I didn't even realize Rex Humbard was still ALIVE

So, on the very day that I return to Akron for one week, it turns out televangelist Rex Humbard died (as did Marcel Marceau - what strange times we live in). Humbard's name is hardly known among the under-40 crowd today, but his importance to American culture unfortunately is rather large. He was the first televangelist, allegedly starting his TV ministry after seeing crowds gathered around a TV in the window of an O'Neill's department store in Akron in 1952, where the crowds were watching an Indians-Yankees game (I hope to God the Indians killed them that day). Humbard was inspired and "called" to do his ministering on the television, eventually raking in millions of dollars and inspiring the likes of Ernest Angeley (also based in Akron - don't ask me how these yahoos ended up here, I have no clue), Jimmy Swaggart, and James Baker, among others. Many kids today don't realize how huge televangelism used to be, which in some ways is great (less influence), and in some ways is a shame (no understanding of history). For better or worse (ok - for worse), televangelism changed the ways religion was practiced in the U.S. in the latter half of the twentieth century, and many of the evangelical movements today take a lot of their practices (the cheesy, non-descript, over-the top buildings, the cult of personality, the "7-11" songs [a song with seven words that you sing 11 times]) from televangelism's methods. Thus, while his name isn't well known, Humbard is a rather important figure in American cultural history in the last 50 years.

On a far more local note about Humbard, it's interesting to note how he's recalled in Akron. The CNN obit says that Humbard "overreached" financially. That's putting it lightly. Turns out, he spend way too much money on building this 400+ foot concrete monstrosity just inside Cuyahoga Falls (originally, it should have had a spinning restaurant on its top). The tower was never finished, and Humbard soon moved to Florida. As a result, this tower (now a cell-phone tower) is commonly known here as "Rex's last erection". As an Akron resident, I couldn't think of a better way to remember Humbard.