Early Life and Career
Popoff was born in Hamburg, Germany on July 2, 1946 to George and Gerda Popoff. As a child, Popoff and his family emigrated to the United States, where he claims to have attended Chaffey College and University of California, Santa Barbara.
Popoff married his wife Elizabeth in 1970 and the couple settled in Upland, California. He then began his television ministry. By the early 1980s, Popoff had a weekly television program broadcast nationally. He also wrote several paperback books in the early 1980s that were published by Faith Messenger Publications.
In 1985, Popoff came to national attention when he began campaigning for money to help smuggle Bibles into the Soviet Union. He claimed the Bibles would be tied to helium-filled balloons and sent wafting above the Iron Curtain. The plan was found to be completely impractical and never took place. When he had to account for the money being spent, Popoff staged a burglary at his own headquarters. On subsequent broadcasts of his show, he would tearfully beg for more money to help repair the damage.
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