Estus Washington Pirkle (March 12, 1930 – March 3, 2005) was an American Baptist minister, evangelist, and filmmaker.
Early life Estus Washington Pirkle was born in Vienna, Georgia on March 12, 1930. He was one of eleven children to Grover Washington Pirkle and Bessie Nora Jones. He grew up primarily in Sycamore, Georgia. He graduated from Norman Junior College and attended Mercer University in Macon and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Pirkle became a pastor travelling through the southern United States, including his home state of Georgia, Texas, Louisiana and Kentucky. He met his wife Ann in Athens, Texas. Pirkle served at Locust Grove Baptist Church in New Albany, Mississippi for 36 years.
Pirkle died on March 3, 2005, in Tupelo, Mississippi, nine days before his 75th birthday.
Film work In addition to his preaching, Pirkle was known for creating and starring in his own Christian films as well as writing numerous books.The Communists Are Coming! The Atheists Are Here!: Estus Pirkle and His Red Scare Mongering IF FOOTMEN TIRE YOU, WHAT WILL HORSES DO? —— Hyperreal Film Club His films were directed by Ron Ormond (known for his previous works on exploitation films like 1953's Mesa of Lost Women)THE GRINDHOUSE GOSPEL OF RON ORMOND on Vimeo and produced by the Ormond Organization of Nashville, Tennessee. The first of these films was the Christian horror film If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do? from 1971.Prophets and Propaganda, or, If Faces Tire You, What Will Movies Do? – Art & Trash
The Burning Hell is a 1974 exploitation horror film created by Pirkle (directed by Ormond) as his interpretation of what the Bible has to say about hell.The Burning Hell, allhorror.com The Burning Hell (1974)|MUBI Both Footmen and The Burning Hell are widely notorious for their poor production values, depiction of graphic and brutal violence and hypocritical nature. The 1977 companion movie The Believer's Heaven gives Pirkle's interpretation of what the Bible has to say about heaven.The Believer's Heaven (1977)|MUBI Unlike its predecessors, The Believer's Heaven was not successful at all, due it being much tamer in its gratuitous violence and gore; nevertheless, all three films were critically panned.
Legacy Pirkle's preaching was sampled by Negativland for the song "Christianity Is Stupid".Christianity Is Stupid by Negativland - Topic on YouTube The Believer's Heaven was sampled by Insane Clown Posse on their 1997 album The Great Milenko.
Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn restored both The Burning Hell and The Believer's Heaven each for film festival showings and streaming.MUBI Special: Restored By Nicholas Winding Refn|MUBI
Bibliography (1968) Wintertime, Moffitt Press (1969) Preachers in Space, Hiott Press (1969) What Are You Living For?, MP Religious Book and Record Co. The 1611 King James Bible: a study, The King's Press A Ray for God, The Official Biography of Percy Ray, The King's Press
Filmography If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do? (1971)Communists! Drive-In Movies! The Seven Female Erotic Zones! Estus Pirkle Saves Us - SF Weekly The Burning Hell (1974)The Estus Pirkle Evangelistic Association presents the burning hell (DVD video, 1974) - WorldCat.orgNicolas Winding Refn Beings Rare Country Music Films to UK's Black Deer Festival - The Bluegrass SituationIf Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do? (1971)|MUBI The Believer's Heaven (1977)Cinema Inferno - Google Books (pg.297)
References
External links
The Burning Hell at byNWR If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do? at byNWR