Televangelist Rex Humbard Dies at 88 - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Zoneboy · 09-22-2007, 12:28 AM

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ATLANTIS, Fla. (AP) — The Rev. Rex Humbard, a former itinerant preacher whose televangelism ministry once reached more parts of the globe than any other religious program, died Friday, a family spokeswoman said. He was 88.

Humbard died of natural causes at a South Florida hospital near his Lantana home, family spokeswoman Kathy Scott said.

"He was the ultimate role model in showing love and caring about other people over and above himself," grandson Rex Humbard III said.

The son of evangelists, Humbard evolved his ministry from revivals across the country to a permanent home in Akron, Ohio, and television. He realized the potential of the new medium in the early 1950s and became known to millions by the 1970s. But financial overreaching eventually eroded his organization.

As with his contemporaries Billy Graham and Oral Roberts, Humbard's ministry began to flourish in the post-World War II era.

"The vast majority of people do not go to church and the only way we can reach them is through TV," he said in his autobiographical book, "Miracles in My Life."

"We must go into their homes — into their hearts — to bring them the gospel of Jesus Christ."

His Sunday services were televised by 1953. He began with a renovated theater and eventually built the $4 million domed, 5,000-seat nondenominational Cathedral of Tomorrow, which included velvet drapes, a hydraulic stage and a cross covered with thousands of red, white and blue light bulbs.

His ministry eventually expanded to include a Mackinaw, Mich., campus used for religious education and a 23-story Akron office tower.

The broadcast, also called "Cathedral of Tomorrow," developed into a mixture of preaching and music, with Humbard's wife, Maude Aimee, an accomplished gospel singer, and the Cathedral Quartet as regular performers. The Humbards' children also performed.

One of Humbard's admirers was Elvis Presley, who often sang gospel music himself. Humbard spoke at his funeral in 1977.

By 1970, Humbard's syndicated program appeared on more TV stations in America than any other program and eventually reached more than 600 stations, according to the 1999 reference work "Religious Leaders of America."

By 1979, the show was broadcast in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Far East, Australia and Latin America, giving it a worldwide reach greater than any of his competitors, the reference said.

However, mounting financial problems forced Humbard to leave one dream unfulfilled. Construction was never completed on a 750-foot broadcast tower in Cuyahoga Falls, between Akron and Cleveland.

His ministry suffered from internal disputes and extensive borrowing. In the 1970s, federal and state regulators complained that millions of dollars in notes that he had issued to followers over the years violated securities laws.

Humbard eventually left in 1982 and the congregation dwindled, sometimes with as few as 75 people showing up.

But his career was never touched by the sort of scandals that engulfed the Rev. James Bakker and the Rev. Jimmy Swaggart in the 1980s. For a time, Humbard was one of the ministers who served on the board of Bakker's PTL organization as it tried to regroup after Bakker resigned in early 1987 amid a sex scandal.

Humbard became pastor emeritus of the church in 1983 and moved his family ministry to Boca Raton. He gave up his weekend on-air preaching in the 1990s.

He sold the Cathedral of Tomorrow to fellow televangelist the Rev. Ernest Angley in 1994.

Humbard was born Alpha Rex Emmanuel Humbard on Aug. 13, 1919, in Little Rock, Ark., to Pentecostal evangelists. He and his wife married in 1942.

He grew up traveling with his parents to church revivals across the country and said he came to know God as a youngster while resisting an order from his father to learn to play the guitar in church.

"Then, one night, listening to a visiting evangelist preach, I knew God was speaking to me," Humbard said in his autobiography.

"I walked down the aisle and knelt at the altar and opened my heart to Jesus Christ. Light flooded my soul and I became a new person — I really wanted to live for the Lord."

Humbard organized the family's revivals, doing advance work, handling business details, acting as master of ceremonies and eventually preaching.

"As Dad once said, `The more I preach, the more I want to preach,'" he said.

It was only after a decade of itinerant preaching, sometimes in huge revival tents, that Humbard decided in 1952 to settle in Akron. He and his wife had been impressed with the enthusiastic response they got in the city.

That year Humbard also saw one of the first television programs broadcast live in northeast Ohio — a Cleveland Indians-New York Yankees baseball game — through the window of a downtown department store. It inspired him to pursue his ministry through television.

Although he lacked formal seminary training, Humbard was ordained in Greenville, S.C., where the family had run a revival, and received credentials from an organization of independent Pentecostal ministers.

Humbard is survived by his wife and their four children, Rex Jr., Don, Charles and Elizabeth.

Funeral services will be held in Akron, where he will be buried near his parents and sister.

Mr. Television · 09-22-2007, 12:42 AM

Very sad. I remember my Grandmother watching him all the time. R.I.P. Rex.

catlover79 · 09-22-2007, 12:47 AM

I know this is going to sound terrible - but I don't remember this man at all!! I've heard of Ernest Angley (our local CW affiliate airs his show) but not this man. Pretty sad coming from a Northeast Ohio native, huh?? Well, God bless him and his family.

Scoobiedoo30 · 09-22-2007, 01:00 AM

R.I.P.

Nighthawk76 · 09-22-2007, 02:10 PM

ThomasE · 09-23-2007, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

I know this is going to sound terrible - but I don't remember this man at all!! I've heard of Ernest Angley (our local CW affiliate airs his show) but not this man. Pretty sad coming from a Northeast Ohio native, huh?? Well, God bless him and his family.

It does not sound terrible. I am glad that he led a long life.

catlover79 · 09-23-2007, 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThomasE

It does not sound terrible. I am glad that he led a long life.

Well, at least my folks remembered him - but then again, he was quite a bit before my time.

ThomasE · 09-23-2007, 11:20 PM

I don't remember him either. I wish the best for his family. I am stilll a little shocked that Tammy Faye Messner passed away two months ago. I wanted to meet her.

Dr. Jazz · 09-23-2007, 11:47 PM

As a kid, I remember watching Rev. Humbard's show on TV every Sunday morning while getting ready for church. I remember his wife Maude Aimee always singing "Go Tell it on the Mountain". Rev. Humbard wrote many books over the years and several years ago I bought one of his books called "Where Are the Dead?" which is one of the most inciteful books I've ever read. RIP Rev. Humbard

catlover79 · 09-24-2007, 05:58 AM

^ Dr. Jazz - so great to hear from you again!!! We need to get your feedback on a debate in another thread!

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/...d.php?t=209569

Your thoughts would be the most insightful of all.

coffield3 · 09-24-2007, 07:49 AM

Sleep with the angels!

tv star collector · 09-24-2007, 02:28 PM

I remember watching Rex Humbard's television program every week back in
the 1970s and early 1980s. My mother had a lot of health problems and I
know his programs meant a lot to her (and to me). It was my father who
first encouraged us to tune in to Rex's program. That would not be so
remarkable if not for the fact that my dad was not a religious person. But
something about his message, or the music (or both) made him believe that
the program would be a blessing to us. And it was.

MrCleveland · 08-04-2008, 10:40 PM

I know that It's almost a year since his death, but I can't believe he knew Elvis!

Zoneboy · 08-04-2008, 10:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrCleveland

I know that It's almost a year since his death, but I can't believe he knew Elvis!

Why not?

tv star collector · 08-05-2008, 04:51 PM

Rex talked about his relationship with Elvis on one of his programs (I wish I
still had the audio tape but it wore out). Rex was Elvis' favorite television
evangelist. They met a short time before Elvis's death, and the singer discussed The Bible with Rex and his wife, Maude Aimee. Elvis's favorite
music was gospel. When he and his closest friends, "the Memphis Mafia" as
they were called, ever got together to sing and play music (between shows),
it was always gospel music; never his hits or rock 'n' roll tunes. I think,
in his own way, Elvis was a devout person. If you watch the DVD He
Touched Me, you'll see what I mean. He prayed for his friends when they
had a serious problem. He would read books about other religions, too; but
it was The Bible that he turned to for comfort and advice. He helped his
friends; I only wish that he could have helped himself before it was too late.

09-22-2007, 12:28 AM	#1
Zoneboy RIP, I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU :( Moderator Forum Superstar Join Date: Jul 13, 2003 Location: AT HOME WISHING ALL THIS WAS JUST A DREAM AND THAT I'LL WAKE UP FROM THIS NIGHTMARE. Posts: 34,439	Televangelist Rex Humbard Dies at 88 Link ATLANTIS, Fla. (AP) — The Rev. Rex Humbard, a former itinerant preacher whose televangelism ministry once reached more parts of the globe than any other religious program, died Friday, a family spokeswoman said. He was 88. Humbard died of natural causes at a South Florida hospital near his Lantana home, family spokeswoman Kathy Scott said. "He was the ultimate role model in showing love and caring about other people over and above himself," grandson Rex Humbard III said. The son of evangelists, Humbard evolved his ministry from revivals across the country to a permanent home in Akron, Ohio, and television. He realized the potential of the new medium in the early 1950s and became known to millions by the 1970s. But financial overreaching eventually eroded his organization. As with his contemporaries Billy Graham and Oral Roberts, Humbard's ministry began to flourish in the post-World War II era. "The vast majority of people do not go to church and the only way we can reach them is through TV," he said in his autobiographical book, "Miracles in My Life." "We must go into their homes — into their hearts — to bring them the gospel of Jesus Christ." His Sunday services were televised by 1953. He began with a renovated theater and eventually built the $4 million domed, 5,000-seat nondenominational Cathedral of Tomorrow, which included velvet drapes, a hydraulic stage and a cross covered with thousands of red, white and blue light bulbs. His ministry eventually expanded to include a Mackinaw, Mich., campus used for religious education and a 23-story Akron office tower. The broadcast, also called "Cathedral of Tomorrow," developed into a mixture of preaching and music, with Humbard's wife, Maude Aimee, an accomplished gospel singer, and the Cathedral Quartet as regular performers. The Humbards' children also performed. One of Humbard's admirers was Elvis Presley, who often sang gospel music himself. Humbard spoke at his funeral in 1977. By 1970, Humbard's syndicated program appeared on more TV stations in America than any other program and eventually reached more than 600 stations, according to the 1999 reference work "Religious Leaders of America." By 1979, the show was broadcast in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Far East, Australia and Latin America, giving it a worldwide reach greater than any of his competitors, the reference said. However, mounting financial problems forced Humbard to leave one dream unfulfilled. Construction was never completed on a 750-foot broadcast tower in Cuyahoga Falls, between Akron and Cleveland. His ministry suffered from internal disputes and extensive borrowing. In the 1970s, federal and state regulators complained that millions of dollars in notes that he had issued to followers over the years violated securities laws. Humbard eventually left in 1982 and the congregation dwindled, sometimes with as few as 75 people showing up. But his career was never touched by the sort of scandals that engulfed the Rev. James Bakker and the Rev. Jimmy Swaggart in the 1980s. For a time, Humbard was one of the ministers who served on the board of Bakker's PTL organization as it tried to regroup after Bakker resigned in early 1987 amid a sex scandal. Humbard became pastor emeritus of the church in 1983 and moved his family ministry to Boca Raton. He gave up his weekend on-air preaching in the 1990s. He sold the Cathedral of Tomorrow to fellow televangelist the Rev. Ernest Angley in 1994. Humbard was born Alpha Rex Emmanuel Humbard on Aug. 13, 1919, in Little Rock, Ark., to Pentecostal evangelists. He and his wife married in 1942. He grew up traveling with his parents to church revivals across the country and said he came to know God as a youngster while resisting an order from his father to learn to play the guitar in church. "Then, one night, listening to a visiting evangelist preach, I knew God was speaking to me," Humbard said in his autobiography. "I walked down the aisle and knelt at the altar and opened my heart to Jesus Christ. Light flooded my soul and I became a new person — I really wanted to live for the Lord." Humbard organized the family's revivals, doing advance work, handling business details, acting as master of ceremonies and eventually preaching. "As Dad once said, `The more I preach, the more I want to preach,'" he said. It was only after a decade of itinerant preaching, sometimes in huge revival tents, that Humbard decided in 1952 to settle in Akron. He and his wife had been impressed with the enthusiastic response they got in the city. That year Humbard also saw one of the first television programs broadcast live in northeast Ohio — a Cleveland Indians-New York Yankees baseball game — through the window of a downtown department store. It inspired him to pursue his ministry through television. Although he lacked formal seminary training, Humbard was ordained in Greenville, S.C., where the family had run a revival, and received credentials from an organization of independent Pentecostal ministers. Humbard is survived by his wife and their four children, Rex Jr., Don, Charles and Elizabeth. Funeral services will be held in Akron, where he will be buried near his parents and sister.
	__________________ 'Twas The Night Before Christmas And All Through The Full House Not A Creature Was Stirring, Not Even Mighty Mouse. All My Children We're Nestled All Snug In Their Beds While Visions Of Sugarbakers Danced In Their Heads.

09-22-2007, 12:42 AM	#2
Mr. Television 23 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,132	Very sad. I remember my Grandmother watching him all the time. R.I.P. Rex.
	__________________ Sonny

09-22-2007, 12:47 AM	#3
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,392	I know this is going to sound terrible - but I don't remember this man at all!! I've heard of Ernest Angley (our local CW affiliate airs his show) but not this man. Pretty sad coming from a Northeast Ohio native, huh?? Well, God bless him and his family.
	__________________ "Jesus loves you and He approves this message." "I'm alive. I'm feeling good. I'm trying to live every moment as much as I can." - Valerie Harper, March 2013

09-22-2007, 01:00 AM	#4
Scoobiedoo30 Member Forum Superstar Join Date: Jun 27, 2002 Location: KENNER, LOUISIANA Posts: 27,654	R.I.P.
	__________________ Who Dat

09-24-2007, 07:49 AM	#11
coffield3 <3 Forum Veteran Join Date: Jul 23, 2006 Location: England Posts: 7,379	Sleep with the angels!
	__________________ Roseanne Fan!! ღღღ

09-22-2007, 02:10 PM	#5
Nighthawk76 Rachel Berry Forum Celebrity Join Date: Feb 28, 2003 Location: Illinois Posts: 23,254

09-23-2007, 11:20 PM	#8
ThomasE Member Moderator Forum Fanatic Join Date: Apr 04, 2000 Location: New York, New York, U.S.A. Posts: 10,857	I don't remember him either. I wish the best for his family. I am stilll a little shocked that Tammy Faye Messner passed away two months ago. I wanted to meet her.

09-23-2007, 11:47 PM	#9
Dr. Jazz The Evil Empire. . . . Forum Star Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Posts: 11,099	As a kid, I remember watching Rev. Humbard's show on TV every Sunday morning while getting ready for church. I remember his wife Maude Aimee always singing "Go Tell it on the Mountain". Rev. Humbard wrote many books over the years and several years ago I bought one of his books called "Where Are the Dead?" which is one of the most inciteful books I've ever read. RIP Rev. Humbard

09-24-2007, 05:58 AM	#10
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,392	^ Dr. Jazz - so great to hear from you again!!! We need to get your feedback on a debate in another thread! http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/...d.php?t=209569 Your thoughts would be the most insightful of all.

09-24-2007, 02:28 PM	#12
tv star collector I Love Susie Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Oct 18, 2005 Location: South Carolina Posts: 4,487	I remember watching Rex Humbard's television program every week back in the 1970s and early 1980s. My mother had a lot of health problems and I know his programs meant a lot to her (and to me). It was my father who first encouraged us to tune in to Rex's program. That would not be so remarkable if not for the fact that my dad was not a religious person. But something about his message, or the music (or both) made him believe that the program would be a blessing to us. And it was.

08-04-2008, 10:40 PM	#13
MrCleveland Drew Carey from Hell Forum Star Join Date: Nov 10, 2007 Location: The City of Cleveland, in The State of Cleveland, in The United States of Cleveland Posts: 14,233	I know that It's almost a year since his death, but I can't believe he knew Elvis!
	__________________ Thank God for kids that love Obscure Things. Lee Hazlewood (1929-2007) You ARE Special to God! Rev. Ernest Angely (August 1921-May 2021)

08-05-2008, 04:51 PM	#15
tv star collector I Love Susie Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Oct 18, 2005 Location: South Carolina Posts: 4,487	Rex talked about his relationship with Elvis on one of his programs (I wish I still had the audio tape but it wore out). Rex was Elvis' favorite television evangelist. They met a short time before Elvis's death, and the singer discussed The Bible with Rex and his wife, Maude Aimee. Elvis's favorite music was gospel. When he and his closest friends, "the Memphis Mafia" as they were called, ever got together to sing and play music (between shows), it was always gospel music; never his hits or rock 'n' roll tunes. I think, in his own way, Elvis was a devout person. If you watch the DVD He Touched Me, you'll see what I mean. He prayed for his friends when they had a serious problem. He would read books about other religions, too; but it was The Bible that he turned to for comfort and advice. He helped his friends; I only wish that he could have helped himself before it was too late.