R.I.P. | The Underground Bunker

Scientology loses its best fundraiser at perhaps the worst possible time

[Davie Lurie and his sister Charmaine Roger]

Word has gradually made its way out of Scientology’s Florida headquarters — the Flag Land Base, in Clearwater — that a key figure there has died. One of the things “Flag” is known for is that it brings in more money than all the rest of Scientology’s worldwide facilities […]

Leonard Cohen: This awful year strikes again with the loss of a transcendent genius

You probably heard the news last night that Leonard Cohen died at 82. And today, you’ll be seeing some really great remembrances of him and the many different chapters of his life as an author, a songwriter, and a performer. (New Yorker editor David Remnick profiled Cohen in a brilliant piece just last […]

Kathy Slevin, sister who attacked Paul Haggis on behalf of Scientology, dies at 60

Last year, when Alex Gibney’s documentary Going Clear opened at theaters and then aired on HBO, Scientology leader David Miscavige struck back in a very characteristic way — with websites and videos denouncing Gibney and the people who appeared in the […]

Megan Shields, the physician Scientology used to vouch for its drug rehabs, dies of cancer

[Megan Shields and her husband, George Duggan]

We learned last night that Dr. Megan Shields, a Glendale physician and OT 8 Scientologist who had been doctor to many Church of Scientology members in the Los Angeles area, died last week after a lengthy battle with cancer. She was […]

That time Muhammad Ali got blindsided by the Church of Scientology

Like the rest of the world, we’re remembering Muhammad Ali today with the passing of one of the 20th century’s most intriguing personalities. Like you, we’re seeing a lot of great pieces about Ali’s career as an athlete and his memorable quotes as a human being, one of the best known human beings of all […]

David Bowie, 1947-2016

“We used to call him Garson The Parson in the Spiders, poor love, when he was into Scientology. But it did cause us one or two problems. I was thinking about having him back in the band and the thing that really clinched it was hearing that he was no longer a Scientologist.”

— David Bowie, […]

Geoffrey Lewis, 1935-2015, a consummate character actor and an OT 5 Scientologist

Geoffrey Lewis, the bucolic character actor known best for the 1970s Clint Eastwood movies he appeared in, died in his son Miles’s arms Tuesday after suffering cardiac arrest during a morning workout. He was 79 years […]

Longtime Scientologist Jim Jackson remembers Lyman Spurlock, 1945-2014

Jim Jackson

We’re still hearing from people about Lyman Spurlock, the longtime Scientology executive who died last month of throat cancer. And in particular we received a truly remarkable remembrance from someone who has never spoken publicly about his time in the organization. Jim Jackson is an attorney and certified public accountant in Los […]

Lyman Spurlock, 1945-2014: Imprisoned and abused, a loyal Scientology executive to the end

We received confirmation that Lyman Spurlock, a longtime and high-ranking official in the Church of Scientology, died last month after a battle with cancer. He was 69.

Spurlock had worked directly with Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, and was a key figure in Hubbard’s scheme to reorganize Scientology while he was in hiding in the early […]

Denise Brennan, 1952-2014: A former insider who exposed Scientology’s corporate shell game

Denise Brennan, a former Scientology executive in the 1970s and 1980s who became a vocal whistle blower about the organization’s structure and finances, died of a heart attack in New Hampshire yesterday morning at about 8 am.

Brennan, 62, had told numerous friends that she had been writing so much about Scientology in recent years in […]

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