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{{Short description|Scientology church branch for celebrities, politicians, artists & leaders}}
{{multiple issues|
{{incomplete|date=April 2014}}
{{use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}
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{{Infobox organization
{{refimprove|date=April 2014}}
}}

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{{Infobox Organization
|image = CelebrityCentre.jpg
|image = CelebrityCentre.jpg
|size = 200px
|size = 200px
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|status =
|status =
|purpose =
|purpose =
|headquarters = [[Hollywood]], [[California]], United States
|headquarters = 5930 Franklin Ave, [[Los Angeles|Los Angeles, California]], United States
|leader_title = [[President]]/[[Commanding officer]]
|leader_title = Commanding Officer
|leader_name = Dave Petit<ref>[https://newsantaana.com/church-of-scientology-of-orange-county-hosts-a-swinging-wedding/ Church of Scientology of Orange County hosts a "swinging" wedding], December 21, 2012, The New Santa Ana</ref>
|leader_name =
|num_staff =
|num_staff =
⚫
|website = {{URL|scientology.cc}}
|num_volunteers =
|budget =
⚫
|website = [http://www.scientology.cc scientology.cc]
|remarks =
|remarks =
}}
}}
'''Church of Scientology Celebrity Centres''' are [[Church of Scientology|Scientology churches]] that are open to the general public but are intended mostly for "artists, politicians, leaders of industry, sports figures and anyone with the power and vision to create a better world."<ref>{{cite web | title = Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre International | url = http://www.scientology.cc/en_US/about/index.html | publisher = Church of Scientology Celebrity International | accessdate = 14 July 2013}}</ref>
'''Church of Scientology Celebrity Centres''' are [[Church of Scientology|Churches of Scientology]] that are open to the general public but are intended for "artists, politicians, leaders of industry, and sports figures".<ref>[https://www.scientologynews.org/quick-facts/celebrity-centre.html Quick Facts : Church of Scientology : Celebrity Centre International]</ref>


The Celebrity Centre International was established in [[Los Angeles|Los Angeles, California]] in 1969 by Yvonne Gillham and [[Heber Jentzsch]] in the [[Château Élysée]], a 1920s building that had been built to replicate a 17th century French-Normandy chateau.<ref>{{multiref|1=''Scientology in Popular Culture: Influences and Struggles for Legitimacy'' by [[Stephen A. Kent]] and Susan Raine (2017), [https://skent.ualberta.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Scientologys-Recruitment-Policies-Targeting-Celebrities.pdf Chapter 4], pages 87-88 {{ISBN|9781440832499}}|2=Advance! Magazine, Issue 6 (1969) by Church of Scientology. Page 8.}}</ref><ref>[https://www.kcet.org/history-society/the-chateau-elysee-scientologys-celebrity-centre-before-it-went-clear The Chateau Elysee: Scientology's Celebrity Centre Before it Went Clear], April 19, 2013, [[KCET]]</ref><ref>{{cite web | first = Dana | last = Goodyear | title = Château Scientology : Inside the Church's Celebrity Centre | url = https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/01/14/chateau-scientology | work = Letter from California | publisher = [[The New Yorker]] | date = 2008-01-14 | access-date = 2008-01-24 }}</ref>
The Celebrity Centre International was established in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], in 1969 by Yvonne Gillham, a [[Sea Org]] member who worked with [[L. Ron Hubbard]]. Since then, other centres have been established in [[Düsseldorf]], [[Florence]], [[Las Vegas]], [[London]], [[Munich]], [[Nashville]], [[New York City]], [[Paris]], [[Vienna]], and a number of other cities across the world.<ref name="newyorker_2011">{{cite web |url=http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/02/14/110214fa_fact_wright?currentPage=all |title=The Apostate |last=Wright |first=Lawrence |date=February 14, 2011 |work=The New Yorker |publisher=Condé Nast Digital |accessdate=February 13, 2011}}</ref>


Other Celebrity Centre organizations have since been established around the USA and in Europe.<ref name="newyorker_2011">{{cite web |url=http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/02/14/110214fa_fact_wright?currentPage=all |title=The Apostate : Paul Haggis vs. the Church of Scientology |last=Wright |first=Lawrence |date=February 14, 2011 |work=[[The New Yorker]] |publisher=Condé Nast Digital |access-date=February 13, 2011}}</ref> As of 2022, there were ten Celebrity Centres open: Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Nashville and New York in the USA, and Vienna, Düsseldorf, Munich, Florence, and two in Paris in Europe.<ref>{{multiref|1=[https://www.scientology.org/churches/ideal-orgs/ Ideal Churches of Scientology]|2=[https://www.scientology.org/churches/regions/united-states-of-america.html Churches in the United States]|3=[https://www.scientology.org/churches/regions/europe.html Churches in Europe], Church of Scientology. Accessed December 15, 2022.}}</ref>
⚫
Critics of Scientology point to Hubbard's launch of "Project Celebrity" in 1955 to recruit celebrities into the church, and that the centres were established as an extension of this initial purpose.<ref>William Shaw, [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3671262/What-do-Tom-Cruise-and-John-Travolta-know-about-Scientology-that-we-don%27t.html What do Tom Cruise and John Travolta know about Scientology that we don't?], ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', February 15, 2008.</ref><ref>Claire Hoffman and Kim Christensen (''[[Los Angeles Times]]'')[http://www.newsday.com/topic/la-fi-scientology18dec18,0,2956222,full.story Tom Cruise and Scientology], ''[[Newsday]]'', December 18, 2005.</ref> The church denies the existence of a policy to actively recruit high-ranking celebrities.<ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12800404/ Official transcript for Countdown show (May 12, 2006)]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgqKA3w6T2U YouTube video with part of the show related to Scientology]</ref>

⚫
Critics of Scientology point to [[L. Ron Hubbard]]'s launch of "Project Celebrity" in 1955 to recruit celebrities into the church, and that the centres were established as an extension of this initial purpose.<ref>William Shaw, [https://web.archive.org/web/20081220135213/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3671262/What-do-Tom-Cruise-and-John-Travolta-know-about-Scientology-that-we-don%27t.html What do Tom Cruise and John Travolta know about Scientology that we don't?], ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', February 15, 2008.</ref><ref>Claire Hoffman and Kim Christensen (''[[Los Angeles Times]]'') [http://www.newsday.com/topic/la-fi-scientology18dec18,0,2956222,full.story Tom Cruise and Scientology], ''[[Newsday]]'', December 18, 2005.</ref>

{{blockquote|text="A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists."<br>— L. Ron Hubbard<ref>{{cite web | first = Kari | last = Huus | title = Scientology’s love affair with Hollywood | url = http://www.nbcnews.com/id/8333804 | work = [[NBC News]] | date = 2005-07-05 | access-date = 2008-01-24 }}</ref>}}

Though the Church of Scientology denies the existence of a policy to recruit high-ranking celebrities,<ref>{{multiref|1=[http://www.nbcnews.com/id/12800404 Official transcript for Countdown show (May 12, 2006)]|2=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgqKA3w6T2U YouTube video with part of the show related to Scientology]}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported, "internal church documents show that their primary purpose is to recruit celebrities and use the celebrities' prestige to help expand Scientology,"<ref>{{cite news | first = Douglas | last = Frantz | title = Scientology's Star Roster Enhances Image | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/13/us/scientology-s-star-roster-enhances-image.html?pagewanted=all | work=[[The New York Times]] | date = 1998-02-13 | access-date = 2008-01-24 }}</ref> and the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' wrote, "The Church of Scientology uses celebrity spokesmen to endorse L. Ron Hubbard's teachings and give Scientology greater acceptability in mainstream America."<ref>{{cite news | first = Joel | last = Sappell |author2=Welkos, Robert W. | title = The Courting of Celebrities | url = https://www.latimes.com/local/la-scientology062590b-story.html | work = [[Los Angeles Times]] | date = 1990-06-25 | access-date = 2008-01-24 }}</ref> [[Mike Argue]] of the band [[Chester (band)|Chester]] said, "We made a lot of money for the church", referring to the original Celebrity Centre in Los Angeles which attracted "a boatload of notables" in the 1970s.<ref>{{cite web|first=Enzo |last=Di Matteo |title=Ex-Scientology celebs recall swingin' 70s |url=http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/19/20/News/brief.html |publisher=[[Now (newspaper)|Now Magazine]] |date=2000-01-13 |access-date=2008-01-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060616201209/http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/19/20/News/brief.html |archive-date=2006-06-16 }}</ref>


== Violent incident ==
== Violent incident ==
On November 23, 2008, Mario Majorski arrived at the Los Angeles Celebrity Centre wielding dual samurai swords and threatening to injure people. Majorski was shot by Celebrity Centre security guards, and was later pronounced dead at [[Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center]]. [[Police]] regard the guards' actions as justifiable. Majorski was a [[Scientologist]] in the early 1990s; however, he left the group fifteen years prior to the incident, according to church spokesperson [[Tommy Davis (Scientology)|Tommy Davis]].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5223393.ece | work=The Times | location=London | title=Scientology guards kill swordwielding man in LA | first=Hannah | last=Strange | date=2008-11-24 | accessdate=2010-04-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-briefs4-2008dec04,0,1853307.story | work=The Los Angeles Times | title=Killer of sword-wielding man won't face charges | first=Harriet | last=Ryan | date=2008-12-04}}</ref> When he was still a member of the church, Majorski had filed lawsuits, later dismissed, against [[Louis Jolyon West|Louis West]], a psychiatrist who was critical of Scientology.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ryan|first1=Harriet|last2=Wagner|first2=James|title=Man shot at Scientology site had made threats|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2008/nov/25/local/me-scientology25|accessdate=17 February 2015|work=Los Angeles Times|date=25 November 2008}}</ref>
On November 23, 2008, Mario Majorski arrived at the Los Angeles Celebrity Centre wielding dual [[samurai sword]]s and threatening to injure people. Majorski was shot by Celebrity Centre security guards, and was later pronounced dead at [[Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center]]. Police regard the guards' actions as justifiable. Majorski was a [[Scientologist]] in the early 1990s; however, he left the group fifteen years prior to the incident, according to church spokesperson [[Tommy Davis (Scientology)|Tommy Davis]].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5223393.ece | work=The Times | location=London | title=Scientology guards kill swordwielding man in LA | first=Hannah | last=Strange | date=2008-11-24 | access-date=2010-04-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-briefs4-2008dec04,0,1853307.story | work=The Los Angeles Times | title=Killer of sword-wielding man won't face charges | first=Harriet | last=Ryan | date=2008-12-04}}</ref> When he was still a member of the church, Majorski had filed lawsuits, later dismissed, against [[Louis Jolyon West|Louis West]], a psychiatrist who was critical of Scientology.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ryan|first1=Harriet|last2=Wagner|first2=James|title=Man shot at Scientology site had made threats|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2008/nov/25/local/me-scientology25|access-date=17 February 2015|work=Los Angeles Times|date=25 November 2008}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
{{Portal|Scientology}}
*[[Scientology and celebrities]]
*[[Scientology and celebrities]]
*[[Renaissance (restaurant)]]
*[[Château Élysée]]


==Notes==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}

==References==
{{Refbegin}}
*{{cite news | first = Joel | last = Sappell |author2=Welkos, Robert W. | title = The Courting of Celebrities | url = http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-scientology062590b,0,3156079.story | work = | publisher = [[Los Angeles Times]] | date = 1990-06-25 | accessdate = 2008-01-24 }}
*{{cite news | first = Douglas | last = Frantz | title = Scientology's Star Roster Enhances Image | url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9902E4DF103CF930A25751C0A96E958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all | work = | publisher = [[New York Times]] | date = 1998-02-13 | accessdate = 2008-01-24 }}
*{{cite web | first = Enzo | last = Di Matteo | title = Ex-Scientology celebs recall swingin' 70s | url = http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/19/20/News/brief.html | work = | publisher = [[Now (newspaper)|Now Magazine]] | date = 2000-01-13 | accessdate = 2008-01-24 }}
*{{cite web | first = Kari | last = Huus | title = Scientology courts the stars | url = http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8333804/print/1/displaymode/1098/ | work = | publisher = [[MSNBC]] | date = 2005-07-05 | accessdate = 2008-01-24 }}
*{{cite web | first = Dana | last = Goodyear | title = Château Scientology | url = http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/01/14/080114fa_fact_goodyear?printable=true | work = Letter from California | publisher = [[The New Yorker]] | date = 2008-01-14 | accessdate = 2008-01-24 }}
{{Refend}}


==External links==
==External links==
{{Wikinewshas|News related to this article|
{{wikinews|has=News related to this article| Security guard for Scientology building shoots, kills man}}
* {{Official website|https://www.scientology.cc/}}
*[[n:Security guard for Scientology building shoots, kills man|Security guard for Scientology building shoots, kills man]]
}}
*{{cite web | url = http://www.celebritycentre.org/ | title = Scientology Celebrity Centre International | publisher = [[Church of Scientology International]]}}
* {{cite web
* {{cite web
| title = Ecclesiastical Structure: "Celebrity Centre Churches"
|title=Ecclesiastical Structure: "Celebrity Centre Churches"
| work = A presentation of the Celebrity Centres churches
|work=A presentation of the Celebrity Centres churches
| publisher = [[Church of Scientology]]
|publisher=[[Church of Scientology]]
| url = http://www.scientology.org/world/worldeng/corp/struc4.htm }}
|url=http://www.scientology.org/world/worldeng/corp/struc4.htm
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051110131355/http://www.scientology.org/world/worldeng/corp/struc4.htm
|archive-date=2005-11-10
}} ([https://www.scientologynews.org/faq/what-are-celebrity-centres.html 2022 version])


{{Scientology}}
{{Scientology}}
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[[Category:Religious organizations established in 1969]]
[[Category:Religious organizations established in 1969]]
[[Category:Scientology organizations]]
[[Category:Scientology organizations]]
[[Category:Organizations based in Los Angeles, California]]
[[Category:Organizations based in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Franklin Avenue (Los Angeles)]]

Revision as of 11:29, 19 December 2023

Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre International
Formation1969
TypeReligious
Headquarters5930 Franklin Ave, Los Angeles, California, United States
Commanding Officer
Dave Petit[1]
Websitescientology.cc

Church of Scientology Celebrity Centres are Churches of Scientology that are open to the general public but are intended for "artists, politicians, leaders of industry, and sports figures".[2]

The Celebrity Centre International was established in Los Angeles, California in 1969 by Yvonne Gillham and Heber Jentzsch in the Château Élysée, a 1920s building that had been built to replicate a 17th century French-Normandy chateau.[3][4][5]

Other Celebrity Centre organizations have since been established around the USA and in Europe.[6] As of 2022, there were ten Celebrity Centres open: Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Nashville and New York in the USA, and Vienna, Düsseldorf, Munich, Florence, and two in Paris in Europe.[7]

Critics of Scientology point to L. Ron Hubbard's launch of "Project Celebrity" in 1955 to recruit celebrities into the church, and that the centres were established as an extension of this initial purpose.[8][9]

"A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists."
— L. Ron Hubbard[10]

Though the Church of Scientology denies the existence of a policy to recruit high-ranking celebrities,[11] The New York Times reported, "internal church documents show that their primary purpose is to recruit celebrities and use the celebrities' prestige to help expand Scientology,"[12] and the Los Angeles Times wrote, "The Church of Scientology uses celebrity spokesmen to endorse L. Ron Hubbard's teachings and give Scientology greater acceptability in mainstream America."[13] Mike Argue of the band Chester said, "We made a lot of money for the church", referring to the original Celebrity Centre in Los Angeles which attracted "a boatload of notables" in the 1970s.[14]

Violent incident

On November 23, 2008, Mario Majorski arrived at the Los Angeles Celebrity Centre wielding dual samurai swords and threatening to injure people. Majorski was shot by Celebrity Centre security guards, and was later pronounced dead at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center. Police regard the guards' actions as justifiable. Majorski was a Scientologist in the early 1990s; however, he left the group fifteen years prior to the incident, according to church spokesperson Tommy Davis.[15][16] When he was still a member of the church, Majorski had filed lawsuits, later dismissed, against Louis West, a psychiatrist who was critical of Scientology.[17]

See also

References

  1. ^ Church of Scientology of Orange County hosts a "swinging" wedding, December 21, 2012, The New Santa Ana
  2. ^ Quick Facts : Church of Scientology : Celebrity Centre International
  3. ^
    • Scientology in Popular Culture: Influences and Struggles for Legitimacy by Stephen A. Kent and Susan Raine (2017), Chapter 4, pages 87-88 ISBN 9781440832499
    • Advance! Magazine, Issue 6 (1969) by Church of Scientology. Page 8.
  4. ^ The Chateau Elysee: Scientology's Celebrity Centre Before it Went Clear, April 19, 2013, KCET
  5. ^ Goodyear, Dana (January 14, 2008). "Château Scientology : Inside the Church's Celebrity Centre". Letter from California. The New Yorker. Retrieved January 24, 2008.
  6. ^ Wright, Lawrence (February 14, 2011). "The Apostate : Paul Haggis vs. the Church of Scientology". The New Yorker. Condé Nast Digital. Retrieved February 13, 2011.
  7. ^
  8. ^ William Shaw, What do Tom Cruise and John Travolta know about Scientology that we don't?, The Daily Telegraph, February 15, 2008.
  9. ^ Claire Hoffman and Kim Christensen (Los Angeles Times) Tom Cruise and Scientology, Newsday, December 18, 2005.
  10. ^ Huus, Kari (July 5, 2005). "Scientology's love affair with Hollywood". NBC News. Retrieved January 24, 2008.
  11. ^
  12. ^ Frantz, Douglas (February 13, 1998). "Scientology's Star Roster Enhances Image". The New York Times. Retrieved January 24, 2008.
  13. ^ Sappell, Joel; Welkos, Robert W. (June 25, 1990). "The Courting of Celebrities". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 24, 2008.
  14. ^ Di Matteo, Enzo (January 13, 2000). "Ex-Scientology celebs recall swingin' 70s". Now Magazine. Archived from the original on June 16, 2006. Retrieved January 24, 2008.
  15. ^ Strange, Hannah (November 24, 2008). "Scientology guards kill swordwielding man in LA". The Times. London. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
  16. ^ Ryan, Harriet (December 4, 2008). "Killer of sword-wielding man won't face charges". The Los Angeles Times.
  17. ^ Ryan, Harriet; Wagner, James (November 25, 2008). "Man shot at Scientology site had made threats". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
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