Aug. 12, 1963 - The world’s No. 1 evangelist launches a month-long crusade this week in Los Angeles, where his amazing odyssey began 14 years ago. Much has happened to Billy Graham (pictured with Art Linkletter) in that time. “I’ve learned a great deal,” he says. “I hope my preaching has improved.” Graham was totally unknown, a lanky, affable, sharp young man with a passionate conviction and a gift for words, when he held his first tent meeting in 1949. Thursday, a seasoned, more confident Graham will step to the platform. “A great many things are different,” he says. “But I’m more convinced than ever that Christ is the answer.” Instead of a tent, the setting will be the 110,000-seat Los Angeles Coliseum. Now 44, earning $19,500 a year, Graham is one of the world’s best-known religious figures. He has preached personally to more than 40 million listeners, in more than 60 crusades and other engagements, and in more than 50 countries on every continent.
