The second coming of televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker — she of the outlandish fluttery eyelashes — will soon be upon us, thanks to Elton John.
Tammy shone in a telereligious world dominated by men.
The rock superstar told me yesterday how he and the Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears spent the past eight years studying the life and times of Tammy Faye and first husband, preacher Jim Bakker.
(He had a spectacular fall from grace after becoming embroiled in some old-time chicanery...a scandal that included fleecing his flock and cheating on Tammy with Jessica Hahn, a young church secretary, whom he paid more than a quarter of a million dollars in hush money.)
Tammy Faye Bakker in 1987. Tammy shone in a telereligious world dominated by men
Elton and Jake have been joined by playwright James Graham, who delivered the book for the show, tentatively titled Tammy Faye — A New Musical, six weeks ago. In writing it, Elton said he and his collaborators have taken influence from gospel, country and rock ’n’ roll.
The key for Elton was that while most Christian preachers lashed out at gays, Tammy had a ‘willingness to preach acceptance, amid a world that was so quick to pass judgment...we were struck by her huge generosity of spirit’.
He added he felt she had been treated unkindly. ‘We realised that theirs was a real life, rags-to-riches story, played out against the backdrop of evangelism in 80’s America,’ Elton told me of the woman who became Tammy Faye Bakker Messner after remarrying.
Tammy Faye Messner poses for a photo with her former husband Jim Bakker. Messner died after a long battle with cancer on Friday, July 20, 2007
The rock superstar told me yesterday how he and the Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears spent the past eight years studying the life and times of Tammy Faye, pictured in 1996
He said he’d always been fascinated by ‘the point where TV evangelism and entertainment meet’.
‘The charisma, the persuasion, the unabashed entertainment; the ability of television in America to successfully deliver religion right
