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Donald E. Wildmon (born January 18, 1938 in Dumas, Mississippi) is an ordained United Methodist minister, author, former radio host, and founder and chairman of the American Family Association and American Family Radio.
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Biography
He graduated from Millsaps College, Jackson, Mississippi, 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 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. He gained his Master of Divinity (MDiv.) from Emory University's Candler School of Theology in 1965.[1]
Wildmon founded the National Federation for Decency in 1977, and it was renamed the American Family Association in 1988. The AFA claims a membership of 2,558,861[citation needed] with over 500 local branches[citation needed]. The veracity of these numbers and how many of these purported members are active participants is unknown.
His 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 One News Now.
Campaign for Decency
Throughout the late 1970s, Wildmon actively protested television shows that he thought promoted immoral lifestyles. He spoke against such programs as Three's Company, M*A*S*H, and Dallas.[2]
Other productions and organizations against which he has campaigned against include Disneyland/Walt Disney World[1] for allowing LGBT community groups to host "gay days," the film The Last Temptation of Christ, Madonna's Like a Prayer, Robert Clark Young's novel One of the Guys, Blockbuster Video for stocking NC-17 rated movies and Pepsi Co..
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 unexpectedly left the program once again, this time for unknown reasons. He also hosted My Turn with Don Wildmon, a short devotional segment, which no longer airs.
Portrayals of Wildmon
Comedian George Carlin mentioned Wildmon in his 1988 HBO show What Am I Doing in New Jersey? claiming that his opinions influenced the Ronald Reagan Administration to regulate television and radio because he heard things on the radio that "he didn't like". He proceeded to claim that Wildmon did not understand the concept of freedom of choice and advised him to look it up in a library "if [he had] any of them left when [he] finished burning all the books".
Wildmon has responded to his critics by pointing out that he never called for any laws to be passed regulating television. He notes that a boycott, by definition, involves freedom of choice. If his members refuse to buy products from companies that sponsor certain television programs, they are exercising freedom of choice.
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. Musician Lou Reed contributed a reworking of his song "Walk on the Wild Side" entitled "Walk on the Wildmon." This documentary got several awards, including the International Emmy for Best Documentary. After a distributor got the rights to show the film in the United States, Wildmon sued the producers for $8 million in damages, claiming he had 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.[citation needed]
Wildmon was portrayed by actor Tom Anniko in a very brief scene in the 2003 made-for-TV movie Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Three's Company.
Illness
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 remained hospitalized for three months as he received treatment and made his recovery. He was released from the hospital on November 20, just in time for Thanksgiving.
See also
References
Publications
- Wildmon, Donald E. (1975) Stand up to Life. Abingdon Press. ISBN 9780687392902
- Wildmon, Donald E. (1985) Home Invaders. David C. Cook Publishing Company. ISBN 9780896935211
- Wildmon, Donald E. (1986) The Case Against Pornography. David C. Cook Publishing Company. ISBN 9780896931787
- Wildmon, Donald E. Nulton, Randall. (1989) Don Wildmon: The Man the Networks Love to Hate. Bristol Books. ISBN 9780917851148
- Wildmon, Donald E. (1997) Following the Carpenter: Parables to Inspire Obedience in the Christian Life. Thomas Nelson. ISBN 9780785272151
- Friedeman, Matt. Wildmon, Donald E. (2001) In the Fight: A Mississippi Conservative Swings Back. Well Writers' Guild. ISBN 9780971100411
- Wildmon, Donald E. (2009) Speechless: Silencing the Christians: How Secular Liberals and Homosexual Activists are Outlawing Christianity (and Judaism) to Force Their Sexual Agenda on America. Richard Vigilante Books. ISBN 0980076331
External links
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