Occupation Author, minister Name Donald Wildmon | Role Author | |
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Full Name Donald Ellis Wildmon Born January 18, 1938 (age 86) ( 1938-01-18 ) Dumas, Mississippi, U.S. Organizations founded American Family Association, Arlington Group Books The home invaders, Following the carpenter, The case against pornography, Stand up to life Education Mississippi State University, Millsaps College, Emory University | ||
Donald Ellis Wildmon (born January 18, 1938) is an ordained United Methodist minister, author, former radio host, and founder and chairman emeritus of the American Family Association and American Family Radio.
Contents
- Life and career
- Campaign for Decency
- Radio host
- Damned in the USA
- Illness and retirement
- Publications
- References
Life and career
Wildmon was born in Dumas, Mississippi, the son of Johnnie Bernice (née Tigrett), a schoolteacher, and Ellis Clifton Wildmon, a civil servant. Wildmon graduated from Millsaps College in 1960. In 1961, he married Lynda Lou Bennett, with whom he has two sons and two daughters. From 1961 to 1963, he served in the U.S. Army. He gained his Master of Divinity (MDiv.) from Emory University's Candler School of Theology in 1965. He was ordained as a minister of the United Methodist Church in 1964 and served as a pastor until 1977, when he left the pastoral ministry to campaign against pornography and violence in the media.
In June 1977, he moved to Tupelo, Mississippi, to establish the National Federation for Decency (NFD), the predecessor to the modern American Family Association, because after watching television one night in December 1976 he felt that no primetime television program was appropriate for his family with young children. With a membership of 1,400, NFD's first television advertiser boycott was during spring 1978 and against Sears for sponsoring All in the Family, Charlie's Angels, and Three's Company. Sears withdrew sponsorship of the latter two programs.
In February 1980, Wildmon founded the Coalition for Better Television (CBTV), this time with the help of Jerry Falwell and claiming a nationwide membership of 5 million. However, following a dispute with Falwell, the organization disbanded two years later. That same year, Wildmon formed a new organization, Christian Leaders for Responsible Television (CLEAR-TV).
Wildmon's son Tim is president of AFA and ran a news organization called Agape Press, which went offline in early 2007, when it merged with AFR News to create online newswire One News Now.
Campaign for Decency
Throughout the late 1970s, Wildmon actively protested television series that he thought promoted immoral lifestyles. He spoke against such programs as Three's Company, M*A*S*H and Dallas.
Other productions and organizations against which he has campaigned include:
Radio host
Up until mid-April 2007, Wildmon hosted the daily radio program AFA Report, which can be heard weekdays on AFR or anytime on AFR's website. Wildmon left the program because he felt he didn't have adequate time to prepare for it each day, and he needed more time to fulfill other duties. He returned to the program in late April 2008, after receiving letters from listeners asking for him to come back, and after expansions in staff and studio space allowed him more preparation time. In early September, however, Wildmon suddenly left the program once again, this time for undisclosed reasons. He also hosted My Turn with Don Wildmon, a short devotional segment, which no longer airs.
Damned in the USA
In 1991, the British film Damned in the USA, directed by Paul Yule, chronicled the battle between Wildmon and artists Andres Serrano and Robert Mapplethorpe. The documentary won the International Emmy for Best Documentary, amongst several other awards. Wildmon sued the producers for $8 million in damages after a distributor got the rights to show the film in the United States, stating that he had signed a contract with the producers that prevented distribution in the USA. A federal court found that Wildmon's contract did not support his claim concerning distribution of the film and the documentary was released in 50 cities nationwide.
Illness and retirement
On August 18, 2009, Tim Wildmon released the news via email that his father had been admitted to the North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo over the weekend of August 15–16, with what was thought to be a serious case of meningitis. After running tests, however, doctors determined that he had St. Louis encephalitis, a disease usually contracted from mosquitoes. He spent 121 days in the hospital and rehab, and later underwent surgery for cancer on his left eye. On March 3, 2010, it was announced that Wildmon was stepping down as chairman of the American Family Association. His son Tim was expected to become the new chairman.