(CNN) — Tammy Faye Messner, the former televangelist and Christian singer who battled drug addiction and later inoperable cancer, died Friday morning, CNN’s Larry King said Saturday night. He said the family had asked him to make the delayed announcement.
She was 65.
Messner was a guest on “Larry King Live” on Thursday. She told him she couldn’t swallow food, and weighed only 65 pounds.
King said the family postponed the death announcement for a day so family members could gather. Messner was cremated and interred in a remote part of Kansas at the Kansas-Oklahoma state line, King said.
“The family appreciates all of the well wishes of so many people,” the talk show host said on CNN.
“She wanted a party,” King added. “They’re going to schedule a party in two to three weeks in Palm Springs, California. Her friends will be invited. And she wanted it to be a celebration.
“She died peacefully. Anyone who saw her on our show this week knew that she didn’t have long.”
Previous Comments
Video of last interview
#113543 | Author: LatashaWillis | Date: Jul 22 2007
Wow. Thanks for the link to the video. She definitely looked worse for wear.. and died the next morning.
#113544 | Author: SourBEAR | Date: Jul 23 2007
Yeah, she was about 65 pounds in that video. She was happy that she had gained five pounds. Wow.
#113545 | Author: LatashaWillis | Date: Jul 23 2007
It’s the kind of fate you really don’t wish on anyone. That she took it so well, and fought to the end without losing her faith says more about her than her past.
#113546 | Author: Ironghost | Date: Jul 23 2007
True, Iron. She can’t help what either of her ex-husbands did, and I’m amazed that she still had a positive attitude after all of that. Look at this CNN quote: “Our family is deeply saddened by the news of the passing of Tammy Faye,” Bakker said late Saturday. “She lived her life like the song she sang, ‘If Life Hands You a Lemon, Make Lemonade.’
#113547 | Author: LatashaWillis | Date: Jul 23 2007
I sho nuff agree with y’all.
#113548 | Author: Ray Carter | Date: Jul 24 2007
She looked awful on her appearance on Larry King Live. Cancer can be a real bitch on one’s appearance and health. But Tammy was full of life and I hope she was able to enjoy it to the fullest, even in her last days.
#113549 | Author: golden eagle | Date: Jul 25 2007
Yeah. She seemed to be optimistic to the very end. That’s commendable.
#113550 | Author: LatashaWillis | Date: Jul 25 2007
