From: paulettec@aol.com (Paulettec) Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology Subject: Re Bad news: Bob Kaufman died Date: 1 Aug 1996 06:45:03 -0400 Message-ID: <4tq1rf$sle@newsbf02.news.aol.com>
I am sorry to come here to a.r.s. today with bad news. Bob Kaufman, author of "Inside Scientology" died. He was 63 years old.
Bob was the first person courageous enough to reveal the upper level materials. For this, he was terribly harassed and his dreams of a concert piano career shattered. When he gave a recital at Carnegie Hall more than 20 years ago, the Scientologists found out in advance and called the ticket taker and told them to tell people he was ill and the concert was cancelled.
Almost everyone was turned away, and as Bob looked out at an almost empty audience, and realized what must have happened, he lost it and his fury crept into his music. Later, the Times review would complain that he played as if he was angry.
But Bob remained cheerful no matter what happened to him. And he had so many other wonderful qualities as well: he was absolutely brilliant, very funny, empathetic, quick, talented, versatile, kind, concerned, etc.
He was also an extraordinary friend to many anti-Scientologists, including myself, Monica, Nan McClean, John Atack, Roy Wallis (when he was alive), Margie Wakefield, and others.
Many of you out there helped make him happy without your realizing it. Once upon a time, there were happy days at a.r.s. -- actually less than a year ago--where critics, instead of atacking each other, freqently wrote funny songs and posted humorous parodies.
I would download whatever humor I could find from a.r.s. and the web pages, and I would sing often these songs to him, or read him the funny anti-Scientology posts that you all wrote. And that's how several of you really cheered him terrifically during his many surgical procedures, hospitalizations, setbacks, and chemo. So thank you all for him. He really loved it.
And those of us who had the opportunity to really know him loved him as well. He will be sorely missed.
Paulette Cooper
Subject: Monica's Memories of Bob Kaufman From: gemmamp1@aol.com (GEMMAMP1) Date: 1996/08/04 Message-Id: <4u31rt$7eg@newsbf02.news.aol.com> Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
As was stated in an earlier post by Paulette Cooper Robert (Bob) Kaufman passed away on Monday, July 29, 1996. He was 63 years old. Bob was the author of the book *Inside Scientology* and was the first person to ever publicly reveal the OTIII materials, which he did in this book.
Bob was a man of many talents and a wonderful friend of mine. It's too bad he never got set up on the internet, because he would have had a lot to contribute to this newsgroup. In addition to his book, he wrote an excellent article about the E-Meter called Scientology Auditing and Its Offshoots. He also had a wonderful sense of humor and wrote a very funny book about gurus towards the end of his life, which was, unfortunately never published.
Aside from his writings on Scientology, Bob led a very rich life. He often told Paulette and myself that we were spending too much time on all this anti-cult stuff and that he felt people should go on with their lives, which he had done. Bob did get to give a wonderful piano recital last May where he performed to a packed audience. Paulette, Henri, Keith Spurgeon, Maureen and myself were among those in attendance. Immediately after this recital, he started planning another one, which, unfortunately never happened. Once a friend of Bob's who is a member of the Julliard String Quartet told me that the kind of musical talent that Bob has is very rare and he would be happy if he had just a fraction of the talent Bob has.
Bob was also a fighter against injustices in this world. Just a few weeks before he went into the hospital for the last time, he invited me out for a beer and showed me a legal case he was preparing where he was taking his landlord to court for failing to maintain the premises. He was trying to organize the passive tenants in his building to fight for their rights. He had meticulously organized his papers and evidence and had a very solid case prepared. He would have made a great lawyer. Bob was not one to stand by and let people take advantage.
Bob was also a very loyal friend and a very intelligent person to talk to. One thing I could always be sure of when we got together was that there would always be interesting conversation. He had dabbled in all kinds of mysticism, but towards the end of his life he proudly called himself a Skeptic and I believe that's how he'd like to be remembered.
I consider it a real privilege and pleasure to have been his friend and I will miss him greatly as will all of his many friends.
Monica Pignotti