Charles E. Fuller
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Charles E. Fuller | |
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| Born | April 25, 1887 in Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
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| Died | March 18, 1968 (aged 80) in Pasadena, California, U.S. |
| Church | Baptist |
| Congregations served | Old Fashioned Revival Hour, weekly radio program (1937–1968) |
| Spouse | Grace Leone Payton |
| Children | Daniel |
| Parents | Henry and Helen Day Fuller |
Charles Edward Fuller (April 25, 1887 - March 18, 1968) was an American Christian clergyman and a radio evangelist.
Charles Fuller was born in Los Angeles, California. After graduating from Pomona College in 1910, he worked in the citrus packing business in southern California until 1918. He then studied at the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (now, Biola University), eventually becoming chairman of the board. Initially a Presbyterian, he became a Baptist minister in 1925.[1]
He gained renown as the radio host and speaker of The Old Fashioned Revival Hour, a weekly Sunday broadcast that aired from 1937 to 1968. The first nationwide broadcast occurred on October 3, 1937, on the Mutual Broadcasting System. Beginning in 1951, the program was carried on the ABC Radio Network, heard on more than 650 radio stations.[2]
The Old Fashioned Revival Hour broadcast was originally recorded in a Hollywood studio. In 1941, it was moved to the old Municipal Auditorium in Long Beach, California. From 1941 through 1958, audiences attended services that were broadcast live on the radio from the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium. After January 12, 1958, the program was again produced in a studio. The broadcasts were also noted for the music, featuring the Old Fashioned Revival Hour Choir and quartet, accompanied by organist George Broadbent and pianist Rudy Atwood. Several popular recordings were made by the choir in the 1940s and 1950s.
Fuller also founded Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, in 1947.[1]. His son, Daniel Fuller, served the seminary as Dean and professor of hermeneutics. In 2005, he was honored at an awards convocation for 50 years of service to the seminary.[3]
Charles Fuller died in 1968 shortly after his final broadcast of the Old Fashioned Revival Hour. He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. The Long Beach Municipal Auditorium was demolished in the 1960s, but a plaque marks the site of Fuller's broadcasts.
Re-broadcasts of the Old Fashioned Revival Hour are now streamed weekly on the internet.
