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First impression of LRH?

TomKat

Patron Meritorious
They say first impressions are important, but often ignored. My first view of him was a black-and-white video clip of him giving a talk, Cheshire smile, arched back like Johnny Carson.
To me he seemed like a nerd, the flat nasal voice, slightly embarrassed smile... the opposite of "cool" in my generation's sense... A shallow, callow youth of college age, I had to overcome that impression to get on with my adoration of this Great Man :)
 

I told you I was trouble

Suspended animation
images




He looked reptilian.




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Wilbur

Patron Meritorious
I thought he looked disingenuous, and sounded like a glib con-man, when I first saw him (in that interview on the Apollo, which was released as 'Introduction to Scientology'). He also looked like he might be a bit dissociated from reality, with delusions of grandeur. But I had already read quite a few of his books, and had some auditing, both of which I was fascinated with, so I put that impression to one side.

I was invited to use the Introduction to Scientology video as a dissemination tool, and I thought "there's no way I am showing THAT to anyone".

On reflection, the hallmark of Scientology is that it is dissociated from 'reality', inviting you to create your own reality, which I think is very much the way that Ron approached the world.
 

Wedinn

Patron
Honestly? I thought he was a great man, because my first impression came from sugar-coated Scientology biographies and that "deep" black and white photo of him holding a quill.
 

lotus

stubborn rebel sheep!
My first impression too game from those black & white prints. He looked great on these perfectly made prints .

It's only when I began to listen to his tapes that I had a totally opposite impression..I too soon thought he had this grandeur dellusion and didn't find anything of value in his tapes..my main deception was there was nothing ressembling wisdom in his words...actually I though It was me who had a problem of not getting it, since I never won, never cognited , never was amazed...I thought he was only trying to be intetesting....I must admit I never ever grabbed anything and had to fabricate wins and cognitions to keep moving on with my courses...:oops:

From there, I shut my mouth and kept going on with training since I really thought being an auditor was the best in the west to save this planet.

I wish @phenomanon will tell her first impression oh him...

I never participated in this guru shocking freaking applaude and praising...I could'nt do that...It always made me very unconfortable to be part of this freak show where people were in glee and awe..Although, I shall have listened to my intuition at this moment and leave...
 
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phenomanon

Canyon
Lol
Ditto :D

I'd say he WAS a true reptilian...since in place of a tongue he had something full of venom...​
He didn't make much of an impression on me the first time I saw him I have said before that I thought him physically unattractive.It was his skin was pink, his hair orange, and his mouth was purple. Like liver. Other than a charismatic way about him, he was not of much interest to me. I had already met and gotten high with some outstanding personalities of the day, and I saw him as part of that fringe, and in that context.
A lot of my initial perception of him was somewhat colored by tales that I had already heard about him from a friend in LA.
Bobby Sutton told me that there was this guy in Hollywood running around wearing a turban, and he had written this Manuscript of a science he called Dianetics, and that the story would be published in Astounding SciFi.
I awaited the Issue and read Dianetics, and the fooking rest is History.
I can hardly confront my life at that time in Phoenix. It is painful to me to dredge it all up. I am not a person who gets relief from telling their stories.
My perception of him began to change as DMSMH began to pull in 'believers'. I left Phoenix in summer of "53 and didn't see him again until the Congresses in Wa. D.C. a few years later. 1956.
I have written up so much stuff about all this on these boards.....I know I wrote all this here on ESMB years ago. I remember it because Paul said that it was the first time that he had seen about lrh and the turban. Maybe I was posting as Challenge then. sigh....
 

pineapple

Silver Meritorious Patron
I thought he looked disingenuous, and sounded like a glib con-man, when I first saw him (in that interview on the Apollo, which was released as 'Introduction to Scientology').
The interview with Tony Hitchman, where's he's wearing an ascot and talks about the Philippine pygmies and Mongolian bandits? (I love that bit. :)) I always figured that was done at St. Hill, not on the Apollo.

There is that interview from "The Shrinking World of L. Ron Hubbard" where he's wearing the captain's hat which IS on the Apollo. Are you mixing up the two, perhaps?
 

lotus

stubborn rebel sheep!
He didn't make much of an impression on me the first time I saw him.....

I have written up so much stuff about all this on these boards.....I know I wrote all this here on ESMB years ago. I remember it because Paul said that it was the first time that he had seen about lrh and the turban. Maybe I was posting as Challenge then. sigh....

Much thanks phenom for telling again.
 

Wilbur

Patron Meritorious
The interview with Tony Hitchman, where's he's wearing an ascot and talks about the Philippine pygmies and Mongolian bandits? (I love that bit. :)) I always figured that was done at St. Hill, not on the Apollo.

There is that interview from "The Shrinking World of L. Ron Hubbard" where he's wearing the captain's hat which IS on the Apollo. Are you mixing up the two, perhaps?
Yes, I might well be mixing the two together. Thanks for pointing that out, Pineapple. They both gave me similar impressions of him.
 

vumba

Danielle Chamberlin
My first impression upon meeting him on the Apollo as an 11 year old child, was that he was enormous. He towered above me, and when he took my hand in his hand it was like a bear’s paw. He had a huge mouth so his cheesy grin was huge too. The whole impression was heightened psychologically by having heard of him before, so my view at that time, was that this huge man was to be revered and respected. I was soon disavowed of that impression when he locked me up in the chain locker, but not before terrifying me when, one day I was on my hands and knees polishing the floor outside his office, when suddenly I heard the most incredibly loud screaming, screeching and shouting coming from his office. I stood up and saw him toss all his papers from his desk into the air! I was petrified, and got out of there as fast as I could as I did not want to bear the brunt of his tirade. Pity the poor person with whom he was so angry. It was not unusual for him to stand and watch us all working from above if we were out on deck. A messenger or two would be by his side, holding his ashtray or lighting his cigarette.
 

phenomanon

Canyon
My first impression upon meeting him on the Apollo as an 11 year old child, was that he was enormous. He towered above me, and when he took my hand in his hand it was like a bear’s paw. He had a huge mouth so his cheesy grin was huge too. The whole impression was heightened psychologically by having heard of him before, so my view at that time, was that this huge man was to be revered and respected. I was soon disavowed of that impression when he locked me up in the chain locker, but not before terrifying me when, one day I was on my hands and knees polishing the floor outside his office, when suddenly I heard the most incredibly loud screaming, screeching and shouting coming from his office. I stood up and saw him toss all his papers from his desk into the air! I was petrified, and got out of there as fast as I could as I did not want to bear the brunt of his tirade. Pity the poor person with whom he was so angry. It was not unusual for him to stand and watch us all working from above if we were out on deck. A messenger or two would be by his side, holding his ashtray or lighting his cigarette.
When I saw him on the deck of the Apollo in 1971, he appeared translucent to me. Yep. I thought I could see thru him.
 

TomKat

Patron Meritorious
Back about 1960 Keith Gerry went over to Saint Hill from South Africa, to do the D.Scn special briefing course. When he got back he told me that Hubbard was "stark raving mad". He then started talking about going to India to find a guru.
There's an Americanized Indian guru on youtube called sadhguru and he's pretty good, and pretty funny.
 

EZ Linus

Cleared Tomato
First impression of how he looked you mean? Sounded? I had different impressions of him at every turn I suppose. I can't even remember if there were photos of him on the jackets of these books:

51ae5TXwp2L._AC_UL320_SR204,320_.jpg

Many times the books I had back then didn't have jackets at all.

It would be years before I'd ever walked into an org and by then, I was already sold. But when I first heard his voice on a lecture, I was like, what the hell? I thought his dentures were loose.
 

ThetanExterior

Gold Meritorious Patron
First impression of how he looked you mean? Sounded? I had different impressions of him at every turn I suppose. I can't even remember if there were photos of him on the jackets of these books:

51ae5TXwp2L._AC_UL320_SR204,320_.jpg

Many times the books I had back then didn't have jackets at all.

It would be years before I'd ever walked into an org and by then, I was already sold. But when I first heard his voice on a lecture, I was like, what the hell? I thought his dentures were loose.
The only first impression I remember of him was when I first listened to a taped lecture in the courseroom. The supervisor asked me how it was going and I said LRH had a funny voice. I could see the course sup didn't like that so I backtracked and said I meant it was unusual.
 

DagwoodGum

Squirreling Dervish
Back about 1960 Keith Gerry went over to Saint Hill from South Africa, to do the D.Scn special briefing course. When he got back he told me that Hubbard was "stark raving mad". He then started talking about going to India to find a guru.
I absolutely love to read about what people who actually met him thought of old liver lips, it's not only quite a treat but confirms my own observations from a distance.
 

DagwoodGum

Squirreling Dervish
The only first impression I remember of him was when I first listened to a taped lecture in the courseroom. The supervisor asked me how it was going and I said LRH had a funny voice. I could see the course sup didn't like that so I backtracked and said I meant it was unusual.
To me LRH had a weird, tinny, manic barking tremolo as though a clothespin was clamped down on his nose which was reminiscent of those World War II correspondents who used to report news from the front through a cheap microphone that people would listen to on the old style Motorola radios and the like of that era.
He stole a lot from his military days so it wouldn't surprise me if he patterned his patter after those reporters.
Or he was just coked up and his sinuses were packed full and numb as shit!
 
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