She has a huge audience. .like Lalique. Von Mierers seems to have been aided in his gem operation by several New York jewelry appraisers, who were gifted fantasists when it came to evaluating the Eternal Values stones. Rich kids with troubled psyches took themselves off to Tibet to see the Dalai Lama or invited plump Indian swamis to move in. A year later, as a highschool senior, he ran into Frederick again. To this day I owe him everything. ", "Things happen. There was a big Vanity Fair expos at one point . It is true that our space brothers and sisters have arrived. His business began to grow. Pay the money or you're out.' His Manhattan number is unpublished, and there's no listing for him in Lake Lure. "We are not a cult," von Mierers told me angrily during the strange afternoon we spent together. Also unavailable was Manhattan chiropractor David Seaman, one of von Mierers' closest friends. His actual childhood remains a mystery. . Hunter soon signed Hoyt under the name Hoyt Richards. Many of her fifteen books are still in print, filling the psychic-phenomena sections of the paperback racks. Next, in the guise of psychic and oracle, von Mierers would tell his new friends how unhappy their lives really werea fairly safe assumption to make about young people seeking a psychic. Im a textbook cultvictim.. As he stared at the TV audience, his face appeared to have cheek implants, capped teeth, and freshly pulled skin. . "Frederick is very spiritual," Wyatt later told me. The New York Post reported that the late male model and interior decorator was under investigation for possible involvement in a multimillion-dollar drug ring. She bought the herbs for the Eternal Values diet and started the rigorous food-combining program. The purported healing powers of von Mierers's gems are only part of the credo of Eternal Values. "He was always accusing me of ego, as if that were a bad thing! Through the help of a friendly building representative, he had arranged leases for some of his new friends in his apartment house. Andreadis sat in a lotus position and, according to Glenna Hartwell, said calmly, "I have been asked to leave the group. I am creating the greatest comedy on earth. von Mierers told me. "Frederick got me an apartment in the building. and 'You are a fucking, sick, evil, satanic piece of shit! However, word began to spread through the Upper East Side of New York that von Mierers had genuine psychic ability. Eileen Ford said "As far as I'm concerned, he's a crumbum.". and that was the end of that.". Nobody forced me or twisted my arm to waste 20 years of my life. I was all of seventeen years old." Each apartment had immense displays of pink azaleas and tiger lilies, arranged as if for a garden show. . "I was always over there on East Fiftyfourth. "I had found them through Ruth Montgomery's book. This is not phenomenalism and five-and-dimestore stupidities!" Suddenly my son was talking like a robot.". "He teaches us how to aspire to be the best we can. And when he complained to Frederick, von Mierers said to him, "You will die on the water! ' They all had striking similarities; they were young, mostly in their twenties and early thirties, and quite good-looking, with taut, muscular bodies. Frederick Von Mierers, a deeply tanned cult leader with a shocking crown of platinum blond hair, spoke to his followers through their television sets. Only Hermes.". "You'll never be a Ted Koppel unless you have manners!" "There are really two kinds of Jews," a friend remembers him saying. I don't know anything about this!" In 1992, the Italian mens magazine Mondo Uomo did a 58 page spread onme. You see everything like it is. As John Hoyt made his way around New York, he talked about von Mierers to other models he would meet. 'I am Socrates, I am Plato. A Wall Street banker designed the computer system that charted the planets for von Mierers's readings; a Brooklyn woman kept his books. There were many mirrors, plump lavender sofas, and reproduction Egyptian furniture. Frederick von Mierers told his elite followersamong them top models and yuppiesthat he was from the star Arcturus, here to neutralize "the dark forces." "Freddie used to say to me, 'With these gems, they hold you close to their heart. In fact, he was represented by Wagner, a third-class agency that no longer exists. He was a fringe player who appeared "to know everybody," as he might have said. And no one could control Frederick anymore. By the late 1960s, he had shed his accent and become an energetic walker who trafficked in gossip and his Rolodex. I said, 'Freddie, you can't put this out! .gemstones.". By the time Jacki Adams introduced herself to Andreadis, von Mierers's successor was becoming disenchanted with Eternal Values. The idea was ultimately to destroy the ego and then rebuild it in a more malleable form. We never would have signed him." What's the big deal? In the light, it was obvious that the furniture was shabby, that the fabrics were second-rate. Eileen Ford asked me. Vanity Fair Summary. Like anyone suffering from Stockholm syndromewhere a hostage identifies with his captorsI had no ability to objectify my experience. Von Mierers believed in impending doomthat he and his fellow aliens had been sent here to help earthlings, an intergalactic team of emergency responders. von Mierers told a TV talkshow host named Richard Bey in 1988 to characterize the followers he had with him on the show. While I was at Fabios, I began doing a lot of reading. We all know its not. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. We are sincere! Now prosecutors in the office of the Manhattan district attorney are investigating the possibility that von Mierers was involved in a multimillion-dollar gem ring. I contacted him through Ruth Montgomery, who has also passed on. " Adams, at her most psychologically fragile, agreed to do her time on "mail duties." Often he would take his new clients to Doubles. Maybe you remember seeing it on late-night public-access cable TV. Plus, I was supporting them. Studio Design Collection. When I later examined the emerald ring the model had bought, I noticed it was engraved FVM. Is a "Dangerous" Distortion, Says Rachel Williams. The real reason I left was because I felt like a failure. you duchesses and lords," Freddie would say '%u are fabulous! 69-year-old suffers stroke in his home; Realtor showing house leaves him there. Every movement was a tremendous effort. In a new documentary, Welcome to the Beyond, Hoyt recalls his introduction to the cult leader who would alter the course of his life. You are guilty of ego!" The inner circle of Eternal Values calls itself "the group." About this time a Ford model named Susanne Gregard attended von Mierers's regular Wednesday-night "family dinner" for the inner circle of the group. "I think he must have read that book a hundred times," Andreadis said. I had another question: Was it, in the end, the need to make his mark in louche New York that caused Frederick von Mierers to believe so totally the myths he had created about himself? For a time, he supported himself handily as a model. He later told Ruth Montgomery that he had undergone what she called a "bewildering substitution of egos." Andreadis's flight released even more demons within Eternal Values. He says he gave von Mierers $17,000 for a sapphire, a topaz, and a cat's-eye which von Mierers assured him he was getting for an astonishing bargain price, "way below wholesale." At one time we were both with the Ford Modeling agency. (''Only a clear understanding of how the Evil Forces work will enable people to make it through the precarious times that lie ahead. .. . He told me, 'Give me $9,000 cash to paint it. "I ran into her on an airplane," a close friend of hers told me. Were they real? He even let me drive one of his Porches. Please subscribe to keep reading. Von Mierers rented a house on Nantucket, where Baldwin always spent his summers. His followers gave him tens of thousands of dollars for rings to prove their faith. In Welcome to the Beyond, which premiered at Doc NYC on Tuesday, director Brent Huff deep-dives into Hoyts double life. Within months, hundreds and then thousands of letters were forwarded to von Mierers from Ruth Montgomery, Andreadis remembered. Over the years, I spent more than $150,000 on gems. The cult was called Eternal Values. Hoyt is a big, big money-maker.". Solemnly, the merchandise was spread out near me. I looked past Frederick von Mierers and stared at an arrangement of satin pillows in mauve, turquoise, and teal on a pale-blue sofa. I could give these kids almost a Harvard course in metaphysics." "Frederick imparts information that normally you wouldn't have access to," a Princeton graduate and Ford model who is a member of Eternal Values told me. $699.99 / piece Size: 31in. I had a Life Reading done by Frederick von Miers in the late 1980's. Although I did not get to meet him, I believe he was honest in the concept he passed on to some of us and that he was a Walk-In. I am here to train the leaders of the New Age. You can cancel at any time. "Ramakrishna said, 'When flowers open, bees come of themselves, " von Mierers used to tell his new young friends. I realized I was being taken. "I am a little bit afraid to go public with my story," she said, "but I believe it will help others. You realize it didnt happen to me because Im especially flawed or have some defect. "I have a very large income, and I spend it helping children." They are essential for every sincere seeker of the Truth. ") We've had stones in our family for years. ' If anyone in the room argued with him, von Mierers would scream, "You either come to my way of thinking or the dark forces will destroy you.". Do you see the ego there? A dozen of the group share apartments in von Mierers's building, at 405 East Fifty-fourth Street, where Noel Coward and Hermione Gingold once lived. "I had read everything. We would party, go to Studio 54 and crash at his apartment. "There was something endearing and maybe a little sinister about that." I always knew Freddie was a big talker and a fantasist. "I can't begin to tell you how handsome he was." I recently asked Eileen Ford and Joe Hunter, the company president. 1913 TO TODAY. Von Mierers began to talk about the great psychic Edgar Cayce and his gem prescriptions. It was an era in New York of crazy religions, cults, and odd self-help groupsest, Scientology, Synanon, and Arica. They quickly annulled their marriage, but they have remained friends. The spirit of Jeremiah walked into my body. She was impressed by the "hypnotic atmosphere" and the attractive young people; Andreadis did an astrological reading for her which, she said, "blew me away." ", GREENSBORO Jurors found TikTok star Jessica Middlebrook, known as towtruckjess on social media, not guilty of involuntary manslaughter Thu. "I thought I was in love with Jacki," he told me. " One night in January, Andreadis conducted a seminar in the Park Avenue church. "We must spread our message to help humanity." She wrote in Aliens Among Us that the Guides responded, "John is from Arcturus. Of special interest to the tabloids were the models and ``life readings' or other advice von Mierers had given celebrities such as Sylvester Stallone and Rae Dawn Chong. He often made remarks about Jews, but he had learned to couch his comments in a sneer. I had it taken apart when I got back to California, and I learned it was almost worthless." ``They've been very good neighbors they're quiet, and their landscaping is fantastic.'. "Maybe Freddie von Mierers is taking people for millions! At first glance, the flowers appeared real. "I have every gem under the sun! Mostly it was menial jobsdoing dishes and laundry, scrubbing toilets, doing vacuum packing. I even found a letter she had written him that said, 'Why don't you invite me to Nantucket when Billy Baldwin is there?' We are here to warn you! I would come to New York, and soon Frederick showed me the stones. "You see how terrible your families are?" "Why do you have to be a gem salesman? No money changed hands; Unified Cosmogony was just a new name for Eternal Values, according to the deed. "I was making over $300,000 a year," she said. John was saying, 'Don't hit me, Frederick. . Studio Design Collection. Eternal Values was by now big business, so successful that von Mierers had anointed Andreadis as his probable successor to run the organization. " From a folder, she pulled out a sheaf of receipts and gem appraisals which appeared to show that during a four-month period she had given von Mierers more than $100,000 for gems and the cost of fixing up her apartment, most of it in cash. "Look at these emeralds," he was telling me, stroking his gems. Frederick would bring out the coral and the lapis and he would light up like a Christmas tree. Von Mierers would wax eloquent on the legendary Hindu belief in the healing properties of certain precious gems. by such friends and clients as Babe Paley, Averell Harriman, and Cole Porter. One time, toward the end, they said I was guilty of vanity because I supposedly looked in the mirror too much. I saw him again the next summer; two years later, when I went to Princeton, I started visiting him in Manhattan. "Don't ever carry a Vuitton bag!" By 1976 he was listed in the New York Social Register, and he carried it with him everywhere, as if to call attention to his social stature. 1913 TO TODAY. As private-school teenagers found their way to East Fiftyfourth Street, von Mierers would talk to them about his "godmother" from the "famous Kress family" and his friends the Vanderbilts. ``I think this place has been very quiet, and all the action was up in New York,' said Alex Karr, the mansion's only year-round neighbor and a member of the Lake Lure Town Council.But when von Mierers, devastated by AIDS, neared death, he left behind the frenetic pace of New York City and headed south to his group's $400,000, Xanadu-like home beside peaceful Lake Lure. The message was simple: Adams and Andreadis were evil; their egos would have to be ' 'destroyed. ' "Freddie then went to a lawyer and threatened that he would sue me to get my power of attorney. Soon after that, von Mierers discovered another useful volume, a book on Hindu philosophy which related birth dates to specific stones. von Mierers would say. ''Every other check was made out to Freddie von Mierers. It was impossible not to notice that von Mierers's friends all wore large gems. .immaculate dresser. "Think about the white light and the violet light!" On the weekends I would bring up a couple friends with me from school. It was late summer 1987, and Jacki Adams, the Elizabeth Arden model, at twenty-two was earning more than $300,000 a year. It has also been eye-opening. He would tell prospective buyers that he was able to get stones at a tremendous discount, which the inflated appraisal papers would confirm. "He would tell us how fabulous and beautiful and special we all were. Once, in 1969, the producer Joel Rice ran into him in Venice. I got suspicious when he demanded cash, but the group members said, 'This is what we've done.' Shortly after Jacki Adams and John Andreadis fled from von Mierers, group members put out three cassettes. Something went wrong. One weekend in the country, Adams says, von Mierers told her, " 'If you ever want to be around John again, you have to buy these stones.' No unity can be achieved here in the physical world. John Richards Hoyt was 16 when the 30-something Von Mierers approached him at the beach. When you've been in a cult and you meet new people at a dinner party, you're never quite sure when to bring it up. von Mierers insisted. Frederick gave me spending cash. ", Mind control inevitably follows a specific pattern. "We were so very close." As I came and went to work, I was often accused of being resistant to our rules and way of life. She was saved by her intelligence and her astonishing beauty. 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