Harold Camping, the Doomsday radio preacher who sparked international media attention by predicting the end of the world last month, has been hospitalized after suffering a stroke at his Alameda home Thursday night.

The 89-year-old radio evangelist and president of the Oakland nonprofit Family Radio was taken by ambulance from his house Thursday night, a neighbor said, but his well-known, gravelly voice that led many believers to donate millions of dollars to his cause may never be the same.

“He had a stroke, it was on his right side,” said the neighbor, who declined to give her name but said she and her husband helped and comforted Camping’s wife, Shirley, as the drama unfolded Thursday night.

Her husband spoke again with Shirley Camping on Friday. “His speech appears to be a little bit slurred but otherwise he’s OK,” the neighbor said. “(Shirley) said he was doing good “… and the only thing that’s affected is his speech.”

There was no answer at the door of the Camping home Saturday afternoon and all of the curtains and blinds were drawn. A GMC pickup with a Family Radio bumper sticker and a white Buick sat in the driveway.

Charles Menut — the regional manager for Family Stations Inc., Family Radio’s parent company, and the station manager and chief engineer for an affiliated station in West Orange, N.J. — posted a Yahoo group message early Saturday morning reporting Camping’s stroke to Family Radio supporters.

“Please just pray for him and do not try to contact anyone at his home or Family Radio,” Menut wrote. “He and Shirley have enough family members to handle the situation. I’m sure we’ll be able to publicly update everyone on Monday.”

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