Sorted by date as received from FBI archives. It must be noted that Mary Sue Hubbard believed her position as Controller and as the "Founder's wife" to be unassailable and beyond reproach by anyone but Mr. Hubbard who was not around at the time, a fact that she was well aware of. [75], Many years later, another of his followers, Virginia Downsborough, recalled that during the mid-1960s he "talked a lot about Sara Northrup and seemed to want to make sure that I knew he had never married her. She began a relationship with L. Ron Hubbard, whom she met through the O.T.O., in 1945. Recommended [61], Northrup filed for divorce on April 23, 1951, charging Hubbard with "extreme cruelty" causing her "great mental anguish and physical suffering". She was not the affectionate type, she was more efficient than affectionate. [58] After a fruitless six-week search she finally filed a writ of habeas corpus at the Los Angeles Superior Court in April 1951, demanding the return of Alexis. The case was settled out of court eleven days later, with Hubbard and Northrup agreeing to refund some of Parsons' money while keeping a yacht, the Harpoon, for themselves. It just never occurred to me he was a liar. [3] In it, she thanked her husband "for having given the most precious gifts of freedom and true beingness to me and my fellow man. Sara Elizabeth Bruce Northrup Hollister (April 8, 1924 - December 19, 1997) was an occultist and second wife of Scientologist founder L. Ron Hubbard. [30] Their sojourn in Morocco ended abruptly in December 1972 when it became clear that the Church of Scientology was about to be indicted in France for fraud, and that Hubbard himself was potentially at risk of being extradited to appear in court if the case went to trial. The targets were not just external enemies but dissident Scientologists; in 1969, Mary Sue wrote an order directing the GO to cull information from the confessional folders of Scientologists, breaking a rule of confidence that was supposedly sacrosanct. [3], The Hubbards returned again to London at the end of September 1955, where they took over the day-to-day management of the Hubbard Association of Scientologists International. The news story which the photograph accompanied has been republished by the Church with all mention of Northrup edited out from the text. She and Hubbard eloped, taking with them a substantial amount of Parsons' life savings and marrying bigamously a year later while Hubbard was still married to his first wife, Margaret Grubb. "[42] He began an affair with the twenty-year-old Klowden, much to the annoyance of Northrup, who was clearly aware of the liaison. It's notable for a number of reasons. Later, Hubbard said his wife left him because he was a cripple: On 9 June 1951, Sara signed a handwritten statement scrawled on the notepaper of The Hubbard Dianetic Foundation Inc. of Wichita agreeing to cancel her receivership action and divorce suit in California in return for a divorce "guaranteed by L. Ron Hubbard" in mid-June. Born as Henry August Wilson, adopted by James W. Hubbard and Philena Jane Potter Hubbard, who changed his name to Harry Ross Hubbard. This, plus her absolute control of the GO, made it difficult for the Church missionaires [Sea Org staff dispatched to achieve a target or specific goal] to get anything done. She made a striking impression on the other lodgers; George Pendle describes her as "feisty and untamed, proud and self-willed, she stood five foot nine, had a lithe body and blond hair, and was extremely candid. Fiercely loyal to her husband, brusque and autocratic, she could be a dangerous enemy. [44] Klowden recalled that Northrup "was very hostile to me. Liked this page? She had attached herself to a Jack Parsons, the rocket expert, during the war and when she left him he was a wreck. Mary Sue was appointed by her husband as Guardian (later Controller) of the Guardian's Office (GO) in March 1966. Parsons told Helen to her face that he preferred Northrup sexually: "This is a fact that I can do nothing about. In 1984 she acted as an "intervenor" in the Church of Scientology of California's lawsuit against Gerry Armstrong. One of his aides, David Mayo, was dispatched by Hubbard to suggest that Mary Sue might consider a divorce. Lafayette Ronald Hubbard ( Tilden, Nebraska, 1911. mrcius 13. She informed us that she did not appreciate our investigation of the GO and that if one were needed she would do it. A thought nagged away at the young filmmaker as Hubbard expanded on the theme, "I could well understand hopping into bed at night with one's wife, rubbing one's hands together and saying 'we made $10,000 today dear'," says Nairn, "but I couldn't understand his own wife believing it all, believing in out-of body experiences and previous lives. The Hubbards continued to carry out auditing of each other and in February 1960 Mary Sue wrote to a friend to inform her that her husband had discovered that she had been the writer D.H. Lawrence in a past life. ", HUBBARD: "I never had a second wife."[78]. . [17] Although they got on well as fellow occultists, tensions between the two men were apparent in more domestic settings. [73], A month later, in the English High Court of Justice, Mr Justice Latey declared in a case in which Scientology was a prominent issue that "Mr Hubbard is a charlatan and worse, as are his wife, Mary Sue Hubbard, and the clique at the top privy to the cult's activities. She obtained a Hubbard Dianetic Auditor's Certificate and joined the Foundation's staff. Helen and Jack were engaged in July 1934[6] and married in April 1935. I'll just go to the airplane. Her body was cremated two days later and her ashes were scattered at sea off the California coast,[2] where L. Ron Hubbard's ashes had similarly been scattered in January 1986. It has been variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religious movement. in 1941, at Parsons' urging, and was given the title of Soror [Sister] Cassap. She did, however, resurface on a few occasions during the remaining years of her life. Last edited on 17 February 2023, at 05:30, International Association of Scientologists, "Will the L. Ron Hubbard House Turn a Camelback Neighborhood Into a Scientology Recruitment Mecca? Mary Sue Hubbard was still asserting her authority over the GO from her position as Controller. He urged the FBI to start a "round-up" of "vermin Communists or ex-Communists", starting with Northrup, and declared: I believe this woman to be under heavy duress. Commonly armed. They spent most of their time working; there was very little socializing. At age 15, Northrup moved in with sister Helen and her husband Jack, while she finished high school. She gave Hubbard four more children - Diana, Quentin, Suzette and Arthur - over the next six years. She filed for divorce in an effort to try and create a false record that she had been married to him." An explorer, a mystic, a bestselling author, a nuclear physicist . Though I will be hospitalized probably a long time, Alexis is getting excellent care. Weeks passed without word from Hubbard. By this time, Mary Sue had become a key figure within the nascent Scientology movement. [93] Rejecting any suggestion that she was some kind of "pathetic person who has suffered through the years because of my time with Ron", Northrup spoke of her relief that she had been able to put it behind her. He never had a child with her. As part of a wider strategy codenamed Operation Snow White, the GO succeeded in infiltrating a Scientologist into the IRS to steal files about the government's litigation strategy against Scientology. Lafayette Ron Hubbard is a controversial figure. . Hubbard was struggling with illness in 1980 and he was living in San Luis Obisbo . L. Ron Hubbard was not in any way a nice guy, he was a deeply horrible person (who was also correctly described by our moderator freezoneandproud as a "rat bastard"). "[46] In November 1950, Northrup attempted suicide by taking sleeping pills. Quentin committed suicide in Las. His next project, Dianetics and Scientology, would secure him lifelong fame. Excerpt from Wikipedia: "Operation Snow White was a criminal conspiracy by the Church of Scientology during the 1970s to purge unfavorable records about Scientology and its founder, L. Ron Hubbard. When she ran off with another man Ron followed them and they locked him in a hotel room and pushed drugs up his nose, but he managed to escape and went to Cuba. Further, through Parsons, she was strangely intimate with many scientists of Los Alamo Gordos [Alamogordo in New Mexico was where the first atomic bomb was tested]. This body was responsible for overseeing each of the seven organizational subdivisions of the Church of Scientology. Its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, has been described variously as the man who "solved the riddle of the human mind" (by the Church of Scientology), 4 as "a mental case" (by the FBI), 5 and as "hopelessly insane" (by his former wife). As far as I know, all his policies and doctrines were race-neutral, which is a big deal for someone from the 1940s. Hubbard was an Eagle Scout. I think I have made a great gain and as Betty and I are the best of friends, there is little loss. She played a major role in the creation of Dianetics, which evolved into the religious movement Scientology. [11] and had a son in 1943 who bore Parsons' surname but who was almost certainly fathered by Smith. She was a leading figure in Scientology for much of her life. member, wrote to Karl Germer to explain the situation: As you may know by this time, Brother John signed a partnership agreement with this Ron and Betty whereby all money earned by the three for life is equally divided between the three. [7], They went back to London in December on a fresh visa and stayed there until the end of May 1953, before departing for an extended holiday in Spain. David was an original deputy to the late founder L. Ron Hubbard and had been working in the upper hierarchy of the Church since he was a teenager. Outspokenly disloyal to the U.S.[56], In another letter sent in March, Hubbard told the FBI that Northrup was a Communist and a drug addict, and offered a $10,000 reward to anyone who could resolve Northrup's problems through the application of Dianetics techniques.[57]. She persuaded him that the compulsion instilled by the communists would be dissipated by going ahead with the flight: "Well, I have to follow their dictates. It is thought to have been written around 19467 as part of an attempted program of self-hypnotism. However, there were a number of obstacles to overcome before the termination of the GO could be accomplished. [76], A Scientology spokesman informed the press that she had been left "a very generous provision" in her husband's will,[77] though the details were kept secret. [54], Hubbard nonetheless remained active in the management of Scientology. She personally handled large quantities of cash on Hubbard's behalf. According to Northrup, Hubbard began beating her when they were in Florida in the summer of 1946. Mary Sue attempted to contact her husband to rescind the CMO's takeover bid but failed, and admitted defeat when the Messengers produced an undated dispatch from Hubbard instructing the GO to be put under the CMO when its senior executives went to prison. Black hair. [76], The writer Christopher Evans has noted that "So painful do the memories of these incidents appear to be that L. Ron has more than once denied that he was ever married to Sarah [sic] Northrup at all. She was credited with helping to coin the word "Scientology". Following the birth, the Hubbards moved into a house in Silver Spring, Maryland. "[14] Cyril Vosper, one of the Saint Hill staff at the time, noted the differing impressions left by the Hubbards: "I always had great warmth and admiration for Ron he was a remarkable individual, a constant source of new information and ideas but I thought Mary Sue was an exceedingly nasty person. The reactions of Parsons and Helen towards Northrup were markedly different. They married April 25, 1909, in Omaha, Nebraska. And since then, the Church of Scientology has maintained in biographical . [22] Northrup was able to dissuade Parsons from pressing his case by threatening to expose their past relationship, which had begun when she was under the legal age of consent. [39] Rather than telling Northrup where Alexis was, he called her and said that "he had cut [Alexis] into little pieces and dropped the pieces in a river and that he had seen little arms and legs floating down the river and it was my fault, I'd done it because I'd left him."[53]. [13], Similar concerns were expressed by other O.T.O. "[24], The couple moved repeatedly over the following year first to Laguna Beach, California,[28] then to Santa Catalina Island, California,[29] New York City,[30] Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania[31] and ultimately to Hubbard's first wife's home at South Colby, Washington. John Sanborne, who worked with Hubbard for many years, recalled: Earlier on (before the divorce) he made this stupid attempt to get Northrup brainwashed so she'd do what he said. She soon began an affair with Hubbard, who had just been divorced from his second wife Sara, and moved in with him within only a few weeks of arriving in Wichita. [65] Hubbard wrote to the FBI to further denounce Northrup as a Communist secret agent. I remember going past a Lincoln dealer and admiring one of those big Lincolns they had then. Northrup played a significant role in the development of Dianetics, Hubbard's "modern science of mental health", between 1948 and 1951. Starcasm Staff March 30, 2015 L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology In the HBO documentary Going Clea r that aired Sunday night it was revealed that according to Scientology founder L. Ron. There was no shortage of work for her to do; further legal difficulties were anticipated, as there was a New York grand jury investigating Operation Freakout, the GO's campaign against New York author Paulette Cooper, and a Florida grand jury looking into Scientology's activities in Clearwater. A few hours later, he returned with two of his Dianetics Foundation staff and told Northrup, who was now back at her apartment: "We have Alexis and you'll never see her alive unless you come with us. Despite her complicated feelings toward the man, Sara was overwhelmed with grief and sadness. She joined as a teenager along with her older sister Helen. CMO staff investigating the GO were physically expelled from the Church of Scientology's Los Angeles headquarters, and the Controller's files were guarded day and night. From our brother's account he has given away both his girl and his money. In June 1951, she finally secured the return of Alexis by agreeing to cancel her receivership action and divorce suit in California in return for a divorce "guaranteed by L. Ron Hubbard". L. Ron Hubbard, the science fiction writer who founded the Church of Scientology three decades ago, has died of a stroke, the church said tonight. This proved a puzzle since where there is no legal marriage, there can't be any divorce. Parsons initially attempted to obtain redress through magical means, carrying out a "Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram" to curse Hubbard and Northrup. [41] Its eventual downfall was to result from the use of illegal methods, ordered and authorized by Mary Sue, to further its campaign. Hubbard married his third wife, Mary Sue Whipp, in 1952. "[8] Despite the tensions between them, Hubbard, Northrup and Parsons agreed at the start of 1946 that they would go into business together, buying yachts on the East Coast and sailing them to California to sell at a profit. From 1941 to 1945 she had a turbulent relationship with her sister's husband John Whiteside Parsons, a pioneer in liquid-fueled rocketry and head of the Pasadena O.T.O. [40], Dianetics became an immediate bestseller when it was published in May 1950. [69] She was sent to the federal prison in Lexington, Kentucky, to serve her sentence,[70] though in the end, she was released after only a year of imprisonment.[71]. . [49] The situation soon became tense again; Richard de Mille, nephew of the famous director Cecil B. de Mille, recalled that "there was a lot of turmoil and dissension in the Foundation at the time; he kept accusing Communists of trying to take control and he was having difficulties with Northrup. "[63], The divorce writ prompted a deluge of bad publicity for Hubbard and elicited an unexpected letter to Northrup from his first wife, Polly, who wrote: "If I can help in any way I'd like toYou must get Alexis in your custodyRon is not normal. Hubbard would evolve into the leader of the Church of Scientology. By this time Mary Sue was pregnant for a fourth time and gave birth to her final child, Arthur Ronald Conway Hubbard, on June 6, 1958.[17]. I thought she was going to blow my head off. Every effort was made to butcher my personal reputation. In 1960, Leni Riefenstahl and L. Ron Hubbard briefly collaborated on a screenplay that was to be a remake of her popular 1932 film directing debut, Das blaue Licht ('The Blue Light'). L. Ron Hubbard in Ocala Star-Banner - Jan 30 1986 view all Immediate Family Margaret Ochs ex-wife Ronald DeWolf son Catherine May Gillespie daughter Sara Northup Hollister ex-wife Private child Mary Sue Hubbard wife Diana Meredith Horwich daughter Quentin Hubbard son Mary Suzette Rochelle White daughter Arthur Ronald Conway Hubbard son MILES HOLLISTER: Somewhere in the vicinity of Los Angeles. He was severely depressed and repeatedly threatened suicide, and Northrup believed "he must be suffering or he wouldn't act that way".[33]. "[8] He was a striking figure who habitually wore dark glasses and carried a cane with a silver handle, the need for which he attributed to his wartime service: as Northrup later put it, "He was not only a writer but he was the captain of a ship that had been downed in the Pacific and he was weeks on a raft and had been blinded by the sun and his back had been broken. The boat was soon sold to ease the couple's shortage of cash. [45] One evening he arranged a double-date with his wife and Klowden, who was accompanied by Hollister, an instructor in the Los Angeles Dianetic Foundation.