TVSquad

Tammy Faye Messner, who was just interviewed by Larry King a few days ago, has died of cancer.

She actually died yesterday, and the news was announced on CNN tonight. Larry King had a special tribute show for Messner on Saturday's show (though I'm wondering why he's calling her "great" and an old interview he conducted with her and Jim Bakker as "historic"). She died at home, and a ceremony was already held and her ashes were interred in a private ceremony.

Messner is probably best known for marrying Jim Bakker in 1961. In the 70s they started the Trinity Broadcasting Company. In 1974 they started the PTL Club and a television network. Bakker later had an affair with Jessica Hahn and was convicted of fraud (he used millions of dollars he had raised from followers) and conspiracy. He spent six years in jail. The couple divorced in 1992. Tammy Faye married Ron Messner in 1993. Tammy Faye appeared on VH-1's The Surreal Life and there was a documentary about her, The Eyes of Tammy Faye.

Every time I've tuned past Michael Eisner's CNBC show, I've thought the same thing: "As a talk show host, he sure makes a heck of a major studio executive." The former Disney CEO, to put it kindly, didn't conduct the most riveting interviews.

But maybe my opinion of him has changed. According to this New York Post story, Eisner raked televangelist (and self-proclaimed strong-legged) Pat Robertson over the coals during a taping of Eisner's show last week. In particular, Eisner took issue with Robertson's views on gay rights, his call to assasinate Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, and his view on whether or not Jewish people go to heaven. Robertson's PR people sent CNBC an e-mail expressing their disappointment with the interview, which was obtained by the Post.

I'm surprised Eisner didn't challenge Pat to a leg-press-off. But it looks like he made Robertson quite uncomfortable, which is always the sign of a good interview.

Great. Now I imagine that Pat Robertson's legs look like Dr. Kelso's legs on Scrubs. You know what I mean? They're all shaved and tan and he shows them off. *shudder*

The reason I know this about 700 Club host Pat Robertson is because of this website. On it, he's hawking an "Age-Defying Shake" that keeps his energy high, giving him the ability to travel "the globe as a statesman". There's a link to download the recipe but you have to be a CBN member to get it and I'm not willing to submit my e-mail address.

*Update: Pat made Olbermann's 'Worst Person in the World' segment tonight for claiming he can leg press 2,000 pounds. As Olbermann points out, most leg press machines only go up to 400 pounds. Olbermann says, "Well, not all at once!"

[Thanks, Chris!]

Pat, Pat, Pat. On the one hand, you tell the viewers of The 700 Club that the Lord is a kind and passionate being that helps all, as long as people call in with the donations the Lord needs to help everyone. Yet, on the other hand, you tell them four times in the last two weeks that the Lord told you huge storms, and a possible tsunami, will hit the coasts of America this year. I'm no theologian, but would that make the Lord vengeful, or at least a gossip-monger?

Yes, Pat Robertson has added 'weather prognostication' to his resume, pretty much making The Weather Channel obsolete overnight. His predictions began last week when he said that the Lord told him during a prayer retreat that huge storms would lash both coasts of the United States this year. On Wednesday of this week he said that something as bad as a tsunami could hit the Pacific Northwest this summer.

Of course, we should take these predictions seriously. As serious as we took his suggestions that we should assassinate the president of Venezuela and that former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had his massive stroke because of his pull-out from the Gaza Strip.