Is Eddie Deezen still a Scientologist? We have to assume he is, because he’s been involved for a very long time (since John Travolta got him interested in Dianetics while they were filming Grease in 1977), and he was most recently mentioned in a Scientology magazine as completing a level, OT Preps, in 2015.
Eddie went Clear at some point around 1990, and more than thirty years later there’s just no excuse for him to be so bad at keeping his TRs in.
You may understand what we’re referring to. Eddie is famous, of course, for playing the iconic nerd in Grease and Wargames and now he’s a 64-year-old man who works the photo-and-signature circuit while living in his hometown of Cumberland, Maryland.
And on social media, he’s a disaster. He’s a shouty geezer who writes in all capitals and has shocked fans for getting into a pissing match about his creepy obsession with a local waitress in her 20s. Eddie doesn’t like it when the young woman doesn’t wear long eyelashes and other makeup, and he was surprised apparently when she called him out on it, saying he’s been stalking her for some time.
His responses are truly beyond the pale. Eddie, where’s your Scientology bullbait skills?
Here’s a small sample of the kind of thing he was posting for several days (all of which he has now removed from his account)…
After several stories about his creepy behavior showed up in the press, he replaced those posts with one very long post, which begins with this…
If you read the entire screed, you will no doubt pick up a few examples of Scientology jargon which the general public probably won’t notice. But whatever, it’s just disappointing that Deezen turns out to be such a loathsome oaf in his dotage.
But at least he gives us an excuse to remind readers (especially other journalists) that Scientology’s list of “celebrities” is actually very short, and has few truly big names on it. We don’t know how many times we’ve had to stop interviewers asking us why “so many” big stars seem drawn to Scientology. It’s a few stars, and then a list of middling names who rarely bring glory on the church.
Deezen is a reminder that Scientology “homo novi” are really not the superior species they think they are.
In other minor celebrity news, we were knocked out by an analysis done by one of our own readers, 5 Feet and Luminous, regarding an interview of Marissa Ribisi, an actress who is twin sister to actor Giovanni Ribis and part of the formidable Ribisi Scientology clan. Marissa is also recently divorced from former Scientology celebrity Beck Hansen.
5 Feet and Luminous had a brilliant breakdown of what Marissa said in the interview, and she posted it very late at night in our comments, and we wanted to make sure you all saw it. Here it is…
In keeping with yesterday’s theme, here’s a recent interview with another Scientology “celebrity,” Marissa Ribisi. Granted, it’s for an obscure, start-up podcast with likely no audience beyond the podcaster’s immediate friend group. But what’s remarkable to me is how Scientology is laced throughout the entire conversation, which I don’t think the podcaster realizes. Usually, when you hear a Scientologist interviewed, a few bits of terminology or allusions to a concept will slip out that make knowing ears prick up. But Marissa? She speaks in Scientology. She thinks in scientology. She sees everything through a Scientology lens. I’m glad I didn’t make this interview into a “spot the Scientology reference” drinking game or I’d be in the hospital!
Some of the Scientology bits:
Advertisement— She refers to the Tone Scale several times. Here’s just one example: “With my kids, I’ve always said complaining is a really bad habit. Get out of that habit…Because then you’re just going to see life through negativity. You have to see the good in things. You have to appreciate things….You have appreciation at the top, it’s a scale, and at the bottom is critical…And you don’t want to live at the bottom. It’s too far towards death.”
— We got her theories of love as a scale, too. “Trapping” is at the bottom, interestingly enough.
— You also get a whiff of Scientology’s obsession with personal accountability. Of her “free-range” childhood: “There was just our sense of self and our own security. And if we were being followed, which happened all the time, you would just f**king ride your bike faster, or you would act like a crazy person…”
— Late in the interview, she says: “We grew up being adults at a very young age.”
— Another personal accountability quote: “The way we were raised, you’re not a victim. You’re in control of your own life, go out there a live it!”
— Avoid that entheta! “I hate the news, I don’t watch the news. And I don’t listen to it or read it. I’m always in the not-know on what’s going on unless somebody tells me.”
— “Toxic people are people that are critical and want to hurt others with their suppression and invalidation…Their whole goal is to ruin other people’s lives.”
— She’s got typical scientology ideas about parenting. She shares this convo she had with her 16-year old son: “He’s like, listen, we need to talk. I’m still a kid. I want to hold onto my kid years. I want you to make me a meal once in awhile. I said no problem, give me your cell phone. Your bedtime is 8 o’clock. And you’re not allowed to sleep at your girlfriend’s any longer…I said, why would you want to hold onto to being a kid?! It f**king sucks being a kid. Being an adult is the best! You get to make your own decisions. You get to work…I was like, I’m not raising a baby, quit being a baby. Your wife will leave you if you’re a baby like this! I’m raising a responsible adult who knows how to care for himself, but more importantly, how to care for others.”
— “My parents repeat it and still say it: Any feeling you have is because of you. Any trauma you go through is because you’ve put yourself there, or you’ve somehow gone into agreement, or you’ve allowed it. And so we are ultimately responsible for ourselves. We’re not only responsible for ourselves, we’re responsible for our family, our neighbor, our friends, mankind, everybody on the planet.”
Some of the dishy divorce bits:
— She initially avoids talking about her divorce directly, or even saying Beck Hansen’s name. But eventually she loosens up about it. I think the spectre of him is embedded throughout, actually. Anyway, she talks about the pain she felt and “personal trauma” she experienced with the divorce. I actually empathize with her on this. But inevitably, she says something scientological and it breaks the spell. And then I remember that the Ribisis are poison and I stop caring as much. (I’m an a**hole, I know.)
— One of those moments where she’s talking about how painful her divorce was, and then she wrecks it with some scientology BS: “How did I get myself here and what did I do to cause this? What did ** I ** do. Not what did my husband do. Not what did my kids do. Not what did my friends do to me. But what did I do to all of them?” Girl…no. Just no. I don’t even like you, but don’t do this to yourself.
— Again, that was not a happy marriage: “I can’t control my ex husband. But I can grant him being-ness, let him be who he is, and not try to change him. At our 10 year mark…I had this other epiphany. I went: Oh my god, I’m trying to be happy. I’m going to just be willing to be unhappy. Because marriage is for better and for worse, and blah blah blah blah…I thought, oh this is just a for-worse time, but we’re going to push through this. And I’m going to stop trying to be happy or pretending to be happy. I’m going to experience it, and through communication, try to develop a deeper understanding with this person.”
— She regrets giving up her career when she got married and started having kids, and basically sidelined her own life to “let Beck be Beck.” And now, he’s still got his career, and she has to start over. Totally valid point here, and I do sympathize. I’ve seen plenty of women struggle with re-entering the job market after taking time to focus on parenting. It’s tough, it’s frustrating, and it’s inherently unfair.
AdvertisementOther random dishy bits:
— We learn she used to be housemates with Brie Shaffer–timing puts it at mid-to-late 90s. Is that when she and Vonni were “roomies” with Danny Masterson, too?
— The alleged hustle she says that she and Brie tapped to get their late-90s flick Some Girls made is undermined by how her own mom told the story back in the day: http://www.insidefilm.com/s…
— She has a boyfriend now, and she never thought she’d fall in love again after being married for so long. But then an “old friend” came back into her life–someone she’s known since she was 19. My inner conspiracy theorist is going: “Watch, it’s Luke Watson, who’s been deployed to keep her on Team Danny.” But that’s crazy. Scientology would never do something like that.
Thank you for paying such close attention to the podcast, 5 Feet. We owe you one.
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“You’d feel awfully strange if a robot clanked into the room, sat down in the auditing chair and began to pump your hand. As a matter of fact, you’d feel a little queasy. And in view of the fact that this has probably happened quite often on the track, that a robot walked in and started to dismantle you or something of the sort because you’d just had your doll body revoked, you react very badly to something that doesn’t communicate. You probably wouldn’t even object to the robot dismantling your doll body if he came in and said, ‘Well, I got an order here from the general council that you, having been guilty of mopery and dopery in high space, are herewith deprived of one doll body, and we’re going to take it apart and leave it on the bench for seventy-two hours.’ No, that’s what I used to do. This is a different one.” — L. Ron Hubbard, June 27, 1961
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“I’ve just had a grand slam across the boards on C/S. With Belkacem auditing most, some by Dusty Rhodes and one by Otto, we really swept it up 100%. Two Very Well Dones and the rest Well Dones. And not easy C/Ses to do either. Boy can we get auditing done. Rest of you students better get going. You’ve got a lot to live up to with the standard now being set.” — The Commodore, June 27, 1969
“What is OT? If it is cause over matter, energy, space, and time, then it is still vague to me. It would be good to know what is possible with one’s mind and spirit, but granted, what LRH did in one lifetime was beyond amazing! Perhaps it is up to us to discover the possibilities. My 6th sense says to me that the CIA has an entire department that have studied and used Scientology tech for advanced horrors.”
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2000: The Riverside Press-Enterprise reported in three articles that a woman at Scientology’s Gold Base near Hemet, California was killed by electrocution in a utility pit. “A Church of Scientology member was electrocuted in a bizarre accident Sunday morning in an underground vault at the church’s film studio north of San Jacinto, authorities said. She was a woman in her 20s who had been a church member for 2 1/2 years, said Riverside County sheriff’s spokeswoman Lisa McConnell. The girl was a production company crew member at Golden Era Studios, which produces promotional and training films for the church. Firefighters were called to the scene about 10:15 a.m., said Riverside County fire Capt. Tim Chavez. The call first came out as a traffic collision, then as a structure fire. ‘When we arrived we found a woman electrocuted in a below-ground level vault, obviously dead,’ Chavez said, adding she was badly burned. She apparently died instantly after contacting a 7,200-volt wire connecting two transformers in the 10-foot by 10-foot by 8-foot vault, the Sheriff’s Department reported. ‘The individual was very badly burned and visual identification was impossible,’ said Senior Deputy Robert Moquin. The general manager, Ken Hoden, said the woman, interested in helping animals, was concerned about the death of a squirrel in the vault a few weeks earlier, went to investigate and, apparently, fell on the wires. Scientology’s skeptics raised questions about the death. ‘You wouldn’t be allowed to be wandering around out there,’ said Stacy Brooks, who described herself as having been a Scientologist for 15 years, including some time at Golden Era, before leaving in 1989. Brooks is president of the Lisa McPherson Trust, a Scientology watchdog group. ‘These people watch every minute. It’s just not feasible knowing how things worked out there that she was just wandering around taking care of baby squirrels,’ Brooks said.”
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“You ever get up in front of 6,000 people who want to murder your ass until you prove you’re worthy of their adulation and they are spitting and throwing bottles and everything else they can lay their hands on? Because I have on numerous occasions.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Next hearing set for August 9. Trial tentatively scheduled for early November.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff’s sentencing to be scheduled.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Pretrial conference August 21 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: June 18 pretrial conference delayed until July 9.
Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Oral arguments were heard on July 30 at the Eleventh Circuit
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Petition to US Supreme Court submitted on May 26. Scientology has until June 25 to respond.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: California Supreme Court grants review on May 26, asks Second Appellate Division to direct Judge Steven Kleifield to show cause why he granted Scientology’s motion for arbitration.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach tax debt: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy. Dec 17: Feshbachs sign court judgment obliging them to pay entire $3.674 million tax debt, plus interest from Nov 19.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Second amended complaint filed, trial set for Nov 9, 2021.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs. Case appealed on Dec 24.
Concluded litigation:
— Dennis Nobbe, Medicare fraud, PPP loan fraud: Charged July 29. Bond revoked Sep 14. Nobbe dead, Sep 14.
— Jane Doe v. Scientology (in Miami): Jane Doe dismissed the lawsuit on May 15 after the Clearwater Police dropped their criminal investigation of her allegations.
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THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON
We first broke the news of the LAPD’s investigation of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson on rape allegations in 2017, and we’ve been covering the story every step of the way since then. At this page we’ve collected our most important links, including our four days in Los Angeles covering the preliminary hearing and its ruling, which has Danny facing trial and the potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison.
After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.
LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH
An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.
SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z
Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!
Other links: SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks. Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society. Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in a weekly series. How many have you read?
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THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] The private eye who started out working for Danny Masterson & now may testify against him
[TWO years ago] Tommy Davis is tying the knot in Morocco, and we didn’t get an invite
[THREE years ago] In the Sea Org, no one can hear you scream: Another small slice of Scientology horror
[FOUR years ago] REPORT: David Miscavige has not been to Scientology’s secretive ‘Int Base’ in four years
[FIVE years ago] Leah Remini is shooting a TV series about Scientology
[SIX years ago] Did Scientology hire the man sent to prison for hacking us? Not his job to find out, judge said
[SEVEN years ago] Here’s a reminder of Scientology’s Cold War origins — L. Ron Hubbard on radiation!
[EIGHT years ago] Judge Whittemore Sets Evidentiary Hearing in Garcia Federal Fraud Lawsuit
[TEN years ago] Scientology’s ‘Martin Luther’ Nails Up His Disputation: Marty Rathbun’s Open Letter to his Texas Neighbors
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Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 2,344 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,849 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,369 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,389 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,280 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,587 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,455 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,229 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 1,559 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,033 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,349 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,915 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,834 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,002 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,583 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,844 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,882 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,595 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,120 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 475 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,650 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,201 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,350 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,670 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,525 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,644 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,000 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,303 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,409 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,811 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,683 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,266 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,761 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,015 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,124 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on June 27, 2021 at 07:00
E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.
Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. Our book about Paulette, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.
The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2020 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2020), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)
Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists | GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice | SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts | Shelly Miscavige, 15 years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ
Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…
Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.
Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele
