The Massive List of Celebrities That Departed Scientology
When Leah Remini exited Scientology stage left, and announced her intention to publish a book, few people expected the astonishing effect she’d have on her former so-called religion, but I did. To clue people in on the courage it took for the Reminis to leave, an interview with Leah’s sister Nicole revealed what happens when a person leaves L. Ron Hubbard’s moneymaking scheme. Have I or others exaggerated about Hubbard’s love of money? I can only report from my experience.
His long-time literary agent, Forrest J. Ackerman, once laughingly told me about “Ron” begging to borrow $50 so that he could pay child support and stay out of jail. Several people (all non-Scientologists) told me how Hubbard was popular pre-Dianetics because of his hypnotism skills and ability to entertain with bombastic stories that no one believed. Someone had to give him a ride to parties, because he never had a car and was always broke.
Leah was far from alone in defecting, just more high profile. A number of publications compiled lists of celebrities who departed Scientology. The Hollywood Reporter wrote about “7 Stars Who Quit Scientology.” Us magazine offered “Stars Who Left Scientology” — which I was happy to see because they included Jerry Seinfeld, who was often left off of such lists. E! included Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze as stars who were involved. As I read these articles I wondered why the reporters hadn’t done more homework? What about Brad Pitt, who dated Juliette Lewis for five years? How about Catherine Bach, the original “Daisy Mae” on the hit TV show Dukes of Hazzard? I suppose none of the journalists ever searched the site Church of Scientology Exit Zone - the names are voluminous.
But now, let’s look at how Hubbard defined celebrity: “Any person important in his field or an opinion leader or his entourage.” What started the emphasis on celebrity was Hubbard’s 1955 “Project Celebrity” with offered rewards. He didn’t snag anyone on his list, but Scientology did get Walt “Pogo” Kelly’s kids, Carolyn and Peter, when the Los Angeles Times revived Kelly’s famous comic strip in 1989 under the title Walt Kelly’s Pogo. The strip ran through the early 1990s, which is when I was in touch with Carolyn, but later the Kellys left the church. Their involvement reminded me of when Johnny Carson’s son Cory took the Communications Course at the Scientology Celebrity Centre’s original location on 8th Street near downtown L.A. Cory was quiet, practiced his classical guitar on breaks, and after that course never came back.
If you ever saw The King of Late Night’s contentious exchange about Scientology with Karen Black on The Tonight Show and wondered why that happened, now you know.
As a staff member at “CC” and later as a “celebrity” myself, I saw many notables come and go. I was amazed one day when actress Anne Francis ordered something from the snack bar I ran, only to be later disappointed when she left Scientology because she heard Hubbard’s daughter Diana say the purpose of the Public Division of Scientology was “to capture and control the public.” I wrote about Rock Hudson’s brief flirtation with the subject in another article about sex and Celebrity Centre. I didn’t mention Lou Rawls taking the Communications Course at the short-lived Celebrity Centre Las Vegas, then visiting CCLA in Los Angeles to get CC Founder Yvonne Jentzsch to quit promoting him as a Scientologist. All the members of David Bowie’s “Spiders From Mars” band took the Communications Course at CC, and members of The Grateful Dead did the same in San Francisco.
Many famous musicians came through Scientology then left. Al Jarreau was involved on and off for years. Burton Cummings, leader of the Canadian rock group The Guess Who, did a drug detox program at Scientology’s Narconon in Los Angeles, then got out of Scientology as he found out more about it. I met him at a party Paul McCartney gave after the “Wings Over America” tour in 1976. Van Morrison did quite a bit of Scientology in San Francisco via my former roommate, rock pianist Nicky Hopkins, then after leaving he came out with the album No Guru, No Method, No Teacher. Apparently, it took Van a bit longer to realize, as Elvis Presley once stated, “that son-of-a-bitchin’ group. All they want is my money.” (And the celebrity bragging status he would give them.) Numerous musicians came into Scientology via Corea and left, often very unhappily, such as Corea’s former Return To Forever members: percussionist Airto Moreira; Moreira’s wife, vocalist Flora Purim; and guitarist Al Di Meola.
Famed jazz guitarist Gabor Szabo did more than leave — he filed a $21 million lawsuit against Scientology before his death.
How do I know all this? For years while a staff member at CC I ran the Central Files and wrote the majority of the recruiting letters, as many as 1300 per week hand-typed on a portable typewriter while making a carbon copy of each letter. Any time anyone bought a book, they went into Central Files. I found TV legend Steve Allen there once, corresponded with him, and found out he’d read Dianetics, but way back in 1950 when it first came out. Allen had not visited CC; Yvonne Jentzsch put Allen’s name and address in “CF” when she found out he’d read the book. She didn’t mind subterfuge to get her way; she used the “Project Celebrity” idea to get off the Scientology ship Apollo and escape Hubbard, who was continually hitting on her. Too bad for her the celebrity recruitment didn’t pay off, as I chronicled in my article about her — Death by Devotion.
Celebrities leaving Scientology has been going on as long as I remember, as well as lies about who was involved. When I took my first course in Austin, Texas, I was told The Moody Blues were involved — it was a story told often to recruit people. I wanted proof, so I called the then central headquarters of Scientology in the world, St. Hill in England, and was told the Moodys had never been involved.
A great many major stars got in and got out. How major? How about Superman? I met Christopher Reeve when he showed up at the Celebrity Centre on La Brea Avenue in Hollywood to fly Yvonne Jentzsch and her husband Heber to a Scientology event called Prayer Day in Anaheim, California. (He was a licensed pilot.) “Can I go?” I asked naively and was told the small plane was full. I remarked that obviously he was an actor, and he said matter-of-factly that he was in town to film Superman.
Being a typically uninformed Scientology staffer who didn’t read newspapers (Ron’s recommendation) or watch TV (ditto), I said, “That’s great, who are you playing?”
After he got the stunned and bemused smile off his face, Chris said, “Superman.”
I learned he’d done a good bit of Scientology counseling in New York at a mission run by Helen Geltman and wanted his pre-paid “auditing hours” transferred to Celebrity Centre. Yvonne went all the way to Hubbard to try to get that accomplished, but Geltman refused. Reeve got disgusted and left Scientology, and the whole world benefited. He later wrote about it but without the details I just gave you. Can you imagine how Hubbard and his minions would have played it, publicity-wise, had Reeve stayed? “Superman is a Scientologist! Come fly our clear blue skies!”
It’s a long, long list of celebrities who came, saw, and said adios — Sonny Bono; Candice Bergen (got involved to write an article about it); actress Peggy Lipton (her brother Kenny was on staff at CC); William Burroughs wrote a book about it; Leonard Cohen’s “Famous Blue Raincoat” had a line about “going Clear”; actress Cathy Lee Crosby; All-Pro NFL quarterback John Brodie; actor Michael Fairman; and many more that you can sort through (both those who remain and the many more who left) here. (Watch out, though, rumors must be sorted through. For example, actor Ron “Tarzan” Ely got confused with another person by that name who was in Scientology. The actor did, however, show up at Celebrity Centre on La Brea Avenue one day to buy a used pickup truck from a Scientology course supervisor named Ron Santasierro — I met him when he was there.)
Internally-generated setbacks of alienating celebrities have, for decades, kept Scientology from achieving its ambition of total domination of Hollywood and fooling the world into thinking Scientology is worthwhile. In recent years, I’ve been continually pleased as people like my old friend Paul Haggis wake up and depart, and I’m thrilled with how Leah Remini turned the Scientology policy of “Never defend, attack!” on her former comrades. I was even more thrilled when I learned Lisa Marie Presley and her mother left. I’d worked for Priscilla answering Elvis mail long ago, and liked all of those ladies, including Cilla’s half-sister Michelle Beaulieu.
Not long after musician Geoff Levin left, he put his hit rock group PEOPLE! back together. They broke up because of Scientology prejudice, but have since recorded an album and made a documentary that covers how Scientology ruined careers and relationships for decades.
As Scientology continues to stumble toward its inevitable imminent demise, I applaud every single person I’ve known who has left, and particularly those who spoke out. They have helped greatly toward ridding the world of the former pulp fiction writer’s most evil creation.
Earlier version published at www.themortonreport.com on August 11, 2013.
