Hugh Marjoe Ross Gortner, generally known as Marjoe Gortner (January 14, 1944 - October 2, 2026), was a one time revivalist-turned-actor who first gained a certain fame in the late 1940s when he became the youngest ordained preacher at the age of four. He then gained outright notoriety in the 1970s when he starred in an Oscar-winning, behind-the-scenes documentary about the lucrative business of Pentecostal preaching. He then parlayed this fame into an acting career, mostly in television series, TV movies, and B-movies. He was best known for "Pray for the Wildcats," "Earthquake," "Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw," "The Food of the Gods," "Starcrash," and "When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?" The name "Marjoe" is a portmanteau of the names "Mary" and "Joseph". Description above from the Wikipedia article Marjoe Gortner, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- January 14, 1944
- October 2, 2026 (aged 82)
- Long Beach, California
- Actor, also producer
- 23 on MovieCove · 37 credits in all
What are Marjoe Gortner's films like?
Across their 15 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Self.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 2 · Earnest 13
A split, not a type: Light 4 · Serious 5 · Dark 6
Grounded 12 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 1
Gentle 1 · Charged 7 · Intense 7
Steady 3 · Shifting 10 · Whiplash 2
Straight-faced 9 · Some laughs 6 · Funny 0
Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 9 · Relentless 3
Casual 7 · Engaged 8 · Full focus 0
A split, not a type: Easy watch 7 · Affecting 6 · Heavy 2
Resolved 12 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
Usually the Shadow: 5 of 11 analyzed roles.
Show the 11 rolesHide the roles
- Heroas Ernie Parsons in The Gun and the Pulpit (1974)
- Allyas Terry Maxon in Pray for the Wildcats (1974)
- Shadowas Jody in Earthquake (1974)
- Shadowas Greco in Mayday at 40, 000 Feet! (1976)
- Shadowas Lyle Wheeler in Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (1976)
- Heroas Morgan in The Food of the Gods (1976)
- Heroas Ralph Hollio in Acapulco Gold (1976)
- Allyas Digger in Sidewinder 1 (1977)
- Allyas Akton in Starcrash (1978)
- Shadowas Teddy in When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? (1979)
- Shadowas The Cobra in American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt (1989)
Moods and endings
- Happy7
- Bittersweet5
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous2
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Marjoe Gortner's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 13 of their 23 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (11).
- The A-Team (1983) · actor · free
- FantastiCozzi (2016) · actor · free
- The Gun and the Pulpit (1974) · actor · free
- Wild Bill (1995) · actor · free
- Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (1976) · actor · free
- Falcon Crest (1981) · actor · free
- T.J. Hooker (1982) · actor · free
- The Food of the Gods (1976) · actor · free
- Starcrash (1978) · actor · free
- Acapulco Gold (1976) · actor · free
- American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt (1989) · actor · free
Subscription and free streaming for Marjoe Gortner's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
37 credits, 23 with a MovieCove page; 4 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
FantastiCozzi(2016)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films
The Debtors (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
Wild Bill(1995)
Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films
Fire, Ice and Dynamite (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Midcredits score: 3rd percentile of all films
The Survivalist (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)
Hellhole (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)
Otherworld (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)
Street Hawk(1985)
Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all shows
Jungle Warriors(1984)
Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films
Airwolf(1984)
Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all shows
Mausoleum (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)
The A-Team(1983)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all shows
Matt Houston (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
Hotel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
T.J. Hooker(1982)
Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all shows
Falcon Crest(1981)
Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all shows
The Robber Bridegroom (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)
Broadway on Showtime (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films
Starcrash(1978)
Midcredits score: 6th percentile of all films
Playboy's Playmate Party (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)
Sidewinder 1(1977)
Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Viva Knievel!(1977)
Midcredits score: 4th percentile of all films
Mayday at 40, 000 Feet!(1976)
Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films
The Food of the Gods(1976)
Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films
Acapulco Gold(1976)
Midcredits score: 4th percentile of all films
Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw(1976)
Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films
Archer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
Earthquake(1974)
Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films
The Gun and the Pulpit(1974)
Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films
Pray for the Wildcats(1974)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films
Police Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
Barnaby Jones(1973)
Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all shows
Medical Center (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)
Career shape
Star power in the 93rd percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 37 titles from 1969 to 2016; peak year 1977.
Biggest box office
Earthquake (1974)
Highest rated
Marjoe (1972)
Most popular right now
Earthquake (1974)
Film career
Peak 1977 · fewer prominent film roles lately. Top draw in 4 MovieCove titles. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 1974Screen debut· Earthquake
- 1976First top-billed film· Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30.
How do Marjoe Gortner's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 31st percentile, the median of all 17; across their 15 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 37th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up3
- 50th to 74th4
- 25th to 49th8
- Below 25th8
Shape of the crowd
12 of their 23 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Loved1
- Universally Panned2
- Divisive1
- Crowd Pleaser3
- Broadly Agreed4
- Mixed12
Reviewers score the acting 55/100 in their films, across 15 reviewed titles; fans 67, detractors 33. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Marjoe Gortner's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 4 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Marjoe Gortner work with?
People who share at least 2 of Marjoe Gortner's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; James Gammon shares the most, 2.
Actors
- James GammonShared titles: Wild Bill (1995), Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (1976)See all 2 shared titles with James Gammon
- Alex CordShared titles: Jungle Warriors (1984), Sidewinder 1 (1977)See all 2 shared titles with Alex Cord
- Belinda BalaskiShared titles: Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (1976), The Food of the Gods (1976)See all 2 shared titles with Belinda Balaski
- Lorraine GaryShared titles: Pray for the Wildcats (1974), The Marcus-Nelson Murders (1973)See all 2 shared titles with Lorraine Gary
Producers
- Paul MaslanskyShared titles: When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? (1979), The Gun and the Pulpit (1974)See all 2 shared titles with Paul Maslansky