Bare-Faced Messiah (PDF) - Apologetics Index

The Bare-Faced Messiah Interviews
Interview with Richard DeMille,
Santa Barbara, California, 25 July 1986
Richard DeMille (right, with "Barbara Kaye") was one of L. Ron Hubbard's earliest celebrity recruits,
though it was perhaps more a case of reflected glory - he was the son of the famous director Cecil
B. DeMille. He became one of Hubbard's right-hand men during the traumatic two-year rise and fall
of Dianetics, saw the establishment of Scientology and participated in Ron's kidnapping of his
daughter and wife. He left in the mid-1950s as he became increasingly doubtful about the
usefulness of Hubbard's work. His recollections were recorded in an interview by Russell Miller,
the author of the unauthorised Hubbard biography Bare-Faced Messiah. The following is a
transcript of that interview.
TAPE 1:
I read the article [on Dianetics] in Astounding SF and made the mistake of believing it had been
written by an honest person. If it had been, it was earth shaking. I got in as early as possible, about
Aug 5 when the Foundation opened in LA at 715 Parkview, went to the lectures, saw Hubbard.
Later in the year the Foundation moved to 260 South Hoover in very large premises there. I went to
more lectures and met Van Vogt who was an official at the time, got more and more involved. He
had an editorial staff, guy named Dewey something, a sci-fi writer who was making publications
out of lectures, doing editorial work. I got involved in that and worked on one of the first publications
of lectures. Most of the people were either frantic or illiterate there weren't too many people who
could do useful work.
My work came to his attention and he also liked the fact that I was the son of Cecil B. DeMille,
although it never occurred to me at time. He liked to collect celebrities.
When there was a lot of turmoil and dissension and he was accusing Communists of trying to take
it over, a big period of turbulence, he asked me to be his helper and we went off together to Palm
Springs with Sara and the baby as he was getting out of town to think things over. He was already
having difficulty with Sara. Then we came back to LA and about that time Sara ran off with Miles
Hollister. Hubbard said things were not going well in LA and he was going back to Elizabeth NJ
and he wanted me to go with him and be his lieutenant.
He had a pattern all his life of picking young people in whom he placed great confidence for limited
periods of time and all of a sudden they're traitors and have to go away. I was one of the first.
I said, "OK, I'll go." This was at the time Alexis got abducted. He and Frank Dessler (Frank was a
convicted felon who had served his time and was trying to be good - he was very nervous - he was
retired gangster). Frank was deputised to find baby sitters to take charge of Alexis, and a young
couple took Alexis in their car and drove all the way to Elizabeth NJ without Sara's permission.
Hubbard saw an opportunity to abduct Alexis and did so. Hubbard and I and Frank Dessler then
abducted Sara and drove with her on a very circuitous route around southern California, I was
driving the Lincoln. We stopped off at San Bernardino and Hubbard wanted to take Sara in to get a