Russell Miller
Encyclopedia
Russell Miller is an award-winning British
journalist and author of fifteen books, including biographies of Hugh Hefner
, J. Paul Getty
and L. Ron Hubbard
.
, a posthumous biography of the science-fiction author who had founded Scientology
. The book challenges the official account of Hubbard's life and work promoted by the Church of Scientology
and it was serialised in the Sunday Times.
While researching the book in the USA, Miller was spied on. His friends and business associates also received visits from scientologists and private detectives. Attempts were made to frame him for the murder of a London private detective, the murder of American singer Dean Reed
in East Berlin and a fire in an aircraft factory. Senior executives at publishers Michael Joseph, and at the Sunday Times, which serialised the book, received threatening phone calls and also a visit from private investigator Eugene Ingram, who worked for the Church. Another private investigator, Jarl Grieve Einar Cynewulf, told Sunday Times journalists that he had been offered "large sums of money" to find a link between Miller and the CIA.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
journalist and author of fifteen books, including biographies of Hugh Hefner
Hugh Hefner
Hugh Marston "Hef" Hefner is an American magazine publisher, founder and Chief Creative Officer of Playboy Enterprises.-Early life:...
, J. Paul Getty
J. Paul Getty
Jean Paul Getty was an American industrialist. He founded the Getty Oil Company, and in 1957 Fortune magazine named him the richest living American, whilst the 1966 Guinness Book of Records named him as the world's richest private citizen, worth an estimated $1,200 million. At his death, he was...
and L. Ron Hubbard
L. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
.
L. Ron Hubbard biography
In the 1980s Miller spent two years researching Bare-faced Messiah: The True Story of L. Ron HubbardL. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
, a posthumous biography of the science-fiction author who had founded Scientology
Scientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
. The book challenges the official account of Hubbard's life and work promoted by the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
and it was serialised in the Sunday Times.
While researching the book in the USA, Miller was spied on. His friends and business associates also received visits from scientologists and private detectives. Attempts were made to frame him for the murder of a London private detective, the murder of American singer Dean Reed
Dean Reed
Dean Cyril Reed was an American actor, singer and songwriter who lived a great part of his adult life in South America and then in communist East Germany.-Life and career:...
in East Berlin and a fire in an aircraft factory. Senior executives at publishers Michael Joseph, and at the Sunday Times, which serialised the book, received threatening phone calls and also a visit from private investigator Eugene Ingram, who worked for the Church. Another private investigator, Jarl Grieve Einar Cynewulf, told Sunday Times journalists that he had been offered "large sums of money" to find a link between Miller and the CIA.
Awards
- Colour Magazine Writer of the Year, British Press Awards 1990
- Four Press Awards, Sunday Times Magazine
- Writer of the Year, Society of British Magazine Editors
Television appearances
In his capacity as Hubbard's biographer, Miller appeared in three British television documentaries:- Facing South: The Cult Business broadcast on TVS (southern England regional TV), November 1987
- The Big Story: Inside the Cult made by Carlton TV and broadcast on ITV, July 13, 1995
- Secret Lives: L. Ron Hubbard made by 3BM and broadcast on Channel 4Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
, November 19, 1997