I'm continually fascinated by the accounts of those whose lives have grown in ways seemingly contrary to the environment in which they were "nurtured". A favorite example of mine is that of John Lennon, who survived a banal, disaffected and repressed mid-fifties English proletariat upbringing to emerge as the ultimate iconclast, innovating a shift in not only pop music but western culture itself.
In a different way, there's Marjoe Gortner. Old film buffs may know him as the crazed National Guardsman in the 1970s movie "Earthquake". Years ago, while working for a film research company in Hollywood, I had come across a synopsis on "Marjoe", a small documentary about the life of a boy-evangelist. I read up some on his story, which I found interesting, but never got a chance to see it.
In a nutshell, the story is that of a boy named Marjoe (viz."Mary" and "Joseph"), born to zealous, evangelical Christian parents. He was taught--or, rather, indoctrinated--from a very early age to preach the Gospel; coached in all the gesturing, mannerisms and vocal style of a revivalist. By his account, he wasn't allow to play as a child, but was subjected to various forms of decidedly un-Christian physical torture in order to compel him to conform.
As for the rest of his story, one might'nt be surprised to learn that he went on to live some sort of maligned life, perhaps as a preacher with some veiled disdain for believers; or else a murderer. What actually happened, as documented in Marjoe, I find even more interesting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKln1sQXvmo&feature=related
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