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GLOBE, February 1999
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Who is that masked man? GLOBE reveals secrets of.  DISGRACED televangelist Jim Bakker has undergone $30,000 worth of plastic surgery so he and his new young wife can become the new Jim and Tammy Faye, sources reveal.
It was the first move in his cunning scheme to launch a new TV ministry with second wife Lori Beth Graham, 41, at his side. GLOBE's lensman snapped the heavily bandaged minister - who recently vowed to live a life of poverty and humility - being wheeled out of the posh Palm Springs, Calif., office of Dr. Borak Djordjevic on Jan. 16. Although Bakker is barely recognizable as the silver-tongued swindler jailed for bilking millions of dollars from his trusting PTL Club followers, sources say he's the same old scoundrel. "Jim is so vain that he wants to look just like he did back in the old days when his TV ministry was raking in a fortune," says an insider. "He wants to look like the old Jim, with a new young Tammy at his side. "But no matter how far he turns back the clock, I believe he's the same old con man." The 59-year-old jailbird had 90 minutes of surgery - a complete face lift, as well as liposuction to remove fat from around his waist.  Dr. Djordjevic, whose clients include Hollywood stars like the late Eva and Magda Gabor, told GLOBE he's an old pal of Bakker's and the surgery was performed free of charge. "Jim's face was covered with lines caused by the stress of his prison experience and troubles," says the surgeon.
"I called and told him I wanted to give him a new face as a gift. First, I made incisions in front of and behind his ears. Then I tightened his muscles to improve his facial expression. "Then I did a chemical peel to gel rid of the lines and wrinkles around his mouth and eyes." Djordjevic also sucked out Bakker's spare tire. "He was growing love handles which made him feel uncomfortable," the doc confides. The shamed TV preacher may have a new face and a slim tummy, but he's taken a major fall since he ran the PTL Club with his ex-wife Tammy Faye. He served nearly five years in prison after being convicted of swindling followers out of $158 million in donations. He was released in 1994. But Tammy Faye divorced him while he was still behind bars and married millionaire church-builder Roe Messner, who's currently in jail for bankruptcy fraud.  Last summer, Bakker wed blonde Lori Beth. Sources say his bride has confessed a past littered with mistakes.
"She told members of the Christian community that she had five abortions before she was 21 and was a recovering drug abuser and boozer," said a source. She is now a Christian counselor, working alongside her husband at the International Dream Center Church in L.A.'s inner city. "We live in the ghetto and don't make any money," Lori Beth told GLOBE in an exclusive interview. "We live in two rooms with an adjoining bathroom and don't have a kitchen. "We devote all of our time to helping people who are hurting." Bakker now preaches "Fall in love with God, not material things." But at the same time he's planning his comeback. The fallen holy man's publicist David Brokaw confirms that "Jim hopes to build a new TV ministry and he's said how great it would be to build it up to the level PTL was before." And Lori Beth says Bakker's plastic surgery is part of "a whole new beginning." "This is just like a woman going to a beauty salon for a makeover," she says. "It makes people feel better about themselves and perform their job better. "Whether they are Christians or not, or preachers or not, who cares? "Jim's face lift is a gift from God and the work is wonderful. It's truly a blessing." |