This guy was the greatest. Unlike any other televangelist, he came across as a psycho college professor, unkempt and ranting, possibly on drugs. Sometimes he played sax. Once, when he was upset about the paucity of donations, we watched him smoke an entire cigar, without saying a word, for twenty minutes. This was late-night UHF programming at its most riveting, folks, and Dr. Gene will be missed.
He was the Chief Inspector in The Pink Panther movies, sure. But more importantly, he was the child of Karl ze Schluderpacheru and his spouse Olga née Gottlieb who were members of Austrian nobility. If that's not celebrity, then we don't know what is.
(d) September 27th, 2012