Jul 21, 2007 7:31 pm US/Mountain
Tammy Faye Messner Dead At 65
Slideshow: The Colorful Life Of Tammy Faye Messner
(CBS) NEW YORK Tammy Faye Messner, the Christian singer, evangelist, entrepreneur, talk show host and scandal survivor has died of colon cancer. She was 65 years old.
A representative for Tammy Faye said she died Friday morning, according to announcement on CNN's Larry King show on Saturday night.
Messner, who had battled colon cancer since 1996 that more recently spread to her lungs, died at her home, said her booking agent, Joe Spotts. A family service was held Saturday in a private cemetery, where her ashes were interred, he said.
Messner appeared on CNN's Larry King Live on July 19, and told the talk show host that she weighed 65 pounds and could only eat chicken soup and rice pudding.
Tammy Faye first battled cancer in 1996, when she was diagnosed with colon cancer. She successfully treated the disease but on March 19, 2004, just two weeks after her 62nd birthday, she announced she had lung cancer.
Illness was one of many battles Tammy Faye took on her during her life. She is best known as the ex-wife of Jim Bakker, the disgraced televengalist, convicted felon and admitted adulterer.
Tammy Faye and Jim married in 1961 with the goal of starting a traveling ministry. In 1973, the Bakkers established the short-lived Trinity Broadcasting Systems. The following year, Jim and Tammy Faye became the hosts of an existing North Carolina-based talk show, which they renamed the PTL (Praise the Lord) Club. Fueled by the success of the PTL Club, the Bakkers quickly established an entire Christian television network.
Fame, money and two children followed.
The Bakkers' empire began to unravel in 1980, when the national spotlight fell on Jim's adulterous affair with a church secretary, Jessica Hahn.
Adding fuel to the fire, investigations into Bakker's finances culminated in Jim’s conviction of fraud and conspiracy in 1989. During the tumultuous six-week trial, the federal government succeeded in proving that Jim solicited a total of $158 million from followers of the PTL, with about 4 million used for personal means). He was given a 45-year prison sentence, which was later reduced to six years.
In 1992, after a 31-year relationship, Tammy Faye and Jim divorced. The following year, Tammy Faye wed Roe Messner, a family friend and business associate of the Bakkers. Shortly after their marriage, Messner was imprisoned for fraud, but has since been released.
Tammy Faye was the subject of a fairly well-received documentary, "The Eyes of Tammy Faye" (2000) and then in 2004, appeared in the VH-1 reality series "The Surreal Life."
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