When I walked through the front door at The Way to Happiness Foundation International in Glendale, California recently, I found the building empty except for a young brunette receptionist. I expected the impressive Scientology building to be empty — I haven’t seen one recently that wasn’t scarcely populated, and I’ve visited a few of their...
Author: Skip Press
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November 27, 2013November 27, 2013Hollywood
Black Scientology
When I first read of Scientology’s most recent incursion into the black community in the U.S., I laughed, but that quickly turned to horror the more I learned. A small storefront on East 116th Street in Harlem had been closed, but a newer, flashier Scientology organization had been opened at 220 E. 125th Street. The...
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November 7, 2013November 7, 2013Life
The Man Who Got Me Out of Scientology
In 1996, I had been involved in $cientology (that’s how I spell it now) off and on for a couple of decades. It started off innocently enough. I was estranged from my family, had dropped out of college, had recollections of past lives, and wanted some answers and direction in life. I wrote about this...
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August 11, 2013August 11, 2013Hollywood
The Massive List of Celebrities That Departed Scientology
Leah Remini recently exited Scientology stage left, and the resultant media attention will be ongoing, given her announced intention to publish a book. Meanwhile an interview with her sister Nicole revealed what happens when a person leaves L. Ron Hubbard’s moneymaking scheme. Do I or others exaggerate about Hubbard’s love of money? I can only...
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August 9, 2013August 9, 2013Hollywood
Karen Black and Death in Scientology
When I read on Facebook about Karen Black’s death and saw the comments, I thought back to the times I’d spent with Karen and people I’d known when we were both in Scientology. I got back in touch with one commenter, writer/director Michael Rymer, after reading his condolences. Michael sold his first screenplay — Dead...
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October 23, 2012October 23, 2012Notables
Loving Hating Breitbart
Those of us who knew Andrew Breitbart fairly well are still in a state of shock that he’s gone. I first learned about his passing the way I’ve learned of many things over the years, by logging onto The Drudge Report early one morning. At first it was just a shocking headline saying “Dead at...
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October 3, 2012October 3, 2012Notables
Johnny Lewis and Scientology’s Criminal Behavior
As I write this article, actor Johnny Lewis is ranked #1 on the STARmeter on the Internet Movie Database Pro version. At #2 is Joseph Gordon-Levitt, currently appearing in the #1 movie Looper with Bruce Willis (who is ranked #19 on the STARmeter). Unfortunately, the ranking won’t help his career, because Johnny Lewis is dead,...
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July 16, 2012July 16, 2012Hollywood
Sex, Scientology, and Celebrity Centre
Dumped on the streets of Los Angeles in December of 1973 with nowhere to go by the Scientology Celebrity Centre, after being forced to stay up for three days doing “amends” to the great and powerful Sea Organization because of a kangaroo court known as a Committee of Evidence, I realized I knew no one...
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September 28, 2011September 28, 2011Hollywood
Kirstie Alley: Scientology Celebrities’ Conditions of Confusion
Recently, prior to attending a reading by Janet Reitman of her book Inside Scientology, my date and I strolled down Vermont Avenue in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Los Feliz, looking at the packed cafes and coffee shops. In contrast, I noticed one large, well-lit storefront was also vacant, save a couple of employees. “What’s...
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September 6, 2011September 6, 2011Hollywood
From Scientology Apostate to Humanitarian, Oscar Winning Screenwriter Paul Haggis Helps Rebuild Haiti
When Lawrence Wright was writing his lengthy and controversial New Yorker article on the defection of Paul Haggis from Scientology, he called me for a long discussion. I had not spoken to Paul for years because as far as I knew, he was in Scientology and I hadn’t been involved for well over a decade....