 documentary Marjoe before his acting career, passed away on Oct. 2 in in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The 82-year-old's passing was announced by his family, who cited "heart complications" as the cause of death.
The Long Beach, California, native was pushed into preaching at the age of 4 by his parents. They arranged for the 4-year-old to marry a couple for a Paramount newsreel, per Variety, launching him into early fame. Gortner claimed to have helped earn his family as much as 3 million by the time he was a teen through leading sermons across the country. However, he said his father left them suddenly, taking the cash with him.
This led to Marjoe, in which the now-disillusioned young preacher allowed a film crew to document his final revival before reinventing himself as an actor. After the film won Best Documentary at the Academy Awards, Gortner spun this into roles in Hollywood films, like the 1974 disaster flick Earthquake. He went on to appear in films like Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (1976), The Food of the Gods (1976), and When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? (1979).
Concurrently, Gorkin popped up as a guest star on popular TV shows, often playing on his image as a former preacher. He appeared on Kojak, Police Story, Barnaby Jones, and Medical Center during this era, per IMDb.
Marjoe Gortner Lands His Signature Role
However, the 1980s proved to be the actor's most prolific on the small screen.
He appeared in classic 1980s fare like Fantasy Island, The A-Team, T. J. Hooker, and Airwolf. That said, his signature role came in the guise of psychic fraudster Vince Karlotti on the primetime soap Falcon Crest. Gorkin appeared as the beloved antagonist across 17 episodes of Falcon Crest between 1986 and 1987.
His final film role was in 1999's The Debtors.
"We met in 1973 while we were making Earthquake," his Earthquake co-star Victoria Principal wrote on
Facebook. "He was complicated, generous & kind. It's because of Marjoe that I discovered the freedom of moving out of Hollywood to Malibu. I hope he is at peace now."Gortner went on to marry five times, with his fifth wife, Susan Magestro, surviving him.
