Jimmy Swaggart, televangelist, dies at 90
(NBC, KYMA/KECY) - Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart, whose ministry attracted a global audience but whose personal life was marred by scandal, has died, according to a family representative.
A statement posted on Swaggart's Facebook page Tuesday said, "He met his beloved savior and entered the portals of glory."
He gained national the even global fame with a television ministry which, at its peak, received hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations every day.
But in 1987, when Swaggart was at the height of his fame, he was photographed entering a motel with a woman.
The woman later told a television interviewer she had several "pornographic" encounters with Swaggart.
The scandal led Swaggart to deliver a tearful confession to his church and television audience.
He was suspended from the pulpit and although he later returned, he never regained his earlier popularity.
The cause of death has not been revealed, but Swaggart did suffer a heart attack last month.
