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4 unusual facts about Aimee Semple McPherson


Bessilyn Johnson

Bessie styled her preacher persona after that of the evangelical darling Aimee Semple McPherson, wearing flowing white and red robes and a tiara during her sermons, and always carrying a Bible with a red ribbon in it.

Hooray for Hollywood

Lyrics can be difficult to fully understand today, as they refer to people (e.g. Aimee Semple) or cultural elements (e.g. rotos) which have since been forgotten.

Lyric Opera House

The first public showing of electric cooking in Baltimore took place, as well as hosting speakers like Aimee Semple McPherson, Will Rogers, Richard Byrd, Clarence Darrow, Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh and William Jennings Bryan.

Mimi Michaels

Michaels's first part in Los Angeles was the title role in Aimee Semple McPherson (2006).


International Church of the Foursquare Gospel

McPherson's celebrity status continued after her death, with biopics such as the 1976 Hallmark Hall of Fame drama The Disappearance of Aimee depicting her life, as well as the 2006 independent film Aimee Semple McPherson which particularly focused on her month-long disappearance in May–June 1926 and the legal controversy that followed.

Social issues of the 1920s

Broadly, the case reflected a collision of traditional views and values with more modern ones: It was a time of evangelism by figures such as Aimee Semple McPherson and Billy Sunday against forces, including jazz, sexual permissiveness, and racy Hollywood movies, which they thought were undermining the authority of the Bible and Christian morals in society.


see also