Jefferson Hawkins, mastermind behind 1980s Dianetics TV commercial, dies

Jefferson Hawkins, the mastermind behind Scientology’s 1980s Dianetics TV commercial has sadly passed away, aged 79.

In a post made earlier today on his Facebook page, his niece wrote “I’m very sorry to share that my uncle Jeff – Jefferson Hawkins – passed away yesterday, Monday, January 5. His passing was sudden; he was visiting family when he suffered a series of strokes and later passed peacefully in the hospital.”

“Jeff touched many lives, and I wanted to make sure those who knew him hear the news. We will be planning a celebration of life in Portland, Oregon, with timing and details to come. Please feel free to reach out to me directly if you’d like to be kept informed or share your contact information.”

While a part of Scientology’s para-military group known as the Sea Organisation, Hawkins developed the idea to promote Dianetics via TV ads in the 1980s. The commercials ran across the US and used what was then state-of-the-art animation and accompanying music produced by Geoff Levin to market the book to a whole new audience. The campaign resulted in Dianetics re-entering the New York Times bestseller list 30 years after it was first published, and was echoed in new promotional videos released by the Church at it’s event celebrating the book’s 75th anniversary last year.

After leaving Scientology, Jeff authored a series of books ‘Closing Minds: How Scientology’s “Ethics Technology” is Used to Control Their Members‘, ‘Counterfeit Dreams‘ and ‘Leaving Scientology: A Practical Guide to Escape and Recovery‘, which have widely been credited as helpful by those who have left the controversial church. Although he may no longer be with us, his work and words will live on.

He will be sorely missed and our thoughts go out to his family during this difficult time.