Rex Humbard
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| Rex Humbard | |
 |
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| Born | August 13, 1919 in Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Died | September 21, 2007 (aged 88) in Atlantis, Florida, U.S. |
| Church | Pentecostal |
| Congregations served | Cathedral of Tomorrow, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio |
| Spouse | Maude Aimee |
| Children | Rex, Jr., Don, Charles, and Elizabeth |
| Parents | Alpha E. Humbard and Martha Bell |
Alpha Rex Emmanuel Humbard (August 13, 1919 – September 21, 2007) was a well-known American television evangelist whose Cathedral of Tomorrow show was shown on over 600 stations at the peak of its popularity.
Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, to Pentecostal evangelists,[1] Rex Humbard was the first evangelist to have a weekly nationwide television program in the United States, beginning in 1952.[2] Humbard's $4 million Cathedral of Tomorrow church in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, a suburb of nearby Akron, was built in 1958 specifically to accommodate television equipment, crew, and chorus as well as seating for 5,400 people.
Humbard's television programs featured gospel music such as the popular Cathedral Quartet. Humbard's wife, Maude Aimee, and his children were also often featured on the programs. His ministry eventually extended to Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Far East, Australia and Latin America, giving it a worldwide reach of 8 million viewers, greater than any of his contemporaries by the late 1970s.[1] In Brazil, he attracted large crowds at the giant soccer stadium in São Paulo for weeks. Humbard officiated at Elvis Presley's funeral, as Presley had been an admirer of Humbard's ministry.[3][4][5]
Humbard was inducted into the Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1993 by Ohio Governor George Voinovich. He was termed one of the "Top 25 Principal Architects of the American Century" by U.S. News & World Report on December 27, 1999.[2]
Humbard began to build a rotating tower restaurant at his Cathedral of Tomorrow complex, which was also slated to hold a transmission tower for his planned local TV station on Channel 55, WCOT. When Humbard was given the opportunity to go on more radio stations throughout South America to spread Christianity, construction on the restaurant tower ceased. The tower has since been purchased by a local businessman and is now used as a cellular phone tower.
Humbard's son Rex, Jr. succeeded his father in the ministry after the family moved to Florida in 1982. But Humbard's television ministry was influential in promoting an independent Christian television station in Canton, Ohio, WDLI (Channel 17), which later was purchased by the Trinity Broadcasting Network as their Cleveland-area station. Another son, Charles, heads the Gospel Music Channel.
The rest of Humbard's Cathedral of Tomorrow complex was sold in 1994 to television evangelist Ernest Angley, along with the Channel 55 license, which was used by Angley's Winston Broadcasting Network division for the current Akron-licensed and Cuyahoga Falls-based CW affiliate, WBNX-TV.
After retiring to Lantana, Florida in the 1980s with his wife, Maude Aimee (whom he married in 1942),[1] Humbard was still often seen on television broadcasts and at public appearances preaching Christianity. He wrote two autobiographies, Miracles in My Life and, in 2006, The Soul Winning Century, The Humbard Family Legacy.[3] In April 2007, he was inducted into the Arkansas Walk of Fame.
Rex Humbard died in Atlantis, Florida of congestive heart failure, following hospitalization in August 2007.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c CNN obituary, September 22, 2007.
- ^ a b Colette M. Jenkins, "Humbard helped to shape modern ministry". Akron Beacon Journal (2007-09-23). Retrieved on 2007-09-23.
- ^ a b Jim Carney, "Humbard biography recalls tearful Presley". Akron Beacon Journal (2007-08-18). Retrieved on 2007-09-22.
- ^ US TV evangelist Rex Humbard dies 22 September 2007
- ^ Rex Humbard - preacher and pioneer of televangelism September 23, 2007, New York Times
