Expert Interviews

L. Ron Hubbard

“You don't get rich writing science fiction. If you want to get rich, you start a religion.”

“The history of organizations in Dianetics and Scientology is a history of people. It is the history of a number of people finding their feet, finding their initiative and finding their way of life.”

Brief Bio:
L. Ron Hubbard is credited as the founder of Scientology and the Dianetics movement. Born on March 13, 1911 in Tilden, Nebraska, Hubbard was the son of naval officer, Harry Ross and Dora May Hubbard. Between the 1930s and 1945, Hubbard attended Georgetown University and Princeton University, but it is widely disputed if he ever graduated from either institution. During World War II he served as a Naval lieutenant, but was not as decorated of a soldier as church brochures would later claim. Hubbard had two unsuccessful marriages before finally settling down and having four children with wife, Marie Sue Whipp in 1952. An avid writer throughout his lifetime, Hubbard was well known for his rapid speed at producing various novels, stories, and articles. Publishing nearly 600 books, articles, and stories during his lifetime, Hubbard sold over 23 million copies of fiction writing, as well as over 27 million copies of non-fiction writing.

During the late 1940s, Hubbard developed the Dianetics movement, formed from concepts of Eastern religions and modern psychology. When the Dianetics movement started to gain public attention in the early 1950s, Hubbard formed the Church of Scientology (1954). The church became popular and grew rapidly throughout the 60s and 70s, and Hubbard experienced the fruits of success. However, Hubbard went into seclusion in the early 1980s due to legal problems, living on his yacht in international waters, his house in England, and his rural property in California. Hubbard died from a stroke on January 24, 1986, before he could be prosecuted for his legal troubles. Despite the controversy surrounding Hubbard’s life, church officials claimed that Hubbard had reached a state of mental clarity so pure that he did not require his human body anymore. Hubbard remains a very important if not the most important figure of Scientology, for his birthday is the highest regarded holiday among Scientologists. Without Hubbard, Scientology would most likely not exist, as well as the development of Dianetics.





David Miscavige:

"While one can complain about the conditions we live in and it all can seem overwhelming, we take a different view that the most important commodity on Earth are people …So, yes: We believe in human rights and are doing something to make them an everyday fact.”

Brief Bio:
• Born April 30th, 1960 in Suburban Philadelphia
• Joined the Church of Scientology at age 16 and has been its leader since 1987.
• Career Highlights: Ecclesiastical leader of Scientology since 1987, when he became chairman of the board of the Religious Technology Center. The RTC is responsible for preserving, maintaining and protecting Scientology and ensuring that its practices hold true to the original "technology"
• Numerous allegations have been made against him in court documents and media reports surrounding his treatment of staff, including physical assault, coerced abortions, human trafficking and child labor.

• David Miscavige is an important to interview because he is the current leader of the Church of Scientology and its many affiliated organizations. Miscavige is an interesting man due to the fact that he was originally an assistant to the late L. Ron Hubbard; He was able to prove himself within the community of Scientologists, however, and rose to a leadership position by the early 1980s.





Tom Cruise:

"In Scientology, we have the only successful drug rehabilitation program in the world. It's called Narconon… It's a statistically proven fact that there is only one successful drug rehabilitation program in the world. Period."

• Narconon claims to have a success rate over 70 percent, however, the accuracy of this figure has been widely disputed.

Brief Bio:
• Born July 3rd, 1962 in Syracuse, New York
• Extraordinary successful actor, producer, and philanthropist
• Outspoken advocate for Scientology
• Promotes various programs that introduce people to Scientology, and has campaigned for Scientology to be fully recognized as a religion in Europe. For his involvement, David Miscavige awarded Scientology's Freedom Medal of Valor to Cruise in 2004.

• Tom Cruise is not only an important figure in Scientology, but he is also an important American icon. His star status has remained near the top of the Hollywood hierarchy for nearly two decades. Through a very public divorce and near-constant media attention, Cruise has remained calm and collected. He is a very spiritual person; a devout Scientologist. He takes his professional and personal life very seriously.




John Travolta

"In January of 1975 I was working on my first film in Durango, Mexico. There I met an actress who gave me the book Dianetics. During the five weeks we were filming she gave me some auditing sessions and applied some basic principles. That was when I became involved in Dianetics - because it worked. When I returned to the United States I began Scientology training and auditing. My career immediately took off and I landed a leading role on the TV show "Welcome Back Kotter" and had a string of successful films. I have been a successful actor for more than twenty years and Scientology has played a major role in that success. I have a wonderful child and a great marriage because I apply L. Ron Hubbard's technology to this area of my life. As a Scientologist, I have the technology to handle life's problems and I have used this to help others in life as well. I would say that Scientology put me into the big time."

Brief Bio:
• Born February 18, 1954.

• Famous American actor, dancer and singer.

• In 2000, he stared in “Battlefield Earth” where he played the leader of a group of “aliens that enslave humanity on a bleak future earth. The movie was actually based on a science fiction book written by L. Ron Hubbard.

• Along with being American icon, Travolta is also a devoted scientologist. He is one of the religion’s highest profile celebrities and always speaks highly of the religion.

• After the death of his son Jett, John said that faith and religion helped him heal. “We work hard every day with our church on healing,” said Travolta.

• Recently, Travolta flew a jetliner carrying medical supplies, doctors, and ministers from the Church of Scientology to aid survivors in Haiti.

Who wouldn’t want to have John Travolta on their broadcast? He’s a famous actor that carries a great deal of influence. It would be interesting to find out his current position within the church and relationship with fellow scientologist, Tom Cruise. Also, the audience would be interested to hear the reasons behind his convergence to the faith and how it has changed his life. I would also want to hear his opinion on the speculation that scientology is a large “pyramid scheme.” Travolta is a multimillionaire so the expensive ‘cleansing/ auditing’ sessions aren’t an issue for him. I want to know what he thinks about these costs and how people with low incomes could even take part in scientology.




Heber Jentzsch:

“There is only one security, and when you've lost that security, you've lost everything you've got. And that is the security of confidence in yourself; to be, to create, to make any position you want to make for yourself. And when you lose that confidence, you've lost the only security you can have. ... Self-confidence is self-determinism. One's belief in one's ability to determine his own course. As long as one has that, he's got the universe in his pocket. And when he hasn't got that, not all the pearls in China nor all the grain and corn in Iowa can give him security, because that's the only security there is.”

Brief Bio:
• Born in 1935. He identified himself as a “believing Mormon”. In 1959, he graduated with a degree in communications and Eastern religions.

• So what makes this man an ideal candidate for our program segment? Jentzsch has served as the president of the Church of Scientology International since 1982. He has been at the center of much controversy as well. In 1988, Jentzsch (along with 69 other Scientology members) was arrested in Spain and charged with “illegal association,” tax fraud, and endangering public health. However, due to a lack of evidence the charges were eventually dropped by the Madrid Provincial Court in April 2002.

• Heber Jentzsch has played a large role in scientology’s expansion and economic development during his reign. He was the one who informed the press of L. Ron Hubbard’s death (1986) and has often appeared in newspaper interviews defending the church on various controversial issues. He is passionate about scientology and claims he was “cured” in the Scientology Purification Rundown from “radiation burns” that had caused him pain since his adolescence.

• Jentzsch appears to be an excellent person to interview. It would be interesting to hear his account of how the practice cured his illness. Also, he would address the incident in Spain and other controversies that have caused him much public scrutiny. Heber is an outspoken person and would most likely enjoy the free publicity that Scientology would get.






Thomas W. Davis

“As one who would work to build a better world, the artist is deserving of that freedom. The Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre International stands ready to deliver it.”

Brief Bio:
Thomas W. Davis, a.k.a. Tommy Davis, was born August 18, 1972 in Los Angeles, California. His mother is the famous actress and scientologist Anne Archer, and his father is real estate investor William Davis. Therefore, Davis is not ashamed to say that he grew up around quite a bit of wealth in the Los Angeles area, stating in an interview with Rolling Stone, “I have enough money to never work a day in my life.” Davis became an avid practicing member of Scientology due to his mother’s affiliation to the church, and was eventually appointed head of the Church of Scientology’s Celebrity Centre International in 2002. The Celebrity Centre embraces the arts movement, and attracts many celebrities and artists in the Los Angeles area. This move was a strategic placement by the church, for Davis runs in many prominent, wealthy, and celebrity circles in the Los Angeles area. Davis is a senior-level Scientologist, spokesman of the Church of Scientologist, and member of the church’s sea organization, “Sea Org.”

Davis has been interviewed many times on major television networks and documentaries about Scientology, often criticized publicly for losing his temper during interviews, and dodging specific questions about the beliefs and practices of Scientologists. Davis is currently a resident of Scientology’s campus in Gilman Hot Springs, California, and is close friends with many of celebrity Scientologists that one sees within the United States.

Davis is an integral member of the Church of Scientology’s hierarchy, for he is head of one of the most important Scientology centers in the world, as well as a public spokesman for the religion. Without Davis, the church would not have such a large base of celebrity patrons who are essential in spreading and promoting the growing religion.