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Jady Dederich Montgomery:
You thought that it was
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your duty to be a martyr!
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That is a lie, because you are
such an affected fool
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that you didn't want
anyone in Synanon
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to think for a moment
that you were a human being
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and could actually
get into a Game
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like the rest of us broads
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because you are
such a phony bitch!
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You are a minimum
daily motherfucker!
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- That is bullshit!
- That is where it is at!
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- That is not... Plain not true!
- I know when you leave the job, you should know...
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- You're gonna grow up! You are going...
- I can't do it!
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No, you are going to grow up,
you old asshole!
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I wanna talk
to you about something else,
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you cheap fucking
pompous cocksucker!
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You fucking cheap motherfucker!
This fucking guy!
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Stop it! Life goes on,
life gets better,
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you learn more, you add on,
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and that's what it's all about.
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I have made so many
mistakes in Synanon,
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and maybe it's just
a Pollyanna bunch of bullshit,
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but I say there is something
worthwhile in this experience.
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What was it?
And it has to be there.
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I'd like you to get honest.
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I want you to get honest,
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and I'm gonna demand
that you get honest.
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You wanna live around here?
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You wanna live in Synanon?
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Start to play the Game!
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(static crackles)
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("California Dreamin'"
by Bud Shank playing)
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♪♪
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(all yelling)
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(clippers buzzing)
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- ♪ Ooh... ♪
- (shutters snapping)
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- Fire!
- (gun shots)
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♪ Ooh... ♪
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(shutter snaps)
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- (music fades)
- (projector whirring)
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(dramatic sting)
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(projector slows down)
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(projector stops)
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(helicopter whirring)
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Reporter 1: Charles
Dederich, who turned
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the alcohol and drug
rehabilitation program Synanon
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into a wealthy cult, remains
in custody in Arizona today.
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Reporter 2: Synanon founder
Charles "Chuck" Dederich
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was arrested and charged with
conspiracy to commit murder.
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Jady:
My dad,
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00:02:59,260 --> 00:03:01,890
he was intoxicated
when he got arrested.
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00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:05,180
He was intoxicated when he got
arrested in Lake Havasu.
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00:03:05,260 --> 00:03:07,390
He was out.
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And then, they took him
to the jail hospital
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in Kingman, Arizona.
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Connie Chung: A local justice
of the peace went to the hospital
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to read Dederich
the murder charges against him.
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Everett Milam:
His eyes was closed.
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He was laying flat on his back.
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I do not know if he knew
what was going on or not.
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He does have a mental problem,
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00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:28,500
and I understood that, uh,
alcohol is also a problem.
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Excuse us, please. Thank you.
Make way, please.
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Jady:
My dad, Chuck's story,
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and Synanon's story,
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it's a big,
beautiful, tragic story.
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Reporter: The judge praised
his early Synanon work.
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He then concluded
that he was sorry
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the program had degenerated.
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Jady:
What happened...
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it was terrible, yeah.
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It was terrible.
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People suffered.
People were hurt.
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(indistinct chanting)
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00:04:00,490 --> 00:04:04,700
And he did bring
Synanon down around him.
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00:04:07,370 --> 00:04:11,000
But, all of this in Synanon,
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00:04:11,370 --> 00:04:14,710
he-he couldn't have done it
without us
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enabling him.
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- (overlapping chatter)
- (shutters snapping)
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♪♪
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Jady:
A lot of really smart,
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talented, educated people...
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Please can we get by?
Excuse us!
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Jady: ...all did things
we would never do now,
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you know?
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00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:38,270
I mean, how does that happen?
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00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:41,900
Because that's not
how it started.
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00:04:41,940 --> 00:04:44,990
(quiet street noise)
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Mike Gimbel:
The addict loves their needle.
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- (soft music playing)
- (tapping)
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00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:00,630
When times are rough,
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00:05:00,710 --> 00:05:04,590
I would take my needle
and scrape it inside,
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00:05:04,630 --> 00:05:07,510
thinking there was
a little dope in there.
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00:05:10,060 --> 00:05:12,310
When you're high on heroin,
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00:05:12,390 --> 00:05:16,600
it's a mixture of being
conscious and unconscious.
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00:05:18,060 --> 00:05:19,650
It's somewhere in the middle,
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00:05:19,730 --> 00:05:23,360
which is a very mellow,
warm feeling
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that you try to reach.
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00:05:30,620 --> 00:05:33,410
Lena Lindsey: To wake up
sick, and not have any money,
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00:05:33,450 --> 00:05:36,580
and having to go out
and turn a trick
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00:05:36,620 --> 00:05:39,130
so you could get some money,
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that wasn't any fun.
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But you did it.
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'Cause you were looking
forward to that fix.
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(belt rattling)
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Heroin.
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00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:57,560
I was using heroin.
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00:05:58,650 --> 00:06:01,110
I had dropped out of college.
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00:06:01,150 --> 00:06:03,530
I was living in New York,
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00:06:03,610 --> 00:06:06,150
working at
an avant-garde theater.
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00:06:06,240 --> 00:06:07,740
(canopy flapping)
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00:06:07,820 --> 00:06:11,830
I had drugs on me
when I was arrested.
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I went to jail.
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00:06:14,790 --> 00:06:18,500
- (door slams) - Mike: I was
born into a very wonderful family
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in Baltimore, Maryland.
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00:06:20,330 --> 00:06:21,750
(film projector whirring)
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00:06:21,840 --> 00:06:26,260
In the summer of my junior
year at high school,
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I got introduced to heroin
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and probably immediately
was hooked.
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♪♪
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Went to my senior prom,
on heroin.
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Eventually, my life
was 24/7 heroin.
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00:06:40,270 --> 00:06:43,520
- (projector whirring)
- My parents took me to a psychiatrist.
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He didn't know what to do.
Took me to a rabbi.
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00:06:45,690 --> 00:06:48,240
He didn't know what to do.
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00:06:48,320 --> 00:06:50,200
I remember being
locked in a mental hospital
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00:06:50,240 --> 00:06:51,950
for four weeks.
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00:06:52,030 --> 00:06:55,040
You know, no therapy,
just locked in a room.
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00:06:56,370 --> 00:06:58,750
I wanted out of drug use.
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00:06:59,500 --> 00:07:02,790
But I didn't know
how to get clean.
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00:07:03,670 --> 00:07:05,670
Lena Lindsey:
Nothing worked.
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00:07:05,710 --> 00:07:08,760
And I knew if I didn't clean up,
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00:07:08,840 --> 00:07:11,760
my kids wouldn't have
a chance, right?
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00:07:12,890 --> 00:07:16,890
I would raise a prostitute
and a dope fiend
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00:07:16,970 --> 00:07:19,020
just like I was.
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00:07:21,850 --> 00:07:25,270
Bill Goodson: My mother was a
dope fiend. We may have known,
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00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:27,570
you know, something like,
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"Mom is ill. Mom is not well."
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At the time,
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it was a pretty desperate
situation for dope fiends
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00:07:35,580 --> 00:07:38,700
because society didn't know
what to do with them.
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00:07:38,750 --> 00:07:42,040
Newscaster: We face a growing
menace called drug addiction.
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00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:45,630
Every citizen must be made
to realize that drug addiction
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is a very real threat.
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Lena: "Once a drug addict,
always a drug addict."
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00:07:51,170 --> 00:07:54,840
And they said it so many times
that drug addicts,
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we, uh, believed that ourselves.
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And we would never
be anything else.
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00:08:02,730 --> 00:08:04,560
- (gavel pounding)
- Bill: In the late '50s,
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00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:08,110
a judge gave my mom
an ultimatum of sorts.
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00:08:08,150 --> 00:08:11,110
You know, "If I see you
in my court one more time,
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I'm sending you to prison."
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And then, she heard
about the old man.
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That's what we called
Chuck Dederich.
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"The old man."
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(upbeat energetic music playing)
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♪♪
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Narrator: It's Jack
Linkletter, "On The Go!"
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Come out along, we're going
places, doing things,
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and meeting people everywhere
in their search for happiness.
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00:08:33,880 --> 00:08:36,340
Good morning. Today,
we're in a dilapidated building
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along the beachfront
here in, uh, California,
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along one of the beach cities.
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Actually, this is
an organization called Synanon.
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This is a home
for drug addicts...
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Lena: One night,
sitting at home, loaded,
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some news guy
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was talking about a new place
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for drug addicts to clean up.
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Well, I've been off the habit,
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uh, actually since
February the 2nd, 1958.
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I've been to Lexington,
Forth Worth,
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numerous other hospitals.
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00:09:04,460 --> 00:09:06,210
It's never worked
to this extent.
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00:09:06,290 --> 00:09:08,000
When my habit was at its peak,
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00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:10,920
I robbed and stole,
and I prostituted.
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- It's a horrible thing, isn't it.
- It certainly is.
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- Well, thank you for talking to me, alright? Thank you.
- You're very welcome.
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Lena:
It was so surprising.
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I didn't know any drug addict
that had cleaned up.
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00:09:21,350 --> 00:09:23,890
Jack Linkletter: I think you're
chairman of the board of directors here.
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00:09:23,980 --> 00:09:25,890
- That's right, Jack.
- Your name?
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00:09:25,980 --> 00:09:29,900
- Chuck Dederich.
- Now, Chuck, uh, were you an ex dope addict?
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00:09:29,980 --> 00:09:31,980
No, I was an alcoholic, Jack.
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How long have some of your
people been off dope here?
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Chuck: Uh, we have people
that have been off dope
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00:09:36,860 --> 00:09:39,700
ever since the place started,
around 11 months ago,
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and then all the way down to...
probably our latest newcomer
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00:09:43,370 --> 00:09:44,790
was about two
or three weeks ago.
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00:09:44,870 --> 00:09:46,870
Now, is this unusual,
to be off dope that long?
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00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:49,880
Uh, it's considered
almost miraculous.
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00:09:49,960 --> 00:09:51,250
(seagull cawing)
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00:09:51,340 --> 00:09:54,960
Mike: Before Synanon, there
was no residential program
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00:09:55,050 --> 00:09:58,720
that dealt with drug addiction
anywhere in the country.
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00:09:59,050 --> 00:10:00,720
Probably anywhere
in the whole world,
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00:10:00,760 --> 00:10:01,890
to tell you the truth.
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♪♪
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Jack Hurst: I asked to become
a resident, and I was accepted.
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00:10:06,850 --> 00:10:08,480
I found the guy who had managed
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00:10:08,560 --> 00:10:10,900
to stay clean six months
was a hero.
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00:10:10,940 --> 00:10:13,780
I had never seen
this happen before.
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00:10:15,650 --> 00:10:17,900
Terry Hurst:
Jack and I'd met May 31st,
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00:10:17,950 --> 00:10:20,200
and we got married June 19th.
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00:10:20,820 --> 00:10:23,540
We were madly in love
right from the beginning.
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00:10:23,580 --> 00:10:27,160
We were very happy.
For a time.
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00:10:27,830 --> 00:10:30,750
And then, Jack started
what he called "chipping."
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00:10:30,830 --> 00:10:33,460
You know, he would go out
and get high,
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00:10:33,550 --> 00:10:36,170
and it just progressed
and progressed
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00:10:36,210 --> 00:10:37,380
until he finally got hooked.
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00:10:37,420 --> 00:10:40,840
So, there was nothing
that could help Jack, certainly,
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00:10:40,930 --> 00:10:43,760
and-and I also knew
that he was trying very hard
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00:10:43,850 --> 00:10:46,310
to stop using drugs.
He tried everything.
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00:10:46,390 --> 00:10:49,060
Meanwhile,
we heard about Synanon.
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00:10:49,100 --> 00:10:52,270
So, we went down
on a Friday night
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00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:54,360
and met with Chuck Dederich.
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00:10:54,440 --> 00:10:56,480
(soft chatter)
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00:10:56,570 --> 00:10:59,150
Terry:
Synanon was in a storefront.
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00:10:59,240 --> 00:11:02,320
And when an addict came in,
they were put on the couch.
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00:11:03,200 --> 00:11:06,370
And they were not left alone
until they kicked.
219
00:11:06,450 --> 00:11:07,620
(car horn honks)
220
00:11:07,700 --> 00:11:10,420
The rules were don't get high,
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00:11:10,460 --> 00:11:12,250
you know, don't use anything,
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00:11:12,290 --> 00:11:14,670
and no physical violence.
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00:11:14,750 --> 00:11:18,090
No violence and no drugs.
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00:11:18,590 --> 00:11:21,260
They were the golden rules
of Synanon.
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00:11:21,720 --> 00:11:23,640
Chuck Dederich:
Synanon is a coined word.
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00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:26,180
It doesn't mean
anything actually.
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00:11:26,260 --> 00:11:28,140
It's one of the guys
who, uh, mixed up
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00:11:28,180 --> 00:11:31,810
seminar and symposium
and anonymous, and...
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00:11:31,850 --> 00:11:34,480
- Jack Linkletter: He threw 'em all together...
- Chuck: Threw 'em all together
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00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:36,860
- and came up with a new word.
- Jack Linkletter: Do you have any help
231
00:11:36,940 --> 00:11:38,230
from doctors and psychiatrists?
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00:11:38,320 --> 00:11:39,860
The only help we have
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00:11:39,940 --> 00:11:42,860
is just an occasional donation
from the general public.
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00:11:42,950 --> 00:11:45,490
- You treat yourselves then?
- That's right.
235
00:11:45,530 --> 00:11:47,450
- Completely alone?
- Completely alone.
236
00:11:47,490 --> 00:11:50,290
(quiet street noise outside)
237
00:11:59,260 --> 00:12:02,840
Mike: Synanon was unlike
any other kind of treatment.
238
00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:04,050
Nobody gave us methadone.
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00:12:04,140 --> 00:12:07,100
Nobody gave us
any other medicines.
240
00:12:07,180 --> 00:12:10,390
The program was addicts
helping addicts.
241
00:12:11,180 --> 00:12:14,730
That concept was new
and revolutionary.
242
00:12:15,230 --> 00:12:17,860
Jack Hurst: We're not therapists,
and we're not psychiatrists,
243
00:12:17,940 --> 00:12:20,030
but we all know what it's like
to be a drug addict.
244
00:12:20,110 --> 00:12:22,360
We all know what
it's to be a liar.
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00:12:23,070 --> 00:12:26,530
So, three times a week,
everyone attends
246
00:12:26,620 --> 00:12:28,950
what we call
our Synanon sessions.
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00:12:29,790 --> 00:12:32,580
Terry: At that time,
we were having sessions.
248
00:12:33,080 --> 00:12:35,540
A group of people would get
together in the evening,
249
00:12:35,630 --> 00:12:38,710
and discuss their problems.
250
00:12:39,250 --> 00:12:42,010
Chuck was a drunk,
and in the beginning,
251
00:12:42,050 --> 00:12:45,550
Chuck thought he was
starting a small AA.
252
00:12:45,590 --> 00:12:47,600
'Cause he had cleaned up on AA.
253
00:12:47,680 --> 00:12:49,890
♪♪
254
00:12:49,930 --> 00:12:53,770
Chuck: I was a real good
serious problem drinker.
255
00:12:55,350 --> 00:12:58,730
I ran around with
a very speedy crowd,
256
00:12:58,770 --> 00:13:02,900
and, uh, the party was
never over for me.
257
00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:07,320
I was a salesman,
a public relations person,
258
00:13:07,410 --> 00:13:10,700
and, uh, I-I couldn't
do that anymore.
259
00:13:10,740 --> 00:13:12,410
I had lost all my friends.
260
00:13:12,500 --> 00:13:16,620
I had lost two wives
and two children, you know.
261
00:13:16,710 --> 00:13:18,590
That was gone.
262
00:13:19,170 --> 00:13:21,760
I stopped drinking in
Alcoholics Anonymous
263
00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:26,010
May 14th, 1956.
264
00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:28,970
And I was two years sober
265
00:13:29,050 --> 00:13:32,100
and very active, doing a lot
of attendance at meetings,
266
00:13:32,140 --> 00:13:34,810
doing a lot of, um, helping
of other drunks,
267
00:13:34,890 --> 00:13:36,770
and all that kind of thing.
268
00:13:36,810 --> 00:13:39,440
But it just, it wasn't
deep enough.
269
00:13:40,270 --> 00:13:43,190
It's around this time
that I put together
270
00:13:43,280 --> 00:13:46,030
an experimental type of meeting.
271
00:13:46,070 --> 00:13:49,240
♪♪
272
00:13:49,280 --> 00:13:51,160
My dad wasn't the kind of guy
that was gonna, like,
273
00:13:51,240 --> 00:13:53,790
go through all
the steps and then,
274
00:13:53,870 --> 00:13:56,790
you know, do that for
the rest of his life.
275
00:13:57,370 --> 00:14:00,790
There was a truth
that he wanted,
276
00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:04,800
a kind of confrontation
that he wanted.
277
00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:06,130
And he said, you know,
278
00:14:06,170 --> 00:14:09,800
"I have this lifetime
of bottled-up rage."
279
00:14:10,180 --> 00:14:12,850
And he just started talking
to everybody in the room
280
00:14:12,930 --> 00:14:15,140
like they were horrible.
281
00:14:15,180 --> 00:14:17,350
You know, telling 'em, you know,
whatever kind of asshole
282
00:14:17,440 --> 00:14:20,020
he thought they were,
you know. And they loved it.
283
00:14:20,110 --> 00:14:21,560
(indistinct chatter)
284
00:14:21,650 --> 00:14:24,030
Chuck: We met three
or four times a week.
285
00:14:24,110 --> 00:14:26,150
We were yelling and cursing
286
00:14:26,190 --> 00:14:29,320
and, you know, really
getting our feelings out.
287
00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:32,950
I think, um, you know, some
people got some valuable insights,
288
00:14:32,990 --> 00:14:35,000
and it was a great experience.
289
00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:36,830
(chatter continues)
290
00:14:36,910 --> 00:14:38,960
Lena:
Shortly after they started,
291
00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:42,460
a couple of dope fiends came in,
292
00:14:42,500 --> 00:14:44,380
and they stayed clean.
293
00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:47,760
And Chuck took notice of that.
294
00:14:47,840 --> 00:14:49,970
♪♪
295
00:14:50,010 --> 00:14:53,260
At that time, nobody wanted
to be around drug addicts.
296
00:14:54,010 --> 00:14:55,520
Terrible stigma.
297
00:14:56,270 --> 00:14:59,230
And why he was not
turned off by people
298
00:14:59,310 --> 00:15:01,860
that were very different
from him in every way,
299
00:15:01,940 --> 00:15:03,570
I don't know.
300
00:15:04,860 --> 00:15:06,900
Maybe it was his face,
301
00:15:06,990 --> 00:15:09,610
his disfigurement
from meningitis.
302
00:15:10,740 --> 00:15:13,120
He was the outcast.
303
00:15:13,200 --> 00:15:15,620
The person who had been
a failure his whole life.
304
00:15:16,910 --> 00:15:21,120
A person who was broken and lost
305
00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:23,210
and found his way
306
00:15:23,290 --> 00:15:25,920
in connection with other people.
307
00:15:27,420 --> 00:15:31,050
Chuck: These meetings
were the group process
308
00:15:31,130 --> 00:15:35,350
which later became known
as the Synanon Game.
309
00:15:39,140 --> 00:15:42,230
That was Synanon. (laughs)
310
00:15:42,270 --> 00:15:44,770
The Game was Synanon, really.
311
00:15:44,860 --> 00:15:46,860
(overlapping yelling)
312
00:15:46,940 --> 00:15:49,440
You're not a man!
Your mouth don't make you a man!
313
00:15:49,530 --> 00:15:52,280
Could you take an order?
You couldn't even do it!
314
00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:54,910
- You're not even a (indistinct)!
- (indistinct yelling)
315
00:15:54,990 --> 00:15:58,240
Jady: The Game was
a verbal street fight.
316
00:15:58,290 --> 00:16:01,670
It was a way to have a free,
317
00:16:01,750 --> 00:16:04,170
unencumbered, uninhibited,
318
00:16:04,250 --> 00:16:07,590
no-holds-barred encounter
with another person.
319
00:16:07,670 --> 00:16:10,090
- Oh, you don't believe that anymore?
- I said yeah!
320
00:16:10,130 --> 00:16:12,970
- Nobody agrees with you! Fine!
- (tense music playing)
321
00:16:13,050 --> 00:16:14,260
(indistinct yelling)
322
00:16:14,300 --> 00:16:16,810
Lena:
The Synanon Game taught us
323
00:16:16,890 --> 00:16:18,390
to look at our own truth.
324
00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:21,140
- All your tiles are coming up!
- This your way of giving me help? Hello!
325
00:16:21,230 --> 00:16:25,360
Lena: A lot of things
that were thrown at us
326
00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:28,780
from the other participants
in the Game
327
00:16:28,860 --> 00:16:31,860
were to get us
to express a feeling
328
00:16:31,950 --> 00:16:34,780
because most of us had... uh!
329
00:16:34,820 --> 00:16:37,870
Pushed our feelings down.
330
00:16:37,950 --> 00:16:39,790
(indistinct)
331
00:16:40,540 --> 00:16:43,580
Some of the things
that we were said,
332
00:16:43,620 --> 00:16:45,460
they hurt a lot, you know.
333
00:16:46,580 --> 00:16:49,170
But, it helped me
to question myself.
334
00:16:49,250 --> 00:16:51,460
(overlapping yelling)
335
00:16:51,510 --> 00:16:54,010
Jack Hurst: We give vent
to our pent-up emotions
336
00:16:54,090 --> 00:16:56,340
of hostilities
and fears and resentments.
337
00:16:56,430 --> 00:16:58,720
We're able to let go
emotionally,
338
00:16:58,810 --> 00:17:00,850
and see what it looks like,
see what it sounds like,
339
00:17:00,930 --> 00:17:03,480
see how your
peer group takes it.
340
00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:06,350
In the Game,
you could say what you want.
341
00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:09,270
Don't tell me now!
I put my blood in that thing!
342
00:17:09,980 --> 00:17:12,780
Mike: You save all that anger
up, and you do it in the Game.
343
00:17:12,820 --> 00:17:14,820
(indistinct yelling)
344
00:17:14,860 --> 00:17:19,450
And you can say anything you
want to anybody in that group,
345
00:17:19,490 --> 00:17:22,700
but you can't hit 'em and you
can't threaten to hurt 'em.
346
00:17:22,790 --> 00:17:24,160
No violence.
347
00:17:24,210 --> 00:17:26,000
He's a liar!
He don't do nothing!
348
00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:28,040
Why don't you
help him out, dammit?!
349
00:17:28,130 --> 00:17:30,380
- Why don't you help him?!
- I do wanna help him out!
350
00:17:30,460 --> 00:17:33,630
Lena: The games,
they were scary.
351
00:17:33,670 --> 00:17:35,010
(indistinct)
352
00:17:35,050 --> 00:17:37,680
But some of us loved it, right?
353
00:17:37,720 --> 00:17:39,260
To get at each other.
354
00:17:39,350 --> 00:17:41,180
What have you learned?
Nothing!
355
00:17:41,260 --> 00:17:44,480
You can't even,
even relax with yourself.
356
00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:47,400
The Game was
this pressure valve.
357
00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:51,400
- (overlapping yelling)
- (curious music playing)
358
00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:53,780
But when you go to bed
at night, you'll think about it
359
00:17:53,860 --> 00:17:56,400
over and over and over again.
360
00:17:56,490 --> 00:18:00,280
This led to change
and accountability.
361
00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:05,540
The meetings provide
an emotional catharsis,
362
00:18:05,620 --> 00:18:08,210
an emotional release
which can result in
363
00:18:08,250 --> 00:18:09,710
insights into the problem
364
00:18:09,750 --> 00:18:11,960
because the answer
to the person's problem
365
00:18:12,050 --> 00:18:13,630
is within himself.
366
00:18:13,710 --> 00:18:15,550
(muffled chatter)
367
00:18:15,590 --> 00:18:17,930
Lena:
You never get over having
368
00:18:18,010 --> 00:18:20,550
that addictive personality.
369
00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:24,470
- Do you see what I mean? Do you understand?
- I know it. Yeah.
370
00:18:24,560 --> 00:18:27,020
Lena:
In the Game, you learn
371
00:18:27,060 --> 00:18:30,730
how to deal with
that feeling differently.
372
00:18:30,770 --> 00:18:32,820
Constructively,
373
00:18:32,900 --> 00:18:35,530
instead of destructively.
374
00:18:36,650 --> 00:18:39,780
(overlapping chatter)
375
00:18:40,910 --> 00:18:44,870
Mike: After trying to kick
the heroin habit several times,
376
00:18:46,370 --> 00:18:48,250
I don't know what happened.
377
00:18:48,290 --> 00:18:51,130
Something happened to me
at that point...
378
00:18:51,210 --> 00:18:54,050
(gentle music playing)
379
00:18:54,090 --> 00:18:56,760
...and it just, somehow,
it just felt right.
380
00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:07,600
I wouldn't be sitting here!
381
00:19:07,680 --> 00:19:08,980
(laughs)
382
00:19:09,060 --> 00:19:11,650
I would not be sitting here
383
00:19:11,730 --> 00:19:14,610
if there had not been
a Synanon Game.
384
00:19:16,280 --> 00:19:17,530
Terry:
Synanon does work.
385
00:19:17,610 --> 00:19:20,450
It's worked for us.
It's brought my family together,
386
00:19:20,490 --> 00:19:24,080
and I see all kinds of people
building new lives again
387
00:19:24,120 --> 00:19:25,910
with the help of the people
here at Synanon.
388
00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:31,330
("Beach Baby" by
The First Class playing)
389
00:19:31,420 --> 00:19:35,170
♪ Ah-ah, ah-ah ♪
390
00:19:35,250 --> 00:19:38,380
♪ Ah-ah, ah... ♪
391
00:19:38,470 --> 00:19:41,970
♪ Do you remember
back in old LA, oh oh oh ♪
392
00:19:42,050 --> 00:19:45,600
♪ When everybody drove
a Chevrolet, oh oh oh ♪
393
00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:48,180
♪ Whatever happened
to the boy next door? ♪
394
00:19:48,810 --> 00:19:52,730
♪ Suntanned, crew cut,
all-American male ♪
395
00:19:52,810 --> 00:19:53,900
♪ Remember... ♪
396
00:19:53,940 --> 00:19:55,400
Mike:
Chuck first opened Synanon
397
00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:57,780
in this little building in town,
398
00:19:57,820 --> 00:20:00,320
and it grew, and it grew.
399
00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:02,950
And it wasn't big enough
for all these people.
400
00:20:02,990 --> 00:20:06,620
And he thought, "Hey,
I need to get a bigger place."
401
00:20:06,660 --> 00:20:08,330
♪♪
402
00:20:08,370 --> 00:20:11,540
♪ Beach baby, beach baby,
there on the sand ♪
403
00:20:11,620 --> 00:20:14,630
♪ From July to
the end of September ♪
404
00:20:14,670 --> 00:20:17,840
♪ Surfing is fun,
we'd be out in the sun ♪
405
00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:21,300
♪ Every day ♪
406
00:20:23,130 --> 00:20:27,350
We moved to
the "smart" part of town
407
00:20:27,970 --> 00:20:29,020
to the Armory.
408
00:20:29,100 --> 00:20:31,180
- (seagulls cawing)
- (song fades out)
409
00:20:31,230 --> 00:20:33,770
Our front door was the beach.
410
00:20:34,190 --> 00:20:38,320
We had this big picture window
that looked out at the ocean,
411
00:20:38,360 --> 00:20:40,400
and everybody was sitting around
412
00:20:40,490 --> 00:20:43,070
talking
and hanging out together.
413
00:20:43,150 --> 00:20:46,370
(soft saxophone playing)
414
00:20:47,580 --> 00:20:51,250
Jady: The Armory's
rent was $500 a month.
415
00:20:51,330 --> 00:20:53,620
$500 a month,
416
00:20:53,710 --> 00:20:55,710
and nobody knew where the money
was gonna come from.
417
00:20:55,750 --> 00:20:57,500
(indistinct chatter)
418
00:20:57,540 --> 00:20:59,550
But nobody went hungry.
419
00:20:59,590 --> 00:21:02,130
They never went without food.
420
00:21:02,220 --> 00:21:03,880
Like oxtail stew,
421
00:21:03,970 --> 00:21:05,890
day-old bread,
422
00:21:05,930 --> 00:21:08,560
lots of big salads with lots
of Thousand Island dressing
423
00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:10,890
because the lettuce
was a little wilty.
424
00:21:10,930 --> 00:21:12,390
(chatter continues)
425
00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:14,850
Terry:
Chuck founded a miracle.
426
00:21:14,890 --> 00:21:18,570
But he knew that he had
a money problem.
427
00:21:18,650 --> 00:21:22,320
So, he started to develop ideas.
428
00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:24,740
His first idea was
we're a business.
429
00:21:24,780 --> 00:21:27,370
We're in the business
of curing drug addicts.
430
00:21:28,070 --> 00:21:29,410
And then,
he became the executive
431
00:21:29,450 --> 00:21:31,490
running the corporation.
432
00:21:31,580 --> 00:21:33,710
Ron Cook:
Chuck always said,
433
00:21:33,750 --> 00:21:37,210
"I run Synanon like a business
like Gulf Oil
434
00:21:37,250 --> 00:21:40,420
'cause that's where
I got my training."
435
00:21:40,460 --> 00:21:43,970
Chuck used to refer to me
as the goddamn bookkeeper.
436
00:21:44,050 --> 00:21:46,800
(laughs)
437
00:21:48,090 --> 00:21:50,010
I wasn't a drug addict.
438
00:21:50,100 --> 00:21:53,980
I was a CPA, and I was
Chief Financial Officer
439
00:21:54,060 --> 00:21:56,140
- for Synanon.
- (phone ringing)
440
00:21:56,230 --> 00:21:57,900
- (typewriters clicking)
- (office chatter)
441
00:21:57,940 --> 00:22:00,360
Chuck established Synanon
442
00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:03,440
as a 501(c)(3)
nonprofit organization.
443
00:22:03,490 --> 00:22:05,490
It had all the tax benefits
444
00:22:05,570 --> 00:22:07,950
that any nonprofit
organization had.
445
00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:11,620
(office chatter)
446
00:22:11,660 --> 00:22:14,620
There was a board of directors.
447
00:22:14,660 --> 00:22:17,420
Mostly, it was drug addicts
who were instrumental
448
00:22:17,460 --> 00:22:19,710
in the start of Synanon.
449
00:22:20,920 --> 00:22:22,090
And they got the love,
450
00:22:22,130 --> 00:22:24,800
the attention, the respect
451
00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:26,970
that maybe in
a lot of organizations,
452
00:22:27,050 --> 00:22:28,220
they wouldn't get.
453
00:22:28,300 --> 00:22:30,300
- (quiet chatter)
- Terry: At that point,
454
00:22:30,390 --> 00:22:34,270
there were about 60 people
living in Synanon.
455
00:22:34,310 --> 00:22:36,140
There was a community there,
456
00:22:36,180 --> 00:22:39,440
and you were part of that,
457
00:22:39,480 --> 00:22:41,730
and you were part
of the growth of that.
458
00:22:42,360 --> 00:22:44,400
Synanon was free.
459
00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:46,360
Synanon was free.
460
00:22:46,440 --> 00:22:47,740
(quiet chatter)
461
00:22:47,820 --> 00:22:50,160
But they had to feed everybody
462
00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:52,370
and take care of everybody.
463
00:22:52,450 --> 00:22:54,950
So, Chuck created
the hustling business.
464
00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:58,080
("Tighten Up Pt.1"
by Archie Bell & The Drells playing)
465
00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:00,750
(plastic crinkling)
466
00:23:00,830 --> 00:23:03,920
They hustled all
the goods and services.
467
00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:06,260
And these were people
who literally just went out
468
00:23:06,340 --> 00:23:07,970
and asked for things.
469
00:23:08,010 --> 00:23:09,630
♪♪
470
00:23:09,680 --> 00:23:14,470
Nobody is a bigger con artist
than an addict! (laughs)
471
00:23:14,510 --> 00:23:15,560
I mean, you go into a company.
472
00:23:15,640 --> 00:23:18,350
"Hey, look, you know...
473
00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:22,020
I'm a recovering addict.
Synanon saved my life."
474
00:23:22,060 --> 00:23:24,020
Who's gonna say no to that?
475
00:23:24,690 --> 00:23:28,530
Donations came pouring in
like you would not believe.
476
00:23:28,610 --> 00:23:30,360
- Yo, Al!
- Al: Yeah?
477
00:23:30,410 --> 00:23:32,700
Mike: And people
gave us everything!
478
00:23:34,700 --> 00:23:37,040
We hustled Christmas trees,
479
00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:38,370
sheepskin,
480
00:23:38,410 --> 00:23:40,920
soap, cowboy boots,
481
00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:44,340
a Cadillac convertible,
live fish,
482
00:23:44,380 --> 00:23:48,340
3 million hot cups,
15,000 trees.
483
00:23:48,380 --> 00:23:51,720
People would donate cotton!
484
00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:54,680
People would donate cattle!
485
00:23:54,720 --> 00:23:56,720
We had a whole department
that just did nothing
486
00:23:56,810 --> 00:23:59,980
but cut up all the beef,
you know? I mean,
487
00:24:00,060 --> 00:24:02,690
it was crazy!
488
00:24:03,650 --> 00:24:07,360
- Eventually, Synanon had gas stations.
- (bell ringing)
489
00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:09,400
They owned all these apartments,
490
00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:12,110
and we were painting
every day and working.
491
00:24:14,120 --> 00:24:18,540
And this was part of
Chuck's dream of how to do it.
492
00:24:21,120 --> 00:24:22,750
No one got paid for the work.
493
00:24:23,290 --> 00:24:26,090
You got to stay in Synanon.
494
00:24:26,170 --> 00:24:28,420
- You were happy.
- (laughter)
495
00:24:28,510 --> 00:24:30,380
(indistinct chatter)
496
00:24:30,420 --> 00:24:33,430
- (song fades out)
- (seagulls cawing)
497
00:24:33,510 --> 00:24:35,390
Lena:
Betty Coleman.
498
00:24:35,430 --> 00:24:38,100
She was like
my sister in Synanon.
499
00:24:38,810 --> 00:24:42,350
We were dope fiends, and we knew
each other on the street.
500
00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:45,730
Very smart woman.
Very smart.
501
00:24:45,770 --> 00:24:49,730
She and Chuck became
girlfriend-boyfriend.
502
00:25:10,210 --> 00:25:13,170
(gentle music playing)
503
00:25:13,260 --> 00:25:14,630
Chuck and Betty got married.
504
00:25:14,720 --> 00:25:16,300
- (seagulls cawing)
- (waves splashing)
505
00:25:16,390 --> 00:25:18,640
Everybody came to the wedding.
506
00:25:20,020 --> 00:25:22,600
Officiant: Charles, will you
have Betty to be your wife?
507
00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:26,270
- Chuck: I will.
- Betty Coleman: I, Betty, take thee, Charles.
508
00:25:26,310 --> 00:25:27,690
Officiant:
To be my wedded husband.
509
00:25:27,770 --> 00:25:29,320
Betty:
To be my wedded husband.
510
00:25:33,030 --> 00:25:33,950
(shutter snaps)
511
00:25:42,250 --> 00:25:45,290
Chuck had two kids.
512
00:25:45,330 --> 00:25:48,080
His son, Chuck Jr.,
513
00:25:48,170 --> 00:25:49,840
we called him Dede.
514
00:25:50,340 --> 00:25:54,670
And Jady was Chuck's daughter
from his second marriage.
515
00:25:56,340 --> 00:25:59,350
Jady:
This is Betty and me.
516
00:25:59,390 --> 00:26:01,680
So this was right
after I moved in.
517
00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:03,520
We here at Synanon House...
518
00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:04,980
Jady:
Betty was gentle,
519
00:26:05,020 --> 00:26:08,440
and she could connect
and touch people.
520
00:26:09,190 --> 00:26:13,190
But always with a kind
of grace and dignity.
521
00:26:14,650 --> 00:26:17,490
You know,
she was ballast for Dad.
522
00:26:17,530 --> 00:26:20,030
She was like a mediator,
I think.
523
00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:23,870
You know, it took me
524
00:26:23,910 --> 00:26:27,170
a while to fully accept her.
525
00:26:28,500 --> 00:26:29,880
You know, partly because
I felt like
526
00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:31,710
I was betraying my own mother,
527
00:26:32,460 --> 00:26:34,710
who had just died.
528
00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:37,760
And then, it was, you know,
529
00:26:37,840 --> 00:26:39,550
learning how to be out
in the world
530
00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:42,010
with an integrated family.
531
00:26:43,640 --> 00:26:47,850
At that time,
an interracial couple was rare.
532
00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:51,610
Frowned upon.
533
00:26:52,570 --> 00:26:55,030
In some places,
probably illegal.
534
00:26:55,900 --> 00:26:59,410
But, in Synanon,
there was a bigger calling.
535
00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:04,080
Chuck and Betty decided to
take on this mission together.
536
00:27:05,330 --> 00:27:08,750
That did not go without thought.
The guy wasn't,
537
00:27:08,830 --> 00:27:10,960
"I'm so in love,
I'm gonna marry." No.
538
00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:13,250
There's a lot of thought
put into that.
539
00:27:13,340 --> 00:27:16,090
Because the implications of it
540
00:27:16,130 --> 00:27:17,760
were really...
541
00:27:18,550 --> 00:27:20,090
pretty strong.
542
00:27:21,010 --> 00:27:23,560
Synanon was born
in Santa Monica.
543
00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:25,100
(waves splashing)
544
00:27:25,140 --> 00:27:29,350
Santa Monica
is super-duper white.
545
00:27:29,730 --> 00:27:32,770
I mean, sterile white.
546
00:27:32,810 --> 00:27:35,030
If you were anything
other than white,
547
00:27:35,110 --> 00:27:38,950
there was a place marked off
for you at the beach.
548
00:27:40,740 --> 00:27:42,910
Along comes this guy
549
00:27:42,950 --> 00:27:46,160
who integrates living facilities
550
00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:48,660
in Santa Monica.
551
00:27:48,750 --> 00:27:50,580
Unheard of!
552
00:27:50,620 --> 00:27:55,460
But even worse,
on the beach! (laughs)
553
00:27:55,550 --> 00:27:59,420
Right?
On the beach of Santa Monica!
554
00:27:59,470 --> 00:28:01,430
That's a definite no-no.
555
00:28:01,470 --> 00:28:04,390
(upbeat music playing)
556
00:28:04,470 --> 00:28:07,310
(indistinct chatter, cheering)
557
00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:09,890
Jack Linkletter: I must say that
now that you're in a new building,
558
00:28:09,980 --> 00:28:12,230
this is 1,000% improvement,
if not more.
559
00:28:12,310 --> 00:28:15,320
- Are your problems over?
- Chuck: No, indeed.
560
00:28:15,360 --> 00:28:18,360
One of our biggest problems
today is public acceptance.
561
00:28:18,440 --> 00:28:21,030
We feel that we don't have
any addicts in this building
562
00:28:21,110 --> 00:28:23,280
because no narcotics
are used here.
563
00:28:24,740 --> 00:28:27,330
Every place where we move in,
564
00:28:27,370 --> 00:28:30,210
the neighbors all storm
the city council and say,
565
00:28:30,290 --> 00:28:34,290
"Here come the dope fiends!
They're gonna sack the city!"
566
00:28:34,330 --> 00:28:36,880
There is a member of,
or a segment of our society,
567
00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:38,960
the lunatic fringe, the bigots,
568
00:28:39,010 --> 00:28:41,380
that have been devoting
their time and energies
569
00:28:41,470 --> 00:28:43,220
to running us out of town.
570
00:28:43,300 --> 00:28:45,510
And now, they're up
to this kind of stuff.
571
00:28:45,600 --> 00:28:48,970
Hanging, uh, Synanon
residents in effigy.
572
00:28:59,570 --> 00:29:00,820
(quiet chatter)
573
00:29:00,860 --> 00:29:03,240
Bill:
Whether it be drug addicts,
574
00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:07,330
whether it be interracial
communal living,
575
00:29:08,120 --> 00:29:12,370
there was so much to not like,
you know, at that time.
576
00:29:14,210 --> 00:29:16,880
Lena:
The people in Santa Monica
577
00:29:16,920 --> 00:29:19,800
wanted to get rid of us.
578
00:29:19,880 --> 00:29:21,170
They hated us.
579
00:29:21,210 --> 00:29:24,470
- (microfiche clicks)
- (somber music playing)
580
00:29:29,930 --> 00:29:31,930
Chuck "Dede" Dederich Jr.:
I used to go with my dad.
581
00:29:32,730 --> 00:29:34,350
They had these big
town hall meetings.
582
00:29:34,390 --> 00:29:36,690
All these neighbors
would get in and scream
583
00:29:36,730 --> 00:29:38,060
and holler at the microphone
584
00:29:38,150 --> 00:29:40,280
and say that we were
in the wrong place,
585
00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:42,990
and that you can't have drug
addicts in the neighborhood,
586
00:29:43,070 --> 00:29:45,570
and who are we, blah blah...
I mean on and on.
587
00:29:45,660 --> 00:29:47,910
And then, the newspapers,
of course, would pick it up.
588
00:29:50,830 --> 00:29:52,910
And they would exaggerate more,
589
00:29:52,950 --> 00:29:55,710
so that was a real experience
to me to see
590
00:29:55,750 --> 00:29:59,000
what prejudice is.
591
00:30:01,380 --> 00:30:03,590
Jady: We always said
that race was a big part of it.
592
00:30:03,630 --> 00:30:05,800
- Dede: Right.
- Jady: You know, we were still living
593
00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:09,930
- in that apartheid kind of climate on the beach.
- Dede: Yeah.
594
00:30:14,230 --> 00:30:16,600
Phil Bourdette: When I was
in the Public Defender's Office,
595
00:30:16,690 --> 00:30:20,230
I started referring
clients to Synanon,
596
00:30:20,270 --> 00:30:23,780
and I felt like I was doing
something to help somebody,
597
00:30:24,280 --> 00:30:27,110
which is what I wanted to do
when I went to law school.
598
00:30:27,740 --> 00:30:31,620
The City of Santa Monica didn't
want Synanon in their city.
599
00:30:32,950 --> 00:30:34,950
Santa Monica residents
put enough pressure
600
00:30:35,040 --> 00:30:36,710
on the Santa Monica government
601
00:30:36,790 --> 00:30:39,790
to bring charges
of operating a hospital
602
00:30:39,880 --> 00:30:43,840
without a license,
which it was not a hospital.
603
00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:45,050
We didn't have doctors there.
604
00:30:45,130 --> 00:30:47,050
It was not
a medical thing at all,
605
00:30:47,130 --> 00:30:50,550
but the judge told Chuck
he would put him on probation
606
00:30:50,640 --> 00:30:52,010
but while he was on probation,
607
00:30:52,100 --> 00:30:54,470
he had to stay away
from Synanon.
608
00:30:54,560 --> 00:30:55,930
And Chuck said, "No.
609
00:30:55,980 --> 00:30:58,730
"What I'm doing here
is the right thing to do,
610
00:30:58,810 --> 00:31:00,270
"dealing with drug addiction
611
00:31:00,310 --> 00:31:03,980
"in a way that wasn't done
before Synanon,
612
00:31:04,070 --> 00:31:07,610
and I'll go to jail for it
if that's what I have to do."
613
00:31:07,650 --> 00:31:10,530
And the judge says,
"Alright, you're going to jail."
614
00:31:10,620 --> 00:31:12,200
So Chuck went to jail.
615
00:31:12,910 --> 00:31:14,950
There aren't many people
that go to jail
616
00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:17,660
for zoning violations.
617
00:31:19,500 --> 00:31:21,710
Jady: Synanon was in
a fight for its life.
618
00:31:22,170 --> 00:31:26,170
And Betty, she stepped up
to hold the community together,
619
00:31:26,260 --> 00:31:28,510
and kept the place going.
620
00:31:36,810 --> 00:31:39,600
(drumming)
621
00:31:39,690 --> 00:31:42,940
(indistinct chatter)
622
00:31:47,690 --> 00:31:50,950
(chatter continues)
623
00:31:56,200 --> 00:31:59,870
Terry: What we talked about
inside of Synanon was
624
00:31:59,910 --> 00:32:01,500
we were the victims.
625
00:32:02,880 --> 00:32:04,130
There was a common enemy,
626
00:32:04,210 --> 00:32:07,550
and it enforced our strength
inside of Synanon.
627
00:32:09,090 --> 00:32:11,510
It was us or them.
628
00:32:13,640 --> 00:32:16,720
(distant chatter)
629
00:32:20,770 --> 00:32:23,730
- (music fades out)
- (car drives by)
630
00:32:23,770 --> 00:32:26,020
Narrator:
A visitor is arriving.
631
00:32:26,070 --> 00:32:29,320
A former member of Synanon.
He is high on heroin,
632
00:32:30,070 --> 00:32:31,990
and desperate.
633
00:32:33,110 --> 00:32:37,040
There he is. Look at him.
He's damn near dead.
634
00:32:37,080 --> 00:32:39,580
He's now strung out
on narcotics,
635
00:32:39,620 --> 00:32:42,210
smashed.
636
00:32:42,250 --> 00:32:43,880
Miriam Bourdette:
I didn't know
637
00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:45,880
whether I would be
one of those people
638
00:32:45,920 --> 00:32:48,590
who would revert to drug use
639
00:32:48,630 --> 00:32:52,470
if I left Synanon
'cause so many did.
640
00:32:53,260 --> 00:32:55,100
And I was a little afraid
641
00:32:55,180 --> 00:32:57,310
that that might happen.
642
00:32:57,390 --> 00:33:00,100
There has not
been one single person
643
00:33:00,140 --> 00:33:02,940
who split from Synanon.
Not one.
644
00:33:03,770 --> 00:33:07,860
There hasn't been one
stayed clean, baby. Not one!
645
00:33:08,610 --> 00:33:12,030
I believe because I have
faith in myself, you know?
646
00:33:12,110 --> 00:33:15,570
(overlapping yelling)
647
00:33:15,620 --> 00:33:16,740
(yelling fades)
648
00:33:16,780 --> 00:33:18,540
Lena:
When I went into Synanon,
649
00:33:18,620 --> 00:33:20,700
it was a year program.
650
00:33:20,790 --> 00:33:24,290
My next commitment
was three years.
651
00:33:24,330 --> 00:33:26,880
Then Chuck started saying
652
00:33:26,960 --> 00:33:28,750
a dope fiend had
to stay in Synanon
653
00:33:28,800 --> 00:33:31,970
because if they left,
they would never make it.
654
00:33:32,050 --> 00:33:34,180
♪♪
655
00:33:34,260 --> 00:33:36,180
Mike:
Chuck's position was,
656
00:33:36,260 --> 00:33:37,970
"This is where you need to be,
657
00:33:38,010 --> 00:33:40,430
and if you leave,
you're gonna die."
658
00:33:40,470 --> 00:33:43,140
That was what went
in our heads constantly.
659
00:33:43,180 --> 00:33:46,100
If you leave, you're gonna die.
660
00:33:46,150 --> 00:33:49,230
(indistinct chatter)
661
00:33:49,320 --> 00:33:50,900
Lena:
He told us
662
00:33:50,980 --> 00:33:53,780
Synanon was a lifetime thing.
663
00:33:53,820 --> 00:33:56,110
We would be there forever.
664
00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:03,500
My mother was taking care
of the kids for me.
665
00:34:04,160 --> 00:34:06,500
But she would get
on the phone. (laughs)
666
00:34:06,580 --> 00:34:08,420
"Aren't you ready
to come home yet?"
667
00:34:08,500 --> 00:34:10,590
Tears would be coming
outta my eyes
668
00:34:10,670 --> 00:34:13,710
'cause I knew that I needed
to be in Synanon.
669
00:34:15,800 --> 00:34:19,180
Bill: I think that Chuck
didn't want my mom
670
00:34:19,260 --> 00:34:21,180
just having that kind of stress
671
00:34:21,260 --> 00:34:24,180
of not knowing what to do
with her kids
672
00:34:24,230 --> 00:34:27,190
that finally one day,
he just said, "Go get them."
673
00:34:28,520 --> 00:34:30,190
♪♪
674
00:34:30,230 --> 00:34:33,980
I was 3. My sister was 7.
675
00:34:34,030 --> 00:34:36,030
That's when my memory started,
676
00:34:36,450 --> 00:34:38,700
when I arrived in Synanon.
677
00:34:40,200 --> 00:34:42,580
There were other kids
that had moved in.
678
00:34:42,660 --> 00:34:44,870
We bonded immediately
679
00:34:44,950 --> 00:34:47,830
and became like brothers
and sisters.
680
00:34:48,420 --> 00:34:52,130
- (waves splashing)
- The Armory was absolute heaven
681
00:34:52,210 --> 00:34:55,050
because the beach was ours.
682
00:34:55,090 --> 00:34:57,260
(indistinct chatter)
683
00:34:57,340 --> 00:35:00,300
The day was spent
running around,
684
00:35:00,390 --> 00:35:03,350
getting into any kind of
mischief and mayhem
685
00:35:03,390 --> 00:35:05,020
- that we could.
- (kids giggling)
686
00:35:05,060 --> 00:35:08,690
(wheels squeaking)
687
00:35:09,190 --> 00:35:13,690
And being exposed to people
kicking on couches,
688
00:35:13,730 --> 00:35:15,530
to everything.
689
00:35:15,570 --> 00:35:18,320
I remember emptying puke buckets
690
00:35:18,410 --> 00:35:20,240
and getting cold rags.
691
00:35:20,620 --> 00:35:23,910
It was completely normal,
completely natural.
692
00:35:23,990 --> 00:35:25,870
It was our living room.
693
00:35:27,830 --> 00:35:30,540
It was communal parenting.
694
00:35:30,580 --> 00:35:31,880
(baby babbling)
695
00:35:31,920 --> 00:35:36,090
There was a group of mothers
that ruled the nest,
696
00:35:36,130 --> 00:35:37,840
so if my mom wasn't there,
697
00:35:37,920 --> 00:35:42,140
Terry Hurst was there,
or somebody's mom was there.
698
00:35:44,060 --> 00:35:47,100
Synanon was an experiment,
699
00:35:47,140 --> 00:35:48,770
and I don't think Chuck Dederich
700
00:35:48,850 --> 00:35:52,310
or anybody else really knew
what they were doing.
701
00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:56,570
The thought of children was
the last thing on their mind.
702
00:35:56,610 --> 00:35:58,110
(hallway chatter)
703
00:35:58,190 --> 00:36:01,360
They were just trying
to keep saving lives.
704
00:36:01,410 --> 00:36:04,330
♪♪
705
00:36:04,410 --> 00:36:06,620
Mike:
Synanon started open houses,
706
00:36:06,700 --> 00:36:09,040
Saturday night parties
for the community
707
00:36:09,120 --> 00:36:12,000
to come in, learn about Synanon.
708
00:36:12,080 --> 00:36:13,960
Bill:
There were a lot of celebrities
709
00:36:14,040 --> 00:36:15,920
that used to hang out
at Synanon.
710
00:36:15,960 --> 00:36:18,760
Esther Phillips,
the jazz singer.
711
00:36:18,800 --> 00:36:20,220
Lucille Ball.
712
00:36:20,300 --> 00:36:23,090
- Mike: Jane Fonda.
- Terry: Ricardo Montalbán.
713
00:36:23,140 --> 00:36:26,510
All kinds of people
came to visit us
714
00:36:26,600 --> 00:36:29,350
and see what we were all about.
715
00:36:29,430 --> 00:36:30,640
Isn't it arrogant of Synanon
716
00:36:30,730 --> 00:36:34,770
to think it can succeed
where orthodox organizations
717
00:36:34,810 --> 00:36:37,030
haven't really been able
to make much difference?
718
00:36:37,110 --> 00:36:38,440
I feel every right
to be arrogant.
719
00:36:38,490 --> 00:36:40,820
If that's the word,
it's a good one.
720
00:36:42,450 --> 00:36:45,240
Oh, I was a publicist. Jesus.
721
00:36:45,530 --> 00:36:47,330
I made more goddamn noise
722
00:36:47,370 --> 00:36:49,830
with my little raggedy-ass
band of people.
723
00:36:49,870 --> 00:36:53,290
- (interviewer laughs)
- National television, everything.
724
00:36:53,330 --> 00:36:56,250
It's been some time since
I recommended a book.
725
00:36:56,340 --> 00:36:58,510
I recommend this one,
unreservedly.
726
00:36:58,590 --> 00:37:00,550
To quote Senator Thomas Dodd
of Connecticut,
727
00:37:00,630 --> 00:37:02,760
"The Synanon method is
the first hopeful method
728
00:37:02,840 --> 00:37:05,930
of curing drug addicts
that has ever been devised."
729
00:37:06,010 --> 00:37:09,310
Newscaster: "The President
wishes Synanon continued success."
730
00:37:09,350 --> 00:37:12,480
Lawrence O'Brien for
President John F. Kennedy.
731
00:37:12,520 --> 00:37:15,650
"Of one thing I feel quite
sure, and that is that
732
00:37:15,690 --> 00:37:19,190
Synanon house is working."
Richard M. Nixon.
733
00:37:19,280 --> 00:37:20,820
"Synanon may be doing more good
734
00:37:20,860 --> 00:37:23,700
than all the rehabilitation
centers in the world."
735
00:37:23,780 --> 00:37:26,950
Edmond G. Brown, governor,
state of California.
736
00:37:27,950 --> 00:37:29,620
The population grew.
737
00:37:29,700 --> 00:37:33,250
And we opened facilities
all over the country.
738
00:37:35,540 --> 00:37:37,590
Reporter: These are the
residents of the new Synanon house
739
00:37:37,670 --> 00:37:39,840
in Connecticut.
They have a motto.
740
00:37:39,880 --> 00:37:41,380
"Hang tough."
741
00:37:41,420 --> 00:37:43,430
And then,
they made a movie about us.
742
00:37:44,380 --> 00:37:46,590
That movie was a big deal.
743
00:37:46,680 --> 00:37:50,810
And it was like a real movie,
you know, about Chuck,
744
00:37:51,350 --> 00:37:54,890
with Edmond O'Brien
and, uh, Eartha Kitt.
745
00:37:55,350 --> 00:37:58,230
You need him
like you need a fix.
746
00:37:58,310 --> 00:38:00,610
Mike:
That really got the word out.
747
00:38:00,690 --> 00:38:03,190
Singer: ♪ Hey man, lemme
tell you what's happenin' ♪
748
00:38:03,240 --> 00:38:05,570
- ♪ Down at Synanon ♪
- ♪ Tell me about it, baby ♪
749
00:38:05,660 --> 00:38:08,910
♪ Well, everybody's doing it,
blow your mind! ♪
750
00:38:08,990 --> 00:38:12,000
(upbeat music continues)
751
00:38:16,370 --> 00:38:19,250
(muffled crowd chatter)
752
00:38:19,340 --> 00:38:21,420
There were a lot of musicians
753
00:38:21,500 --> 00:38:23,260
that came into Synanon for help.
754
00:38:23,340 --> 00:38:25,590
♪♪
755
00:38:28,220 --> 00:38:29,890
Joe Pass,
756
00:38:29,930 --> 00:38:33,100
probably the best jazz
guitar player in the world.
757
00:38:33,140 --> 00:38:35,890
Art Pepper was there.
758
00:38:36,810 --> 00:38:40,770
They would play, and everybody
would get up and dance.
759
00:38:40,820 --> 00:38:44,070
We had our own Synanon dance
called the Hoop La.
760
00:38:46,030 --> 00:38:47,570
Singer:
♪ The Hoop La ♪
761
00:38:47,610 --> 00:38:49,870
♪ It's a dance
where you're not confined ♪
762
00:38:49,950 --> 00:38:53,410
♪ You can be 8 to 80,
bow-legged, crippled, or blind ♪
763
00:38:53,450 --> 00:38:54,580
(crowd cheering)
764
00:38:54,620 --> 00:38:56,790
♪ Ah yeah, woo! ♪
765
00:38:56,870 --> 00:39:00,290
I mean, the comradery
was unbelievable.
766
00:39:00,340 --> 00:39:02,800
(song continues)
767
00:39:02,840 --> 00:39:06,880
And in Synanon,
you really loved everybody.
768
00:39:06,970 --> 00:39:08,800
I didn't like everybody,
769
00:39:08,840 --> 00:39:11,810
but I really had a feeling
of love for everybody.
770
00:39:13,520 --> 00:39:16,480
- (song fades out)
- (birds chirping)
771
00:39:16,560 --> 00:39:19,480
Chuck: I personally
am in closer touch
772
00:39:19,560 --> 00:39:22,150
with the people around me.
773
00:39:22,190 --> 00:39:23,480
In Synanon,
774
00:39:23,530 --> 00:39:26,490
I think that there is
a-a deeper level
775
00:39:26,530 --> 00:39:29,160
or a higher level
776
00:39:29,200 --> 00:39:32,120
of communication between people.
777
00:39:32,160 --> 00:39:34,490
Mike:
All across the country,
778
00:39:34,580 --> 00:39:37,660
people were starting to deal
with their mental health.
779
00:39:37,710 --> 00:39:40,580
A lot more than they did
probably before.
780
00:39:40,670 --> 00:39:43,420
Now, as Synanon was growing,
781
00:39:43,500 --> 00:39:45,550
the Synanon Game became
782
00:39:45,630 --> 00:39:48,010
the right therapy
at the right time. (laughs)
783
00:39:49,010 --> 00:39:52,680
Ron: There were some very
brilliant people in their fields
784
00:39:52,720 --> 00:39:56,020
who would come through
and study the Synanon Game.
785
00:39:56,060 --> 00:39:57,520
We were successful,
786
00:39:57,560 --> 00:40:00,480
and the Synanon Game
is what enabled it.
787
00:40:01,690 --> 00:40:03,480
Mike:
Professors, psychologists,
788
00:40:03,520 --> 00:40:05,780
they knew something
was going on here.
789
00:40:06,940 --> 00:40:09,530
Chuck Dederich took in
a bunch of junkies,
790
00:40:09,570 --> 00:40:11,450
and he was keeping 'em clean.
791
00:40:12,160 --> 00:40:16,040
Speaker: In effect, Synanon
is performing mass analysis,
792
00:40:16,080 --> 00:40:18,870
the changing of
an entire group of people.
793
00:40:18,960 --> 00:40:21,370
This has been called
the greatest breakthrough
794
00:40:21,460 --> 00:40:24,250
in psychiatry since Freud.
795
00:40:24,340 --> 00:40:26,710
♪♪
796
00:40:26,800 --> 00:40:29,590
Mike: Chuck started
Synanon Game Clubs.
797
00:40:30,260 --> 00:40:32,510
They were in all the facilities.
798
00:40:32,550 --> 00:40:35,560
In New York, in Detroit,
799
00:40:35,640 --> 00:40:37,060
in San Francisco.
800
00:40:37,680 --> 00:40:39,770
And the Game clubs
would be for the people
801
00:40:39,850 --> 00:40:42,980
out in the community
who weren't addicts,
802
00:40:43,060 --> 00:40:46,980
but they understood
the power of what was going on.
803
00:40:48,320 --> 00:40:50,610
4,000 people belong
to our Synanon club,
804
00:40:50,700 --> 00:40:53,280
so they don't live here.
People from all walks of life.
805
00:40:53,370 --> 00:40:56,120
Newsmen,
housewives, bricklayers,
806
00:40:56,200 --> 00:40:59,330
doctors, lawyers,
and all peoples get together
807
00:40:59,370 --> 00:41:02,460
within the Synanon
environment and talk.
808
00:41:02,920 --> 00:41:05,000
Your wife is
one of your hang-ups.
809
00:41:05,090 --> 00:41:06,590
Hell, your wife is
one of the best things
810
00:41:06,670 --> 00:41:08,340
you got going for ya.
811
00:41:08,420 --> 00:41:09,920
Why don't you talk about you?
812
00:41:09,960 --> 00:41:12,260
- What do you wanna know about me?
- I... Look!
813
00:41:12,340 --> 00:41:14,970
I'm not gonna pull your covers! You
wanna play the Game, play the Game.
814
00:41:15,050 --> 00:41:16,760
That's not true. I...
815
00:41:16,850 --> 00:41:19,270
Terry: People that
weren't addicts,
816
00:41:19,350 --> 00:41:22,440
people that just heard
about Synanon.
817
00:41:22,520 --> 00:41:24,060
You know, they came down
and played the Game,
818
00:41:24,100 --> 00:41:27,900
and they started to
just enjoy the community.
819
00:41:27,940 --> 00:41:29,780
(laughter)
820
00:41:30,740 --> 00:41:34,320
Buddy Jones: My wife and I
went to a Synanon Game club.
821
00:41:34,410 --> 00:41:36,370
It was like an awakening.
822
00:41:36,450 --> 00:41:38,870
It was totally integrated.
823
00:41:38,950 --> 00:41:40,620
♪♪
824
00:41:40,660 --> 00:41:43,620
John Madden had recruited me
to play football
825
00:41:43,670 --> 00:41:45,210
at San Diego State.
826
00:41:46,210 --> 00:41:49,000
Some friends said, "Listen,
when you get down to San Diego
827
00:41:49,090 --> 00:41:52,130
and you feel the pressure,
go to Synanon."
828
00:41:52,800 --> 00:41:56,140
We walked into the building,
and boom!
829
00:41:57,600 --> 00:42:00,180
I never used drugs,
I was not a dope fiend.
830
00:42:00,470 --> 00:42:02,980
But I began to play the Game.
831
00:42:03,020 --> 00:42:05,650
It was a lifesaver for me
in a certain way
832
00:42:05,690 --> 00:42:08,730
'cause every time I had
a good catharsis in the Game,
833
00:42:08,820 --> 00:42:10,980
I felt a little lighter.
834
00:42:11,070 --> 00:42:12,990
(overlapping chatter)
835
00:42:13,070 --> 00:42:17,780
Lynn Ritter: The Synanon Game
was great. It was right up my alley.
836
00:42:17,820 --> 00:42:20,490
It was, it was just...
I felt like I'd come home.
837
00:42:20,540 --> 00:42:22,330
You could say
what you wanted to say.
838
00:42:22,410 --> 00:42:25,670
I wanted to jump right into it.
839
00:42:25,750 --> 00:42:28,340
You don't know how to verbalize
yourself in here, and with me.
840
00:42:28,380 --> 00:42:30,500
This is what goes on!
841
00:42:30,550 --> 00:42:32,840
- I met Phil there.
- (weak laugh)
842
00:42:32,880 --> 00:42:35,510
And he was kind of
a cool glass of water.
843
00:42:35,590 --> 00:42:39,050
- Good-looking guy.
- (both laugh)
844
00:42:39,760 --> 00:42:43,220
I kind of, uh, was
a little full of myself.
845
00:42:44,180 --> 00:42:46,190
I got ganged up on
846
00:42:46,230 --> 00:42:48,900
by a couple of very
experienced Game players
847
00:42:48,980 --> 00:42:51,190
and got my feelings
terribly hurt.
848
00:42:51,230 --> 00:42:54,240
- (laughs) - Lynn: I just
wish I'd been there!
849
00:42:54,320 --> 00:42:56,740
- You should've been in that
game with me! (laughs) - Oh, man!
850
00:42:56,820 --> 00:43:00,950
- Excuse me. Go... Go ahead.
- It would've saved you a lot of trouble down the road!
851
00:43:01,030 --> 00:43:03,040
(both laugh)
852
00:43:04,160 --> 00:43:07,670
Norm Johnson: When the Game
Club opened up to nonresidents,
853
00:43:07,710 --> 00:43:10,540
Squares, as we were called.
854
00:43:11,090 --> 00:43:14,380
I was probably
one of the early participants.
855
00:43:15,050 --> 00:43:17,220
I played the Game in Los Angeles
856
00:43:17,300 --> 00:43:19,550
and up in San Francisco.
857
00:43:19,590 --> 00:43:22,720
I went through a divorce,
and I did have
858
00:43:22,760 --> 00:43:25,520
a reoccurring struggle
with depression.
859
00:43:25,560 --> 00:43:28,940
Playing the Synanon Game
helped me.
860
00:43:29,020 --> 00:43:31,230
The intimacy of the Game,
I think,
861
00:43:31,270 --> 00:43:35,400
moved me to a place where
I felt I had nothing to hide
862
00:43:35,440 --> 00:43:37,740
and it just seemed to-to create
863
00:43:37,820 --> 00:43:40,410
a level of communication
that was delicious.
864
00:43:40,450 --> 00:43:42,080
(game chatter)
865
00:43:42,160 --> 00:43:45,370
Lena:
The Squares would volunteer
866
00:43:45,410 --> 00:43:47,660
and donate their time and money.
867
00:43:47,750 --> 00:43:49,210
(indistinct)
868
00:43:49,250 --> 00:43:51,500
We had something good going on,
869
00:43:51,580 --> 00:43:55,210
and they wanted to be
a part of it, right?
870
00:43:56,380 --> 00:44:00,840
(kids chattering)
871
00:44:04,930 --> 00:44:08,890
Terry: This couple came
in, Nina and Al Bauman,
872
00:44:08,940 --> 00:44:11,350
and they more or less
started the school.
873
00:44:12,020 --> 00:44:15,690
It was in a house they rented
down the beach from the club.
874
00:44:33,500 --> 00:44:35,880
Aha. I love this picture.
875
00:44:35,960 --> 00:44:37,800
This is in front of the school.
876
00:44:37,880 --> 00:44:40,010
That's myself,
877
00:44:40,090 --> 00:44:44,850
um, then we've got Charlene,
who was my first girlfriend.
878
00:44:46,510 --> 00:44:48,730
We actually
moved into the school.
879
00:44:49,600 --> 00:44:53,360
And now suddenly, we were
thrown into this new situation.
880
00:44:53,810 --> 00:44:56,020
I was probably around 12.
881
00:44:56,820 --> 00:44:59,240
That's when we all first
started playing the Game.
882
00:44:59,320 --> 00:45:01,820
Patty: We're out there. You
had to write a note and tell me
883
00:45:01,860 --> 00:45:03,950
it's time for school,
you little asshole!
884
00:45:03,990 --> 00:45:05,660
What do you think you are?!
885
00:45:05,700 --> 00:45:08,950
(kids yelling)
886
00:45:14,040 --> 00:45:15,380
(sighs)
887
00:45:15,460 --> 00:45:17,960
That Game, it hurts my heart.
888
00:45:18,000 --> 00:45:21,090
- (kids yelling)
- Charlene is being gamed.
889
00:45:22,220 --> 00:45:23,800
The Game for kids
was no different
890
00:45:23,840 --> 00:45:25,550
than the Game for adults.
891
00:45:25,640 --> 00:45:27,260
Patty:
You little buttface!
892
00:45:27,350 --> 00:45:28,850
I know you are, Patty!
893
00:45:28,890 --> 00:45:31,020
Patty: And you sneak
in the back and you smoke!
894
00:45:31,060 --> 00:45:35,020
- Oh yeah?! (indistinct)
- (all yelling)
895
00:45:35,060 --> 00:45:37,610
Patty: Don't lie,
Charlene! (indistinct)
896
00:45:37,690 --> 00:45:39,530
You were doing it also!
897
00:45:39,570 --> 00:45:41,400
Bill:
You can see so much pain
898
00:45:41,490 --> 00:45:45,530
in her young heart, which
she carried through her life.
899
00:45:45,570 --> 00:45:49,490
(yelling continues)
900
00:45:49,580 --> 00:45:51,830
Bill: I learned
how to play the Game
901
00:45:51,870 --> 00:45:56,330
and did everything I could
to not have it turn on me.
902
00:45:56,380 --> 00:45:58,800
I think the painful part for me
903
00:45:58,880 --> 00:46:00,010
was some of my best friends,
904
00:46:00,050 --> 00:46:01,970
they didn't know
how to play the Game.
905
00:46:02,050 --> 00:46:04,970
They were afraid of it.
906
00:46:05,050 --> 00:46:06,720
You know,
I wanted to protect them.
907
00:46:06,760 --> 00:46:08,180
(indistinct)
908
00:46:08,220 --> 00:46:12,060
But, it's kind of hard because
as soon as you open that door,
909
00:46:12,100 --> 00:46:15,400
then suddenly, you know,
it's like, vroom.
910
00:46:15,440 --> 00:46:17,610
The focus becomes on you,
911
00:46:17,690 --> 00:46:19,360
and why are you
trying to protect,
912
00:46:19,400 --> 00:46:23,490
you know, uh, your classmate
or your brother or your sister.
913
00:46:23,570 --> 00:46:26,780
(yelling continues)
914
00:46:38,590 --> 00:46:40,750
A lot of my young friends
915
00:46:40,800 --> 00:46:44,220
couldn't figure out
how to play by the rules
916
00:46:44,260 --> 00:46:46,090
of a place that
didn't have any rules
917
00:46:46,130 --> 00:46:49,140
or rules that
changed all the time.
918
00:46:49,220 --> 00:46:51,310
(kids yelling)
919
00:46:51,390 --> 00:46:52,770
Imagine a situation
920
00:46:52,810 --> 00:46:55,560
where the vultures
can pick you apart
921
00:46:55,600 --> 00:46:57,150
unless you fight back.
922
00:46:57,230 --> 00:46:59,440
Some kids couldn't fight back.
923
00:47:00,570 --> 00:47:01,610
You know, there was,
924
00:47:02,070 --> 00:47:05,400
for sure,
some collateral damage.
925
00:47:05,450 --> 00:47:07,740
(curious music playing)
926
00:47:07,780 --> 00:47:09,530
As kids,
927
00:47:09,620 --> 00:47:13,540
we didn't understand
all of the ins and outs of it.
928
00:47:14,000 --> 00:47:16,960
But we knew that
there was this whole movement.
929
00:47:17,000 --> 00:47:19,170
- (indistinct)
- (kids screaming)
930
00:47:19,250 --> 00:47:22,210
And to some degree,
I think that it was
931
00:47:22,300 --> 00:47:24,510
- a sign of the times.
- (laughter)
932
00:47:24,590 --> 00:47:27,340
("Alone Again Or"
by Love playing)
933
00:47:27,430 --> 00:47:31,140
Buddy: You have to think
in terms of not just Synanon.
934
00:47:31,600 --> 00:47:35,310
You have to think about
what was happening in the '60s.
935
00:47:35,350 --> 00:47:39,350
Synanon was just like a part of
all the other social movements.
936
00:47:41,310 --> 00:47:44,230
I mean, the whole culture
was exploding.
937
00:47:44,320 --> 00:47:46,030
♪ Yes ♪
938
00:47:46,110 --> 00:47:47,450
♪ Said it's alright ♪
939
00:47:48,910 --> 00:47:50,280
♪ I won't forget ♪
940
00:47:50,320 --> 00:47:52,200
- Jesse Jackson (chants): I am!
- Crowd (chants): I am!
941
00:47:52,280 --> 00:47:54,290
- Jesse: Somebody!
- Crowd: Somebody!
942
00:47:54,330 --> 00:47:55,830
- Jesse: I am!
- Crowd: I am!
943
00:47:55,910 --> 00:47:57,370
- Black!
- Crowd: Black!
944
00:47:57,460 --> 00:47:59,330
- Jesse: Beautiful!
- Crowd: Beautiful!
945
00:47:59,420 --> 00:48:00,830
- Proud!
- Crowd: Proud!
946
00:48:00,880 --> 00:48:02,210
I must be respected!
947
00:48:02,290 --> 00:48:04,170
Crowd:
I must be respected!
948
00:48:04,250 --> 00:48:09,090
♪ And I will be alone
again tonight, my dear ♪
949
00:48:09,180 --> 00:48:12,390
- (gentle splashing)
- Buddy: In 1968,
950
00:48:12,470 --> 00:48:15,850
Synanon moved
to the Del Mar Club.
951
00:48:15,930 --> 00:48:19,350
(seagulls cawing)
952
00:48:20,020 --> 00:48:21,860
By that time,
there were a lot of people
953
00:48:21,940 --> 00:48:25,150
who were beginning to look
at the difference
954
00:48:25,190 --> 00:48:28,990
between their own lifestyle
and the Synanon lifestyle.
955
00:48:29,030 --> 00:48:31,280
- (song fades out)
- (quiet chatter)
956
00:48:31,360 --> 00:48:34,700
Terry: I think that there were
a lot of people that felt alone.
957
00:48:35,450 --> 00:48:38,870
In Synanon, you just
connected in a special way.
958
00:48:38,960 --> 00:48:40,250
(quiet chatter)
959
00:48:40,330 --> 00:48:43,000
You ate all your meals together.
960
00:48:43,380 --> 00:48:45,420
You had a job
that wasn't too difficult.
961
00:48:45,500 --> 00:48:49,170
Your evenings were
all taken up with games
962
00:48:49,220 --> 00:48:51,380
and Saturday night parties.
963
00:48:52,510 --> 00:48:54,260
You never were lonely,
964
00:48:54,350 --> 00:48:57,060
you were totally taken care of,
965
00:48:57,100 --> 00:49:00,390
and a lot of people
wanted to become a part of it.
966
00:49:00,480 --> 00:49:03,730
- (leaves rustling)
- (soft music playing)
967
00:49:05,150 --> 00:49:07,070
Elena Broslovsky:
I dropped out of college
968
00:49:07,150 --> 00:49:09,240
and I ended up in San Francisco
969
00:49:09,280 --> 00:49:11,490
during the Summer of Love.
970
00:49:12,740 --> 00:49:16,330
I was hitchhiking
down Oak Street.
971
00:49:16,410 --> 00:49:18,290
Guy picked me up
on his motorcycle
972
00:49:18,370 --> 00:49:21,580
and said he was going
to the Synanon Street Fair.
973
00:49:21,620 --> 00:49:24,420
And I went,
"Oh, my God! That rehab."
974
00:49:24,460 --> 00:49:26,420
(quiet street noise)
975
00:49:26,460 --> 00:49:29,380
They're wearing love beads,
they have rock bands.
976
00:49:29,420 --> 00:49:30,760
Um, this is great.
977
00:49:30,840 --> 00:49:33,930
I wasn't a drug addict,
978
00:49:34,010 --> 00:49:36,430
but I wanted to join.
979
00:49:36,510 --> 00:49:39,180
♪♪
980
00:49:40,680 --> 00:49:43,270
(inaudible)
981
00:49:44,480 --> 00:49:47,110
Rod Mullen:
I think, for a lot of people,
982
00:49:47,150 --> 00:49:50,820
Synanon was an opportunity
to live in a way
983
00:49:50,900 --> 00:49:54,160
that was consistent
with your principles.
984
00:49:54,240 --> 00:49:56,200
I really saw the organization
985
00:49:56,280 --> 00:50:00,620
as a vital approach
to civil rights.
986
00:50:03,710 --> 00:50:06,790
(gentle music playing)
987
00:50:10,130 --> 00:50:12,420
(crowd chatter)
988
00:50:12,470 --> 00:50:14,050
(cars honking)
989
00:50:14,930 --> 00:50:17,180
Elena: One of the things
that made me wanna move in
990
00:50:17,260 --> 00:50:20,890
were the three assassinations
that happened.
991
00:50:20,970 --> 00:50:24,640
♪♪
992
00:50:24,730 --> 00:50:27,400
That put a lot of people
993
00:50:27,480 --> 00:50:30,530
in absolute despair
about our country.
994
00:50:30,610 --> 00:50:32,150
(crowd cheering)
995
00:50:32,190 --> 00:50:35,950
When the news about
Martin's assassination came,
996
00:50:35,990 --> 00:50:38,830
I saw Chuck on the stage.
997
00:50:59,180 --> 00:51:04,640
And he talked about a community
and forming a community.
998
00:51:04,680 --> 00:51:08,190
We had a view.
Synanon is a social movement.
999
00:51:08,270 --> 00:51:10,230
Any kind of a divide
1000
00:51:10,320 --> 00:51:12,980
that people had
between each other,
1001
00:51:13,030 --> 00:51:15,200
we believed could be talked out,
1002
00:51:15,240 --> 00:51:17,570
could be healed,
could be confronted.
1003
00:51:19,320 --> 00:51:21,910
Rod: Chuck really believed
that community itself
1004
00:51:21,990 --> 00:51:23,750
was healing.
1005
00:51:23,830 --> 00:51:26,080
(crowd singing)
1006
00:51:26,160 --> 00:51:30,090
And that community was not
only good for addicts.
1007
00:51:30,630 --> 00:51:34,090
Anyone in society could benefit
from living communally
1008
00:51:34,170 --> 00:51:36,840
and working together
and participating
1009
00:51:36,880 --> 00:51:39,010
in the Synanon Game.
1010
00:51:39,050 --> 00:51:40,720
(clapping)
1011
00:51:40,800 --> 00:51:44,930
And I think Chuck thought
this is bigger than...
1012
00:51:45,020 --> 00:51:48,350
just cleaning up drug addicts.
1013
00:51:59,070 --> 00:52:02,280
("Les Fleurs" by
Minnie Riperton playing)
1014
00:52:36,780 --> 00:52:40,490
♪ Ring all the bells, sing, and
tell the people everywhere ♪
1015
00:52:40,570 --> 00:52:42,530
♪ That the flower has come ♪
1016
00:52:42,620 --> 00:52:45,660
♪ Light up the sky with
your prayers of gladness ♪
1017
00:52:45,740 --> 00:52:48,790
♪ And rejoice for
the darkness is gone ♪
1018
00:52:48,830 --> 00:52:52,500
♪ Throw off your fears,
let your heart beat freely ♪
1019
00:52:52,580 --> 00:52:56,210
♪ At the sign that
a new time is born ♪
1020
00:53:00,130 --> 00:53:02,800
Elena:
So, we started moving in.
1021
00:53:02,890 --> 00:53:04,800
We weren't drug addicts.
1022
00:53:05,760 --> 00:53:08,390
- We were called Lifestylers.
- (song fades out)
1023
00:53:08,730 --> 00:53:12,650
We came to change the world.
We thought we could.
1024
00:53:13,560 --> 00:53:17,030
Rod: A doorway opened,
and it was quite a change.
1025
00:53:17,820 --> 00:53:20,990
And some of the change
was in terms of
1026
00:53:21,070 --> 00:53:23,620
the economics of Synanon.
1027
00:53:23,660 --> 00:53:25,030
(quiet chatter)
1028
00:53:25,120 --> 00:53:28,240
Not only did Lifestylers provide
1029
00:53:28,330 --> 00:53:32,210
a lot of
well-educated professionals,
1030
00:53:32,500 --> 00:53:36,460
many of the Lifestylers
worked outside of Synanon
1031
00:53:36,500 --> 00:53:38,920
and contributed their salaries.
1032
00:53:40,470 --> 00:53:43,430
When my dad died,
I had inherited some money.
1033
00:53:43,510 --> 00:53:46,510
So I donated that money
to Synanon.
1034
00:53:46,930 --> 00:53:49,640
It was about $55,000.
1035
00:53:50,020 --> 00:53:53,350
And I had a house
full of furniture and stuff,
1036
00:53:53,440 --> 00:53:56,560
and I donated that
to Synanon as well.
1037
00:53:57,820 --> 00:53:59,780
Jady:
I was one of the directors,
1038
00:53:59,860 --> 00:54:03,530
and we would collect the money
from the Lifestylers.
1039
00:54:03,570 --> 00:54:06,450
It was like a whole ritual
that I would do once a week.
1040
00:54:06,530 --> 00:54:09,790
I was 23 years old. I'd get
dressed nicely, you know.
1041
00:54:09,870 --> 00:54:13,540
It was like an acknowledgment
of it. It was a ceremony.
1042
00:54:14,330 --> 00:54:16,290
You know,
donating most of your money.
1043
00:54:16,380 --> 00:54:18,210
- (phone ringing)
- (typing)
1044
00:54:18,670 --> 00:54:23,010
Mike: A gentleman gave
an entire real estate business!
1045
00:54:23,720 --> 00:54:26,260
A woman whose family
were the founders
1046
00:54:26,340 --> 00:54:29,310
of Chico-San rice cakes,
(laughs)
1047
00:54:29,390 --> 00:54:31,350
she gave all her wealth!
1048
00:54:31,390 --> 00:54:33,640
We had doctors in Beverly Hills.
1049
00:54:33,730 --> 00:54:37,190
You're talking millions
and millions of dollars.
1050
00:54:37,230 --> 00:54:40,280
(curious music playing)
1051
00:54:41,150 --> 00:54:45,240
Elena: AdGap stood for
advertising, gifts, and premiums.
1052
00:54:45,740 --> 00:54:49,410
It was a company that
grew out of a donation
1053
00:54:49,490 --> 00:54:52,290
- by a Lifestyler.
- (phone ringing)
1054
00:54:52,370 --> 00:54:54,830
Rod:
AdGap turned out to be
1055
00:54:54,910 --> 00:54:57,250
very, very lucrative.
1056
00:54:57,290 --> 00:54:59,460
Selling, you know,
a pencil or a pen
1057
00:54:59,540 --> 00:55:02,090
with a company's imprint on it,
1058
00:55:02,170 --> 00:55:05,630
or hats, uh, jackets.
1059
00:55:05,720 --> 00:55:09,260
Ron: The advertising gifts
business brought in a lot of money.
1060
00:55:09,800 --> 00:55:12,930
And we were still getting a
tremendous amount of donations.
1061
00:55:12,970 --> 00:55:14,600
(forklift rumbling)
1062
00:55:14,640 --> 00:55:16,850
All our food was donated.
1063
00:55:18,980 --> 00:55:22,440
We had doctors and dentists
who donated their time.
1064
00:55:23,740 --> 00:55:27,950
We got a building donated
to us in San Francisco.
1065
00:55:28,030 --> 00:55:30,830
It was one city block.
1066
00:55:30,910 --> 00:55:31,990
(office chatter)
1067
00:55:32,080 --> 00:55:35,290
Mike: We were growing
very, very, very quickly
1068
00:55:35,330 --> 00:55:37,790
because we were making
so much money.
1069
00:55:38,830 --> 00:55:42,000
Old-timers were not
real happy about it.
1070
00:55:42,090 --> 00:55:45,300
♪♪
1071
00:55:45,380 --> 00:55:48,760
Lena: Chuck turned
all of his attention
1072
00:55:48,840 --> 00:55:50,890
to the Lifestylers.
1073
00:55:52,310 --> 00:55:53,890
Not that we didn't like them,
1074
00:55:53,930 --> 00:55:56,600
but we could see him, um...
1075
00:55:57,640 --> 00:56:02,190
slowly drifting away
from the dope fiends.
1076
00:56:02,270 --> 00:56:04,230
(indistinct chatter)
1077
00:56:04,320 --> 00:56:06,400
We were resentful
1078
00:56:06,490 --> 00:56:09,280
because they were
taking up our spaces...
1079
00:56:09,320 --> 00:56:11,120
(chatter continues)
1080
00:56:11,160 --> 00:56:14,660
...and because of the things
that we had gone through
1081
00:56:14,740 --> 00:56:18,420
to help Chuck get to that point.
1082
00:56:20,540 --> 00:56:23,210
Addicts started feeling demoted.
1083
00:56:23,290 --> 00:56:26,630
Like that they weren't
important anymore.
1084
00:56:27,170 --> 00:56:30,680
They just became non-entities.
1085
00:56:30,720 --> 00:56:32,680
- (seagulls cawing)
- Bill: In the late '60s,
1086
00:56:32,720 --> 00:56:34,680
there was a Game
in Santa Monica.
1087
00:56:34,760 --> 00:56:36,680
- (gentle splashing)
- (leaves rustling)
1088
00:56:36,730 --> 00:56:38,850
It was called
the Dirty Double Dozen.
1089
00:56:38,890 --> 00:56:43,520
In it were all of
the old-timers.
1090
00:56:43,570 --> 00:56:47,190
But, this-this time,
1091
00:56:47,240 --> 00:56:48,780
there was something different.
1092
00:56:50,740 --> 00:56:55,330
There was something
mean-spirited about it.
1093
00:56:55,410 --> 00:56:58,000
- (foreboding music playing)
- (gentle splashing)
1094
00:57:16,810 --> 00:57:19,680
♪♪
1095
00:57:20,980 --> 00:57:22,690
It hurt, right?
1096
00:57:22,730 --> 00:57:24,900
'Cause we had worked hard
1097
00:57:24,980 --> 00:57:27,900
not just to get
our lives together,
1098
00:57:28,400 --> 00:57:31,070
but just to build
this foundation.
1099
00:57:33,660 --> 00:57:36,910
I was the first one of
the old-timers
1100
00:57:38,240 --> 00:57:41,750
that left, right?
1101
00:57:41,790 --> 00:57:45,090
- (gentle splashing outside)
- (somber music playing)
1102
00:57:48,920 --> 00:57:52,220
Rod: These elders had an
important role to play in Synanon.
1103
00:57:52,260 --> 00:57:54,090
(seagulls cawing)
1104
00:57:54,140 --> 00:57:56,760
They knew a lot.
1105
00:57:57,600 --> 00:58:01,480
The addicts knew Chuck
when he was just Chuck.
1106
00:58:01,560 --> 00:58:05,900
A guy they admired, but did
not think that he walked on water.
1107
00:58:06,400 --> 00:58:08,570
(indistinct)
1108
00:58:08,610 --> 00:58:11,610
And in some ways,
it was killing the witnesses.
1109
00:58:11,700 --> 00:58:13,530
(tense music playing)
1110
00:58:13,610 --> 00:58:15,320
Because the Lifestylers
1111
00:58:15,410 --> 00:58:17,910
started to see Chuck as a god.
1112
00:58:17,950 --> 00:58:20,620
(dramatic crescendo)
1113
00:58:23,540 --> 00:58:26,790
(solemn music playing)
1114
00:58:41,560 --> 00:58:47,770
♪♪
1115
00:59:15,180 --> 00:59:17,010
(music fades out)
84343
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