Marshall Applewhite(1931-1997)
Applewhite was born in Spur, Texas the son of a Presbyterian Minister.
He graduated from high school in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1948.
Applewhite briefly enrolled to study as a Minister but changed his mind
and went into Music. In 1952 he graudated from Austin College. He then
did a brief stint in the US army corps from 1954 to '56. By 1959 he had
obtained his Masters in Music from the Univ. of Colorada at Boulder. He
was hired as choral director at Univ. of Alabama in 1961. From 1966 to
'70 he taught music at Houston's Univ. of St. Thomas. Applewhite even
played leading roles at the Houston Grand Opera. However, in 1970 he
was dismissed for 'health reasons of an emotional nature'. He even
underwent some psychotherapy but of no avail. By 1972 he had divorced
his wife and was estranged from his 2 children. During this period in
his life he met divorceé Bonnie Lu Nettles a former nurse and mother of
4 who was now interested in astrology. The 2 lived as common-law
partners and moved to Las Vegas and Oregon looking for 'spiritual
awakening'. In 1974 Applewhite was jailed in Texas for auto theft and
credit card fraud. In the period after his release Applewhite and
Nettles began calling themselves "the Two" and "Bo" and "Peep"
(respectively) and also "Do" and "Ti" (like the musical notes). They
began to collect a group of disillusioned followers preaching that the
body was just a 'container' and that a great big 'mother ship' would
come from outer space to collect the true believers before the end of
the world. The press initially dubbed them as a 'UFO cult'! In 1985
when Bonnie died from cancer, Applewhite said that she had been
collected by the 'mother ship' and only her container (body) was left
behind. By 1993 they were called 'Total Overcomers Anonymous'. On
January 17, 1994 when an earthquake rocked California they claimed that
it was a sign that the end was near. Applewhite and his followers now
needed another sign. They got it, in March 1997 when comet Halle Bopp
appeared in the night skies. Applewhite along with 38 other followers
made a videotape recording their last messages for loved ones. At their
'ranch' - Rancho Sant Fe (30 miles north of San Deigo, California) they
committed mass suicide by consuming vodka laced with phenobarbital and
covering their heads with plastic bags. They were all dressed in black
with new nike shoes - a uniform by which the 'aliens' who would pick
them up could identify them by. They were found a few days later in
their bunk beds. Applewhite would not have said it was suicide - they
had simply "moved on".
