I wrote the following column on August 11, 2008. Isaac Hayes, who’d joined Scientology more to be part of something with celebrity, had just died a miserable death. After a severely debilitating stroke he had for some reason been on a treadmill. The loss of Isaac was incalculable for his family and friends. When you’re watching “Going Clear” on Sunday night on HBO, think of this story.

from Aug 2008

My friend, Isaac Hayes, died on Sunday, and his passing leaves many unanswered questions.

The great R&B star, actor, DJ, performer and family man, the composer of “Soul Man,” “Hold On I’m Coming” and other hits by Sam Moore and Dave Prater like “When Something Is Wrong with My Baby,” also was a member of the Church of Scientology.

Isaac was found dead by his treadmill, but conveniently missing from the wire stories was a significant fact: in January 2006, Isaac had a significant stroke. At the time, the word went out only that he had been hospitalized for exhaustion.

But the truth was, Isaac, whom I’d seen just a couple of months earlier when he headlined the Blues Ball in Memphis, was in trouble. Having lost the rights to his songs two decades earlier, he was finally making some money voicing the character of Chef on “South Park.” But “South Park” lampooned Scientology, so the leaders wanted Isaac out.

Push came to shove on Nov. 16, 2005, when “South Park” aired its hilarious “Trapped in the Closet” episode spoofing Tom Cruise and John Travolta. “South Park” creator Matt Stone told me later that Isaac had come to him in tears.

“He said he was under great pressure from Scientology, and if we didn’t stop poking at them, he’d have to leave,” Stone said.

The conversation ended there. Isaac performed Chef’s signature song at the Blues Ball a week later with great delight. Although he was devoted to Scientology, he also loved being part of “South Park.” He was proud of it. And, importantly, it gave him income he badly needed.

But then came the stroke, which was severe. His staff — consisting of Scientology monitors who rarely left him alone — tried to portray it as a minor health issue. It wasn’t. Sources in Memphis told me at the time that Isaac had significant motor control and speech issues. His talking was impaired.

In March 2006, news came that Hayes was resigning from “South Park.” On March 20, 2006, I wrote a column called “Chef’s Quitting Controversy,” explaining that Hayes was in no position to have quit anything due to his stroke. But Scientology issued the statement to the press saying Hayes had resigned, and the press just ate it up. No one spoke to Isaac directly, because he couldn’t literally speak. “Chef” was written out of the show.

Isaac’s income stream was severely impaired as a result. Suddenly there were announcements of his touring, and performing. It didn’t seem possible, but word went out that he’d be at BB King’s in New York in January 2007. I went to see him and reported on it here.

The show was abomination. Isaac was plunked down at a keyboard, where he pretended to front his band. He spoke-sang, and his words were halting. He was not the Isaac Hayes of the past.

What was worse was that he barely knew me. He had appeared in my documentary, “Only the Strong Survive,” released in 2003. We knew each other very well. I was actually surprised that his Scientology minder, Christina Kumi Kimball, with whom I had difficult encounters in the past, let me see him backstage at BB King’s. Our meeting was brief, and Isaac said quietly that he did know me. But the light was out in his eyes, and the situation was worrisome.

But the general consensus was that he needed the money. Without “Chef,” Isaac’s finances were severely curtailed. He had mouths to feed to home. Plus, Scientology requires huge amounts of money, as former member, actor Jason Beghe, has explained in this space. For Isaac to continue in the sect, he had to come up with funds. Performing was the only way.

In recent months, I’ve had conflicting reports. One mutual friend says that Isaac had looked and sounded much better lately at business meetings. But actor Samuel L. Jackson, who recently filmed scenes with Isaac and the late Bernie Mac for a new movie called “Soul Men,” told me on Saturday that Isaac really wasn’t up to the physical demands of shooting the movie. (Neither, it seems, was Bernie Mac.)

Sam Moore, who recorded those Isaac Hayes songs in the ’60s and loved the writer-performer like a brother, told me Sunday when he heard about the death: “I’m happy.” Happy, I asked? “Yes, happy he’s out of pain.” It was one of the most beautiful ideas I’d ever heard expressed on the subject of death.

But there are a lot of questions still to be raised about Isaac Hayes’ death. Why, for example, was a stroke survivor on a treadmill by himself? What was his condition? What kind of treatment had he had since the stroke? Members of Scientology are required to sign a form promising they will never seek psychiatric or mental assistance. But stroke rehabilitation involves the help of neurologists and often psychiatrists, not to mention psychotropic drugs — exactly the kind Scientology proselytizes against.

What will come next, I’m afraid, is a wild dogfight among family members for Isaac’s estate. His song catalog (with David Porter) is one of the greatest in music history. Isaac lost the rights to his big hit songs in 1977. But thanks to something called the Songwriters Act, his heirs — whoever they are determined to be — automatically get the rights back as the songs come up for copyright renewal. I guarantee this will not be pretty. Isaac Lee Hayes has over 300 original compositions listed with BMI, from the Sam & Dave songbook to Carla Thomas’ “BABY (Baby)” to his monumental instrumental “Theme from SHAFT.”

None of this should ever take away from who Isaac Hayes really was: a great friend, a warm congenial man with a big heart and a big laugh. He had married again right before his stroke, and was very happy. If he hadn’t had the stroke, I am certain he would have recorded a new album. There was talk of it after the stroke, but nothing materialized. When we made and promoted “Only the Strong Survive,” he was a masterful musician with a great mind and a wicked sense of humor. His loss at 65 is simply way too early and very tragic.

Miami’s 100th anniversary included a big bash on Thursday night. There was an out door concert with Barry Gibb, Sam Moore, Sheila E. and other musicians who all got proclamations from the mayor.

And guess who was honored? Famed mobster Meyer Lansky. Why should be be left out? Known through the ages for illegal gambling (the only crime was ever convicted f0r) Lansky’s pals were Bugsy Siegel and Lucky Luciano. In “The Godfather II” he was called Hyman Roth and played — for the ages– by Lee Strasberg.

Sunday night– you must watch the HBO documentary “Going Clear” about Scientology. Even knowing what I do about this cult, I was actually frightened after watching Alex Gibney’s extraordinary movie. Two hours isn’t even enough time to cover the horrors of what has gone in what Gibney depicts as a get rich quick scheme invented by a crackpot science fiction author. What you’ll see is a lot of people testifying about blackmail, intimidation, illegal surveillance, and physical violence.

But what’s most shocking is the way both Tom Cruise and John Travolta come off in this movie. Their careers could be in big trouble after enough of the public has sat down and really watched “Going Clear.” Gibney is calling for them to come clean and finally stand up to Scientology’s diminutive leader David Miscavige.

I doubt that will happen. Both director Paul Haggis and Miscavige’s own niece have said that while they were in the cult they never read any criticism of it or listened to critics. Many others who’ve left have said the same thing, including actor Jason Beghe, who saw the light and escaped in 2007.

Gibney’s film is must watch TV. For one thing, he explains how Scientology got tax free status as a religion in 1993– by suing the IRS so often and so viciously that the then chairman, Fred Goldberg, finally gave in. Gibney says that in exchange for dropping all the suits– and blackmail of IRS agents whom Scientology followed–Scientology got their status. If Gibney is right, and I think he is, we can blame Goldberg for two decades of terror. And because of the tax free status, Scientology has been able to grow to $3 billion in assets.

The movie is based on Lawrence Wright’s excellent book of the same name. Like the book, the movie hinges a lot on the testimony of two former cult members– Marty Rathbun and Mike Rinder. In the last decade they’ve each escaped and become vociferous vocal critics. This is how much Scientology and Miscavige fear these two: I was told by a journalist, who’d obviously been co-opted by Scientology, that Rathbun and Rinder were really trying to topple Miscavige so they could take over Scientology themselves. Hah! Good try, I responded. But Scientology has money to burn, and they’ve infiltrated normal people with it.

The first hour of “Going Clear” is a fascinating look at L. Ron Hubbard, the Kilgore Trout of Scientology, the cult’s roots, and several people who knew Hubbard as a fake. The second hour more fully addresses Cruise and his complicated history with wives, children and the cult. There’s also a very developed look at Miscavige, Cruise’s doppelganger and Rasputin. It’s a jaw dropper– enough so that, as I’ve said before, I doubt Cruise will ever again do business with Warner Bros., the parent company of HBO.

“Going Clear” basically claims that both Cruise and Travolta are being blackmailed by Scientology to stay in the group. You’ll see it in the film. The two stars, among the two dozen or so who’ve stayed with Scientology, participated in hundreds of “auditing” sessions in which they were taped revealing their personal secrets. Gibney and Wright say those secrets being held over their heads. Even if you’ve heard whispers of this before, the revelations now on camera are eye opening.

What’s absolutely riveting is the story of how Scientology set Cruise up with an insta-girlfriend, actress Nazanin Boniadi, who’s now on “Homeland” after a recurring role on “General Hospital.” It’s more eery than Cruise’s selection of a wife– Holmes– during casting for “Mission Impossible 3.” The story first appeared in Vanity Fair, which savaged Cruise in a detailed take down. Now Gibney has more on what happened in what could be described as its own Mission: Impossible.

What “Going Clear” doesn’t cover– Leah Remini’s exit, the disappearance of Miscavige’s wife, and about four dozen other scandals. Kirstie Alley will probably feel bad that she’s never mentioned. Neither are the misguided actors who fell for this stuff like Jenna Elfman and Juliette Lewis. What is interesting is that Scientology has not been able to attract any more celebrities. No one else has been stupid enough to fall for their tricks. I wonder if the others who are in it will wise up when they see this film.