dimanche 23 août 2015

Tom Cruise did not see Scientology estranged stepdad "for some time" before his death

Tom Cruise did not see Scientology estranged stepdad "for some time" before his death.

Irish Times: Tom Cruise's stepdad hadn't seen the star for some time before his death

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Tom Cruise might be promoting his latest action hit around the world, but it seems like his tight schedule made it impossible for the star to attend his stepdad's funeral. That's how it appears to fans of the 53-year-old, who apparently hadn't seen John South, who was 89, for some time before his death from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease last month.

The diminutive star once described John, who helped launch his lengthy big screen career, as a “wise and smart man”. But when it came to the final farewell for the man who was married to his mum Mary Lee Pfeiffer for 32 years before their 2012 divorce, Tom was nowhere to be seen.

John, who died on July 25, told The Sun on Sunday that he'd not seen Tom for "a while" when he was admitted to hospital on July 3.

The Jack Reacher star, who recently received a hero's welcome on a Japanese publicity tour , and his 78-year-old mum both skipped the funeral, but John seemed to accept why he hadn't seen his stepson.

“I knew him before he was Tom," he said simply, but: "It’s been a while. I’d rather not go into that because I take care of myself the best I can. I don’t want to bother him with it. I’m more concerned by my immediate family," he said.

WWII veteran John was being treated at Frances Georgeson Hospice House in Naples, Florida, but shots shared in the press showed Tom living it up at a party in Nashville, Tennessee.

Although John lived with Mary Lee for 13 years in stunning Marco Island in Florida, she turned her back on him for Scientology in 2003. The reason cited by John for their final divorce in 2010 was that the marriage was “irretrievably broken” — words used by actress Katie Holmes when she split from Cruise in 2012.

Mary Lee married John in 1978 when Tom was just 16, four years after she divorced his biological dad Thomas Mapother II, an abusive alcoholic who died a decade later.

Speaking about his death in an interview with Rolling Stone in 1986, Tom said: "He was a person who did not have a huge influence on me in my teens; the values and motivation really came from my stepfather." But the Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation star apparently involved mum Mary Lee in the religion established by L Ron Hubbard, as she's been a follower of Scientology for 12 years now.

Although Tom wasn't one of the 20 people to attend John's funeral on August 7 at Saint William Catholic Church in Naples, his image loomed as large as it did in one of his films. Pictures at the event showed John, Mary Lee and Tom together around the time of Top Gun in the 1980s.

Tom's sister Marian Henry and nephew Cal were there, but no one knows where Mary Lee was, having not been spotted since a Scientology event four months ago. Although she used to live with Tom in his Beverly Hills mega-mansion, she was reportedly moved to assisted living last December.

On his relationship with John, Tom said: "In the beginning, I felt threatened by my stepfather. There’s a part of you that’s in love with your mother. But John is such a wise, smart man. He loved my mother so much that he took us all in, four young people."

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Tom Cruise did not see Scientology estranged stepdad "for some time" before his death

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