In 1969, an ex-carnival roustabout and part-time crime-scene photographer, LaVey, set up the C h u r c h of Satan. N o t a guy for half measures, he plunged right i n . In short order, he got himself a house, painted it black, got a whole new wardrobe in yeah, black, and even purchased a black panther. The animal, not the movement. H i s star seemed to be rising as he gained some brief pass- ing fame with a cameo i n Rosemary's Baby. A n d the guy knew how to play the press, leaking them all sorts of lurid stories that led to them dubbing him the Black Pope. Euphoric on his brief fifteen minutes of infamy, he set up his o w n church. W o r k e d for H u b b a r d . H i s gimmick 14 0 THE DEVIL N a k e d altar girls. An ecclesiastical lap dance before his time. A n d it w o r k e d . For a time. G o t Sammy Davis Jr and the then hot-to-trot, Jayne Mansfield. It blew fast, luridly and tragically. He had a hard on for Mansfield's lawyer, w h o knew h i m for what he was. A n d LaVey laid a public curse on the lawyer.
