R.I.P. | The Underground Bunker

Jenny Burpee, former Scientology Sea Orger and Cat White friend who helped find her, dead at 39

In September and October 2015, we found ourselves at the Underground Bunker scrambling to keep up with a major national story that we’d helped to break: Actor Jim Carrey’s girlfriend, Cathriona “Cat” White, had been found dead of an apparent suicide at 30. We were the first to add the detail that Cat, an immigrant […]

Remembering Dan Sherman, Scientology’s bad biographer and worse speechwriter

One thing that’s changed over our years of covering Scientology is that we used to get more videos from big events that featured David Miscavige giving […]

REPORT: Scientology loses captain of its Florida ‘spiritual mecca,’ a fundraising marvel

A couple of our best sources reached out to us this week to let us know they’ve heard something interesting that is coming out of Scientology’s “spiritual mecca,” the Flag Land Base in Clearwater, […]

Simi Valley: Not the town, but one of the Underground Bunker’s most loyal helpers

[Simi Valley, and Simi Valley]

To start out the new year of 2013, we posted one of our favorite stories of all time that morning of January 1: Simi Valley, a woman who had legally changed her name to match that Southern California town, was now not only out of the Church of Scientology, but she […]

Richard Belzer, and that time he got us in to see Tom Cruise roast Matt Lauer

[Belzer, center, with Jeff Ross, left, and Jim Carrey honoring Jerry Lewis on his 90th at the Friar’s Club in 2016]

We were very sad to hear about Richard Belzer’s passing. It was reported that he died in France this week at the age of 78 after some years there dealing with illness.

His last words were […]

Jerry Whitfield, longtime Scientology exit counselor, dies at 77

[Hana and Jerry Whitfield]

We spoke to Hana Whitfield last night, who was still in Miami, where her husband Jerry had died Sunday night after a lengthy illness. She was understandably feeling overwhelmed by everything she and Jerry have been going through, and she plans to return to her Coral Gables home for some rest. But […]

Paul Morantz is remembered for Synanon rattler, but he also faced Scientology’s fangs

On Friday, the Los Angeles Times had a very good piece about attorney Paul Morantz, who died in Santa Monica last Sunday at […]

Melissa McPhail: A fantasy writer’s travel through time to her Scientology Sea Org past

[Melissa McPhail]

Friday, April 15, 2022. Chariot, a film described as a “science fiction dark comedy” debuts in theaters. It stars John Malkovich, Thomas Mann, and Rosa Salazar. It is written and directed by Scientologist Adam Sigal, who told the Tampa Bay Times that he had fallen into filmmaking when he was working as a private […]

Hanan Islam, 62: Faced felony counts for insurance scam run out of Scientology clinic

[Hanan Islam and her son Rizza]

A memorial service for Hanan Islam has been scheduled for Saturday to take place at the gymnasium at Compton College in Southern California. Her son, Ronnie “Rizza” Islam, announced on his Instagram account on Sunday that his mother died after a ten-year battle with colon cancer. She was […]

Ginger Sugerman: Her way out of Scientology was marred by trauma

We were surprised and saddened to learn yesterday that Ginger Sugerman died in Georgia of a heart attack in early February. She was 62. […]

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