Ernest Angley, longtime televangelist and author, dead at 99

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The Rev. Ernest Angley, a televangelist who developed a loyal following for his ministry over several decades, has died, his organization announced Friday evening. He was 99.

"Pastor, evangelist, and author Rev. Ernest Angley has gone to Heaven to be with His Lord and Master at 99," read a statement on the website of Ernest Angley Ministries. "He touched multitudes of souls worldwide with the pure Word of God confirmed with signs, wonders, miracles, and healings. He truly pleased God in all things."

No cause of death was disclosed.

Angley, a native of North Carolina, ran the Grace Cathedral church in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, in the Cleveland-Akron area for several decades, FOX 8 of Cleveland reported. But through his TV operation, launched in 1972, his sermons were seen by audiences throughout the U.S.

Angley grew up in a family of seven children in humble circumstances in Gastonia, North Carolina, according to Cleveland.com.

He started working as a preacher during the Depression and met his wife, Esther Lee, at a Bible training school in Tennessee at age 20, the report said. Known as "Angel," his wife died in 1970 at age 49.

The couple decided not to have children because Angley wanted them to travel together for his ministry, The Washington Post reported in 1980. They eventually settled in the Akron area in 1954.

"Angley offered hope to the hopeless," Stephen Pullum, author of a book about faith healers, told Cleveland.com.

But he also drew controversy. He was arrested in Germany in 1984, charged with fraud and practicing medicine without a license, and was denounced by officials in Guyana in 2006 for allegedly claiming he could cure AIDS, USA Today reported.

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In 2018, a former employee who worked for Angley for a decade accused the pastor of harassment and molestation but Angley dismissed the allegations as "a bunch of lies," FOX 8 reported.

After Angley countersued, the pair ultimately reached an out-of-court settlement, according to USA Today.

The late comedian Robin Williams routinely spoofed Angley and his Southern drawl speaking style as the character, "The Rev. Ernest Angry," USA Today reported.