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Nan McLean, 1923-2019: One of the bravest women who ever exposed Scientology’s abuses

[Nan with Jon Atack in Toronto in 2015]

Last night, we learned from Nan McLean’s granddaughter Phaedra Fairwell that Nan, a veteran of vicious Fair Game attacks after leaving Scientology and going public in the 1970s, died yesterday at Southlake Regional Hospital in Newmarket, Ontario. She was 96 years []

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Adam Holland, Scientology whistle-blower who exposed Sea Org conditions, 1988-2019

 We heard from a family member last night that Adam Holland, a former Canadian Sea Org member who went public about the Sea Org’s degrading conditions after leaving the organization in 2009, took his own life on February 17. He was only 30 years []

Tony Ortega: Musician, songwriter, and steel executive, 1938-2019

 Yesterday morning, the Underground Bunker lost one of its most loyal and longtime readers. A resident of Redlands, California, he was fighting a recurrence of cancer after twice surviving the disease. His name was Tony Ortega. He was 80 years old. And he was my []

Tiponi Grey’s daughter: She knew her life might end at any time

 The news of Tiponi Grey’s death came as a real shock to Scientology and the Aftermath watchers, who were informed of it with the words “In Memoriam” at the end of the episode she appeared in that aired on December []

Bill Franks, 1946-2018, appointed by Hubbard to ‘reform’ Scientology after Snow White scandal

[Bill Franks, left, with former mission holder Bent Corydon last year]

We spoke with Bill Franks a few weeks ago on the phone after we heard he had entered hospice care. We wanted him to know how much we appreciated the help we got from him on our book about Paulette Cooper. He was characteristically humble []

Tiponi Grey, 1968-2018, a woman who told off Scientology for its lack of compassion

[Tiponi in July, with (L to R) Ishmael Bey, Mike Rinder, Leah Remini, and Hector Falu-Muhammad]

On Tuesday night, viewers of Leah Remini’s Scientology and the Aftermath were stunned when the episode finished with the words, “In Memoriam, Tiponi Grey.” []

Eric Saldarriaga, private eye who took the fall for Scientology, 1973-2017

 We have just learned that a little more than a year ago, a man named Eric Saldarriaga died after battling esophageal cancer. He died the day before his 44th birthday, leaving behind a wife and two young sons. []

Dave Richards, 1948-2018, ran the Founding Church of Scientology in DC

[Dave Richards and Ron Miscavige, after the Eagles Super Bowl win in February]

We were saddened to learn from Ron Miscavige and Becky Bigelow last night that Dave Richards died unexpectedly yesterday at his home in Phoenix. He was []

A Scientology enforcer dies, and one of his former victims is the only one to eulogize him

[Lajos Fritzlauf, 1963-2018]

Our man in Hungary, Péter Bonyai, has a special piece for us today that, sadly, fits in with a history of similar remembrances here at the Underground Bunker, where we memorialize Church of Scientology figures that the church itself never []

Another life connected to Scientology ends in despair, as so many do

[William J. Newman]

In what is becoming an all-too frequent occurrence, we have another Scientology-related suicide to tell you about today. And this one connects to another one we told you about []