Robert Gore-Langton

The rise and fall of Tammy Faye

The remarkable life of the twinkly televangelist, and its descent into chaos, is the subject of a new musical by Elton John

Tammy’s face bronzer apparently left an indelible imprint on your shirt like the Turin Shroud when she hugged you. Credit: John Storey/Getty Images 
issue 22 October 2022

Tammy Faye Bakker was a chirpy, perky televangelist noted for her lavish mascara and her barrel-stave eyelashes. She once conducted an interview on her PTL (Praise the Lord) chat show for which she remains revered among gays.

It was in 1985 and she was talking to Steve Pieters, a soft-spoken church pastor with a soup-strainer moustache. He had Aids, a disease that killed Rock Hudson that year and was scything through Reagan’s America. Tammy wanted to know all about Steve’s faith, his health and his orientation. ‘Have you given women a fair try?’, she asked rather naively. The pastor told his story and the interview deepened into an extraordinary confessional. He was facing death bravely but he simply couldn’t bear the thought that no one would ever touch him again and that he would die un-hugged and alone.

As Tammy watched him on telly link-up – the poor man was too ill to travel to the studio – she comforted him as best she could.

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