by DESMOND WILCOX
Thirteen programmes which look at figures in an American landscape. 6: The Preacher
He believes in a ' Hot Gospel'. He's the son of a travelling preacher who was one of the early fire and brimstone ' circuit riders
But Rex Humbard is a 20th-century evangelist. His church, in Akron, Ohio is called The Cathedral of Tomorrow and looks more like Radio City Music Hall than a place of worship. It is, in fact, a $12-million complex from which he reaches, via television, nearly 20 million people around the world.
It seems a far cry from the old-fashioned Bible Belt preachers who travelled from town to town on horseback. Now Preacher Rex flies to rallies in a luxurious private aeroplane, accompanied by THE HUMBARD FAMILY SINGERS, who are the mainstay of his show. But, in one respect, REX HUMBARD differs not one jot from his predecessors. He, too, wants your soul for God - and your money for the cause.
Photography NAT CROSBY
Film recordist SIMON WILSON Historical adviser
PROFESSOR MARCUS CUNLIFFE Research TRISTAN ALLSOP
Executive producer ADAM CLAPHAM Producer JEREMY BENNETT