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McPHERSON Aimee Semple

 

Aimee Elizabeth Kennedy.

 

Date of birth : October 9, 1890, Ontario, Canada.

Date of death : September 27, 1944, Oakland, California (,).

 

Portrait ,,,,,;

           


Story

She began her career as Pentecostal Minister by preaching with wandering evangelists.

She made her first radio sermons aged 17, and it was in Los Angeles that she met the most ardent public.

Vital evangelist, doted with a certain charisma, she had founded the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel; Norma Jeane was christened on December 6, 1926 at the Hawthorn Foursquare Church (4503 then 4511

West Broadway, Hawthorn) ,.

In 1908 she married Robert James Semple (August 3, 1881, Ireland-August 19, 1910, Hong Kong)

() and became a Pentecostal evangelist. They travelled in Asia as missionaries. Her husband died

from dysentery and malaria (-), few weeks before the birth of their daughter

Roberta Star (September 17, 1910, Hong Kong-January 25, 2007, New York)(,).

She came back to the USA and married Harold Stewart McPherson (May 5, 1890, Canada-July 18, 1978,

Florida)()(;,) in 1912. 

They had a son Rolf Potter Kennedy (March 23, 1913, Rhode Island-May 21, 2009, California)

(;). 

They settled in Los Angeles began holding meetings which attracted an important crowd.

In 1921 she divorced from Harold McPherson.

Gladys Baker, Della Mae Monroe and the Bolenders attended her meetings.


In 1923 she founded the Angelus Temple (,,

,;), a 5 300 places building, exclusively financed by the faithful donations (about 1.5 millions $), located 1100 Glendale Avenue.

There, she preached her faith in the "Immovable Movement", a theory based on her idea of Jesus-Christ 4 roles "Redeemer, Great Healer, Christener by the Holy spirit and Great King whose time is close" 

().

Her mother, Ma Kennedy, always by her side, had vocation to launch the applause which welcomed

her daughter theatrical performances ,,,.

To preach God's law, Sister Aimee wore a police officer uniform.

To pronounce the rules imposed by the decency, she chose a Victorian dress.

Lights, music and mirrors participated a lot to a show that Hollywood wouldn't have disowned.
Vital and attractive, McPherson didn't ever lose her faithful's love; her popularity covered all the USA

(;).

1926, hospitalized inArizona



In 1931 she married her 3rd husband David Lytell Hutton (September 25, 1901-August 28, 1985, California)

()(,).

They divorced in 1934. 

A 3rd marriage failed, trials accrued, and scandals mixing sex and money became more numerous, but the impression left by the exuberant woman remained engraved in the mind of those who had seen her.


She died aged 53, in 1944, of a barbiturate overdose.

 

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