Marjoe Gortner

Born 1944-01-14 · Long Beach, California

Died 2026-10-02

Hugh Marjoe Ross Gortner, generally known as Marjoe Gortner (January 14, 1944 - October 2, 2026), was a one time revivalist-turned-actor who first gained a certain fame in the late 1940s when he became the youngest ordained preacher at the age of four. He then gained outright notoriety in the 1970s when he starred in an Oscar-winning, behind-the-scenes documentary about the lucrative business of Pentecostal preaching. He then parlayed this fame into an acting career, mostly in television series, TV movies, and B-movies. He was best known for "Pray for the Wildcats," "Earthquake," "Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw," "The Food of the Gods," "Starcrash," and "When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?" The name "Marjoe" is a portmanteau of the names "Mary" and "Joseph". Description above from the Wikipedia article Marjoe Gortner, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.