News
2007-05-16
The Reverend
Jerry Falwell dead at 73
Jerry Falwell
dies at 73
The Reverend
Jerry Falwell, the TV evangelist who founded the Moral
Majo
The Reverend
Jerry Falwell, the TV evangelist who founded the Moral
Majority and built the religious right into a mighty
political force, died Tuesday shortly after being
found unconscious in his office at Liberty University
in Lynchburg, Va., a school executive said. He was 73.
He had been
hospitalized in ''gravely serious'' condition earlier
Tuesday after being found unconscious in his office at
Liberty.
Ron Godwin, the
university's executive vice president, said Falwell was
found unresponsive around 10:45 a.m. and taken to Lynchburg
General Hospital. Godwin said he was not sure what
caused the collapse, but he said Falwell ''has a
history of heart challenges.''
''I had breakfast
with him, and he was fine at breakfast,'' Godwin said.
''He went to his office, I went to mine, and they found him
unresponsive.''
Godwin said
Falwell was receiving emergency care. A hospital spokeswoman
said she had ''no information to release at this time.''
Falwell, a
television evangelist who founded the Moral Majority, became
the face of the religious right in the 1980s. He later
founded the conservative Liberty University and serves
as its president.
Falwell survived
two serious health scares in early 2005. He was
hospitalized for two weeks with what was described as a
viral infection and then was hospitalized again a
few weeks later after going into respiratory arrest.
Later that year, doctors found a 70% blockage in an
artery, which they opened with stents.
Liberty
University's commencement is scheduled for Saturday, with
former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich as the
featured speaker. (AP)
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