Biography
Rex Humbard earned recognition primarily for his groundbreaking role in television evangelism, yet he also issued multiple gospel music recordings across his career and developed an unexpected but prominent tie to Elvis Presley. Alpha Rex Emmanuel Humbard entered the world in Little Rock, Arkansas, into a committed Pentecostal household that instilled an early calling to spread the Gospel message. He launched the central phase of his ministry during the latter half of the 1940s, precisely when broadcast technology was shifting from radio dominance to the emerging television era. His initial on-screen appearance occurred in 1949, unusually soon in the medium’s lifespan and especially notable because television ownership remained sparse across Southern and border states at that time. By 1952 he hosted his own weekly series, becoming the first televangelist to reach a coast-to-coast American audience.
He persisted even though the South and lower Midwest—regions containing his core following—still trailed in station availability and locally targeted content; print and broadcast advertisements for sets routinely carried notices that prices ran “higher in the South and Far West.” Nevertheless, Humbard attracted those regional viewers through his distinctive voice among the limited options, and he recognized the visual medium’s growing influence. In 1958 he dedicated the Cathedral of Tomorrow in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, a structure erected for the then-substantial sum of four million dollars. The building ranked among the earliest sanctuaries conceived expressly around television requirements, encompassing optimal camera placements for home-screen impact as well as dedicated space, power capacity, and technical infrastructure for production crews alongside seating for 5,400 worshippers.
Music formed a central element from the program’s inception, spotlighting gospel selections by the resident Cathedral Quartet—originally the Weatherford Quartet—later replaced by the Cathedral Singers, who remained until 1968, together with assorted guest performers; Humbard’s wife, Maude Aimee, and their children regularly contributed vocals and instrumental performances. During its mid-1960s format the broadcast opened with an image of the Earth rotating in space while Miklós Rózsa’s imposing main-title theme from Ben-Hur accompanied an announcer outlining the mission and reach of the Rex Humbard Worldwide Television Ministry; viewers were then transported inside the cathedral for an hour of gospel music and preaching that commenced with a choral hymn and Humbard’s resonant, calming delivery. Throughout the 1970s the program extended to Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, South America—where he enjoyed particular popularity in Brazil—and Africa, amassing an estimated eight million viewers that surpassed the audiences of any contemporary rivals.
One of his most steadfast followers was Elvis Presley, for whom Humbard conducted funeral rites in 1977. The televangelist received induction into the Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1993 and appeared on the U.S. News & World Report list of the Top 25 Principal Architects of the American Century in December 1999. With the Cathedral Quartet and Cathedral Singers he produced several gospel albums issued on his own Cathedral of Tomorrow label. For RCA Victor he and the Cathedral Singers recorded the single “Put Your Hand in the Hand” backed with “Amazing Grace,” produced by Chet Atkins and Ronnie Light and arranged by Cathedral Quartet member Dan Koker in an electric countrypolitan style. Humbard died in 2007 after moving to Florida, though his relatives continue active Christian ministry work; one son, Charles Humbard, previously of Discovery Networks, assumed the role of Gospel Music Channel CEO in 2004.
He persisted even though the South and lower Midwest—regions containing his core following—still trailed in station availability and locally targeted content; print and broadcast advertisements for sets routinely carried notices that prices ran “higher in the South and Far West.” Nevertheless, Humbard attracted those regional viewers through his distinctive voice among the limited options, and he recognized the visual medium’s growing influence. In 1958 he dedicated the Cathedral of Tomorrow in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, a structure erected for the then-substantial sum of four million dollars. The building ranked among the earliest sanctuaries conceived expressly around television requirements, encompassing optimal camera placements for home-screen impact as well as dedicated space, power capacity, and technical infrastructure for production crews alongside seating for 5,400 worshippers.
Music formed a central element from the program’s inception, spotlighting gospel selections by the resident Cathedral Quartet—originally the Weatherford Quartet—later replaced by the Cathedral Singers, who remained until 1968, together with assorted guest performers; Humbard’s wife, Maude Aimee, and their children regularly contributed vocals and instrumental performances. During its mid-1960s format the broadcast opened with an image of the Earth rotating in space while Miklós Rózsa’s imposing main-title theme from Ben-Hur accompanied an announcer outlining the mission and reach of the Rex Humbard Worldwide Television Ministry; viewers were then transported inside the cathedral for an hour of gospel music and preaching that commenced with a choral hymn and Humbard’s resonant, calming delivery. Throughout the 1970s the program extended to Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, South America—where he enjoyed particular popularity in Brazil—and Africa, amassing an estimated eight million viewers that surpassed the audiences of any contemporary rivals.
One of his most steadfast followers was Elvis Presley, for whom Humbard conducted funeral rites in 1977. The televangelist received induction into the Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1993 and appeared on the U.S. News & World Report list of the Top 25 Principal Architects of the American Century in December 1999. With the Cathedral Quartet and Cathedral Singers he produced several gospel albums issued on his own Cathedral of Tomorrow label. For RCA Victor he and the Cathedral Singers recorded the single “Put Your Hand in the Hand” backed with “Amazing Grace,” produced by Chet Atkins and Ronnie Light and arranged by Cathedral Quartet member Dan Koker in an electric countrypolitan style. Humbard died in 2007 after moving to Florida, though his relatives continue active Christian ministry work; one son, Charles Humbard, previously of Discovery Networks, assumed the role of Gospel Music Channel CEO in 2004.