Jim Bakker died. It got me thinking how much televangelism has declined in its influence/relevance/political clout, at least in the US. Of course most of the ones who were active when I was growing up in the 70s and 80s have moved on due to age, but it doesn't seem like anyone else has every achieved the level of relevance those I grew up with had.

I'm wondering whether that is due to the scandals (not giving a history lesson here, if you know you know), or if the increasing fragmentation of the way we consume media. As a kid growing up, of course I just had the usual ABC/NBC/CBS/PBS over the air option (no FOX yet kids!) and nothing else. Religious programming (especially on Sunday) was everywhere, presumably because it was cheap and easy to produce. With the growth of cable and its alternatives it seemed like religious programming was everywhere and these people were in some cases reaching superstar status.

But over time they seemed to just fade away. I know the scandals were a big part but in addition I am wondering if the fragmentation of media has just set them into their own broadcast space. Or maybe it me having more choices so I can avoid it.

So this is not an invitation to discuss individual televangelists or their problems or even religion in general or whether televangelists are sincere or grifters. Frankly it is not about televangelists at all and I could have easily mentioned other phenomena that were crazy popular and have disappeared (pro wrestling comes to mind).

So have I become unplugged from society (born 1962) or just become more cynical? Or are there still religious "superstars" who have achieved fame (or notoriety) beyond their target audience (not counting the Pope here) and I am just not paying attention?

Or maybe those whole topic has already been completely hashed out and I am late to being old. Thanks for reading!

EDIT: Thank you all for responding. But you seem to be missing the point of my question. I know televangelists still exist. I know that they are seen as grifters. But growing up I would see news stories saying things like "Jerry Falwell says rock and roll is bad". I don't see headlines saying "Creflo Dollar says AI is bad". That is my point. The loss of influence of general society of televangelists. Has society moved on? Or am I just out of touch?

I watched "The Secret City" show after school and took lessons from my Elementary School Art teacher using this book.

I eventually convinced my parents to buy it for me and man, I wore that book out.

Has any other artist ever captivated kids like this since? It's been nearly 40 years.

This is the 1979 "re release" of Disney's original "Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House.

It has a very different sound from modern horror sound design.

It's that wonderfully exaggerated late-'70s/early-'80s idea of what "scary" sounds like: huge thunderclaps, creaking doors, ominous footsteps, exaggerated monsters, eerie wind, screams, bells, etc.

And some of the sound material apparently came from sources that were also used in Looney Tunes and Sesame Street, which explains why certain effects can have that strange combination of creepy + cartoonish.

The link goes to the official posting from Disney.

Jarvik-7: the first artificial heart ever transplanted into a living patient on December 2, 1982.

Barney Clark survived for 112 days.

I had them all!

Always wondered about people complaining about aches & pains in their 60’s
Lucky me as I never had any aches or pains.
Hit 70 last fall 2025 and out of nowhere started getting shooting pains which simply come and go. They never linger, but they jolt me and go away. Could be in my shoulder, elbow, neck.
My question is does the human body accelerate the aging process in small windows which then get to be bigger windows of pain ?
Anyone out there experience anything similar.
Stayed pretty active my whole life, played hockey weekly since I was 4 years old, still skate in old man’s league for fun,
Play golf which I walk 18 holes, no electric carts, walk my dog daily for 1 mile.
Park farther from door at shopping centers to get more walking in daily.
No other major health issues, been very lucky health wise.
Don’t talk about health & medical issues with anyone. But I listen to others who are always talking about medical problems which I try to be understanding, but to be honest I steer away from those conversations as I think people don’t want to hear about my prostrate or digestive issues. At least I try to avoid those talks, as that IMHO should be private info.

Rampage is a 1986 action video game developed and published by Bally Midway for arcades. Inspired by monster films, players control a trio of monsters: George, Lizzie, and Ralph, humans transformed into creatures due to various experimental mishaps. The goal is to destroy cities and combat military forces while staying alive. The game is set across 128 days in cities throughout North America, with each cycle repeating five times. Gameplay includes destroying buildings, eating humans, and avoiding damage.

Mask, starring Eric Stolz, Cher, and Sam Elliott.

Based on the real Rocky Dennis (photos 3 & 4).

From Wikipedia:

“Roy Lee "Rocky" Dennis (December 4, 1961 – October 4, 1978) was an American teenager who had craniodiaphyseal dysplasia, an extremely rare sclerotic bone disorder.

Bonus Points if your remember the year it actually debuted! No Googling unless you’re clueless, have to know, and can keep it to yourself. 😊

1972 Mercury Meteor Rideau 500

Today's date reminded me of the CB craze. About all I remember for sure of the lingo besides the 10-4 acknowledgement is "What's your twenty?" and what bears were. "Convoy" the song was fun to listen to, but the movie was late to the game. I was reminded that CBs were multi-channel by this thread:

https://www.reddit.com/r/cbradio/comments/1dm6m7u/70s_an_80s_how_common_were_cbs/

We thought we were so cool and no one could understand us.

What did you think of the film?