You had to be there in the Seventies when Reverend Ike bestrode the airwaves. He was infinitely more entertaining than even the Bakkers...but of course, they and others who followed Ike tried to hide how they were bilking the parishioners, saying we need money for the children, for our missions, for someone's operation, for Christ Jesus' sake.
Everybody knew his/her money was going straight to Ike, whether or not they themselves got rich or not.
He was the first successful American televangelist.
From the New York Times: