Report: Tom Cruise schooled in Scientology at desert compound

sacbee ^ | 12-17-05

[LouAvul]

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Tom Cruise's faith in Scientology was nurtured at a secretive Southern California desert compound that catered to his needs around the clock, it was reported Saturday.

Long before Cruise sprang onto Oprah's couch or blasted Brooke Shields for taking antidepressants, the Hollywood superstar undertook intensive study and counseling at the compound in the late 1980s and early 1990s, current and former Scientologists told the Los Angeles Times.

Cruise also trained at the church's better-known facilities, including those in Hollywood, Calif., and Clearwater, Fla. But much of his time was spent at the compound 90 miles east of Los Angeles, the Times reported on its Web site. Behind the guarded gates of the 500-acre compound near Hemet, Cruise had a personal supervisor to oversee his studies in a private course room, ex-members said.

"I was there for eight years and nobody stayed long at all, except for Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman during that period," said Bruce Hines, who left Scientology in 2001 after three decades in the church.

[festus]

But if you pull out yer gun you could tell tom to come out of the close with his hands up ;-)

[Windcatcher]

Listen. Is that Jim Jones laughing?

[IrishRainy]

I lived in Perris for 4 years, 1989 to 1993. Where exactly was this Scientology compound?

[festus]

close = closet.

[AZRepublican]

Its located where the old Gilman Hot springs and MCI was located...or a better answer would be the base of that mountain where Mt San Jacinto College is near....hope this gives some idea where it is...

[pawdoggie]

One can only imagine what sort of "nuturing" that entailed.

I suspect that Tom did not undergo the "torturous" (by McCain standards) high pressure scientology sessions. He probably got the VIP tour version.

[garylmoore]

Cruise is ok in some of his movies, he's not my favorite by any means but the main thing that I notice about him is that he has a somewhat low IQ.

[derllak]

The guy is a total doofus, but because he reads books, he thinks he's an expert on every subject. you can't help but laugh at this idiot!

[Troublemaker]

[IrishRainy]

Thanks for the info!

[MineralMan]

Isn't Cruise gay? I heard he was gay. (not that there is anything wrong with that, of course)

[Wormwood]

Scientology is obvisouly a pyramid scheme, and for that it should be denounced.

But I don't think that the tenets and beliefs of Scientology are any more absurd than those of any religion. Mine included.

[uglybiker]

BTT

(watch when I get home)

[ErnBatavia]

I wonder why they refer to Hemet as "desert"...

[Ladysmith]

[Ladysmith]

A crappy science fiction writer claiming (or is that "clamming") that an alien dumped nasty spirits into the mountains of Hawaii 78 billion years ago, only to be spit back out and attaching themselves to every human being, isn't a bit more absurd than any other belief system? What about the fact that this is "high-level", copyrighted "truths" one can't learn until thousands of dollars have been "donated" for previous levels of BullShip...

Never mind how they get people to reveal their deepest, darkest secrets and then use those secrets to blackmail them.

This is one insidious cult that should be destroyed. Check out www.xenu.net.

[demkicker]

....But I think Travolta doesn't buy into any of the nonsense; he just told them some things during the early levels that he can't have exposed and basically has a business deal with them such that he pretends to believe (and pays for the privilege) and they don't tell his secrets.

Cruise, on the other hand, seems legitimately dumb enough to actually buy the sci-fi lunacy they offer...

Funny,I've thought the same thing for years. You nailed it. Blackmail is the operative word.

[Cinnamon Girl]

Wow. I was just in Perris last week to visit the Orange Empire Railway museum. Is it a nice place to reside?

[Dustbunny]

Simply amazing that books written by a kook that wrote science fiction have been able via the retarded 'Hollywood' crowd to actually become a religion.

[cgbg]

The S gang has perfected the art of separating fools from their money.

Their greatest con, though, is to convince governments to allow them to retain their tax-exempt status.