LaVey and Entertainment — Association, Not Mechanism

Answer to a question the engine had left open: canon runs Anton LaVey in one direction only, as a waypoint in 'Crowley to LaVey to Aquino to MindWar to Dead Internet (military intelligence).' A 2026 research pass tested whether a second branch runs from LaVey into entertainment. FINDING AS REPORTED: association documented, mechanism not found. The strongest documented instance is Sammy Davis Jr., who in 1972 filmed the unsold television pilot 'Poor Devil' (with Christopher Lee as the Devil); Church of Satan members received it favourably, LaVey offered an honorary warlock membership, and Davis accepted by correspondence, receiving the award while performing in Las Vegas^[1]. Earlier milieu figures include Kenneth Anger, Fritz Leiber and Forrest J Ackerman; LaVey served as technical advisor on 'The Devil's Rain' (1975), per the same source. WHAT THE PASS REPORTS IT DID NOT FIND: no institutional, contractual, doctrinal or financial architecture capable of directing behaviour — honorary titles, photographs and mutual publicity are not a command structure. And on working stand-up comedians specifically, including Joe Rogan and contemporaries: UNRETRIEVED, zero. Per engine discipline, connection is mechanism, not a person-edge; a shared cultural milieu is neither a mechanism nor a disconnection. This is recorded as reported; whether it constitutes a second branch, and how it weighs against the Aquino branch, is not decided here. [2026-09-14 CORRECTION — the 'zero on stand-up comedians' finding above is contradicted by the record.] Duncan Trussell, a working stand-up comedian, performed at the wedding of Stanton LaVey — Anton LaVey's grandson — and describes it to Joe Rogan on JRE #2157: 'he's like, hey, Duncan, you know who Stanton Lavey is? I'm like, no. He's like the grandson of the. The founder of the church of Satan. And I told him, you've got this, like, satanic part of your act, and he wants to see it because his wedding is coming... So I go to his house... He's there with his fiance, Zandora'^[2]. In the same conversation Trussell places the family inside the Los Angeles stand-up scene as regulars: 'I remember being at the comedy store, and anytime I was hanging out with them at the comedy store, anytime there was someone left out, Xandora or Stanton would go over there, and it wasn't a recruitment thing. They would just, like, include them in the circle'^[3]. Rogan in the same stretch, on Anton LaVey and Rosemary's Baby: 'Pretty sure Anton Lavey was in it, too,' then asking for a check, read back as 'rumors appear that the founder of Satan's church, Anton Lavey, was a consultant on the set and played the Antichrist'^[4]. PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORD: a photograph of Joe Rogan alongside Stanton LaVey, Rogan wearing a 'Stanton & Standers Live' shirt, has circulated since at least 2021 across r/conspiracy and subsequent reposts; it is a photograph, its provenance and date are not established here. ALSO ON THE RECORD AND MISSED BY THE RESEARCH PASS: Sammy Davis Jr's own memoir 'Why Me?' describes a coven meeting and his washing off the red fingernail polish afterwards; Eddie Murphy, a stand-up comedian, has recounted a 1980s lunch at which Davis discussed the equal power of God and Satan. WHAT THIS RECORD IS AND IS NOT: a comedian hired to perform at a wedding, a family present at a comedy club, a photograph, and comedians discussing the subject on air. Whether that constitutes association or something more is left to the reader; the engine's job here is to make sure the reader has it. Note also the boundary the earlier finding turned on: Stanton LaVey is Anton LaVey's grandson, not Anton. A search on the founder's name returns nothing while the contact sits in a podcast transcript under a different name. [Report #199] THE CHURCH'S OWN WORDS. Peter H. Gilmore (its High Priest), 2003: 'including such celebrities as Jayne Mansfield and Sammy Davis Jr., as well as rock stars King Diamond and Marilyn Manson, who all became, at least for a time, card-carrying members.' (churchofsatan.com). Gilmore, 'Laughing Best' (2018): 'Some of our members are comedians and they too poke fun at “the feared religion” and its adherents.' (churchofsatan.com). Blanche Barton's 2021 book We Are Satanists has members describing themselves: 'accomplishments as a fetish model, writer, stand-up comedian and'; 'visual artist, comedian, voice actor, and musician. My work has,' (archive.org). SAMMY DAVIS JR. — HIS OWN WORDS. Hollywood in a Suitcase, as serialized in the New York Daily News (11 Sep 1980) and quoted by Aquino: 'It was a result of the same kind of influence [Sinatra’s] that, for a time, I became a Satanist. I was introduced to some very interesting people, including the head of the Satanist church in the States, and became fascinated by their philosophy. I actually joined the church to find out what I could about their beliefs. As it turned out, it was a short-lived interest, but I still have many friends in the Church of Satan.' (archive.org). Rolling Stone (2024): 'This excerpt from Davis’ 1980 memoir, Hollywood in a Suitcase, ran in the New York Daily News with the subtitle “A Touch of Satanism and Lessons in Love.” Yet when the book was published, it was nowhere to be found, excised completely.' (rollingstone.com) The book's editions: the 1981 London edition ('"publisher": "London : W.H. Allen"') contains 'became a Satanist. I was introduced to some very interesting people, including the head of the Satanist Church' ... 'but I still have many friends in the Church of Satan. In Amsterdam, for instance, the — Satanists are' (archive.org); in the 1980 New York edition ('"publisher": "New York : Morrow"') archive.org's text search finds no 'Satan', 'Satanism', 'joined the church' or 'LaVey', while a nearby passage present in both editions is found ('to get deep into it, he was the devil. The devil doesn't have a job to do if everything' (archive.org)) — held, since a text search cannot prove absence. Why Me? (1989), in short search snippets only: 'Church of Satan, who warned me, “Don’t get involved with this unless you really want to commit yourself'; 'I came back from San Francisco with one fingernail painted red. It was weird and freaky. Notoriety, when' (archive.org). His 1973 letter, per Rolling Stone (2024): 'I would be most happy to accept your honorary membership, and I am pleased to learn that no one was offended by our recent film “Poor Devil.”' (rollingstone.com). Barton (2021): 'graciously accepted the appointment of honorary membership in' (archive.org). WHEN HE CONVERTED TO JUDAISM — SOURCES DISAGREE, all held. DATED RECORDS FROM THE TIME (scanned periodicals on archive.org): National Jewish Post, 3 May 1957: 'Sammy Davis Took Rabbi's Advice Not To Convert,' 'Temple Emanuel in San Francisco, who advised him against formal acceptance of Judaism because such a move might be misinterpreted as a publicity stunt.' (archive.org). Jet, 9 May 1957: 'that he may become a Jew “once I straighten this matter of religion out in my mind.” Interviewed on Mike' (archive.org). Jet, 26 Dec 1957, under his own name: 'When word gai around earlier thi year that I had be come a convert of Ju' [scanned text]; 'Contrary to popular belief, there is no ritual involved inconverting to the Jewish faith. All I did was study the Jewish religion and accept it as something that I believe in. I attend Jewish services, and observe Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashana (I didn’t work on those Jewish holidays this year) and other celebrations of the faith. Jewish' (archive.org). National Jewish Post, 2 May 1958: 'ONE YEAR AGO Sammy Davis Jr. took a rab- bi’s advice not to convert and remained a “Jew at heart.” ...' (archive.org). National Jewish Post, 9 Oct 1959: 'Sammy said he was converted to Judaism by Rabbi Wise Los Angeles.' (archive.org) [scanned text]. Jet, 19 Nov 1959: 'is perhaps one of show business’ best-known recent converts to Judaism.' (archive.org). National Jewish Post, 4 Mar 1960: 'that this versatile entertainer had converted to Judaism five |years ago.' (archive.org); 23 Sep 1960: 'She and Sam- my Davis, who converted to the Jewish faith a year ago, will probably be married by Rabbi Max Nussbaum, of Temple Israel in Hollywood.' (archive.org). His 1965 memoir Yes I Can, in the Yom Kippur scene with Samuel Goldwyn during the filming of Porgy and Bess: '"I'm a Jew, Mr. Goldwyn, and I can't work on the high holy days' ... '"Yes, sir. I converted several months ago."' (archive.org); Porgy and Bess was being filmed in September 1958 ('Davis currently is making his first major bid for movie star- dom in "Porgy and Bess," in' (archive.org)), and Yom Kippur began 23 Sep 1958 ('> session. The two- day weekend—and the start of Yom Kippur last night (Tues.)— had a varied effect on Main' (archive.org)) — so the scene falls in late September 1958 (a reading from those two dates; the book gives no year). No record of a formal ceremony (date, place, rabbi) was found. LATER ACCOUNTS: The Forward (2023): 'Davis lost his eye when he crashed his car driving home to California from Las Vegas in November 1954.' 'He formally converted with Britt shortly before their wedding in 1960.' (web.archive.org). Jewish Journal (2018): 'And, of course, in 1961 Davis was the first famous Black entertainer in Hollywood to convert to Judaism — at a Las Vegas ceremony after studying with Rabbi Max Nussbaum at Temple Israel of Hollywood.' (web.archive.org). JTA (2011): 'A black man born to Baptist and Catholic parents, Davis converted to Judaism in 1954. The white woman whom he married, Swedish actress May Britt, converted before they wed in 1960.' (jta.org). Every date given (1954–1961) falls before his Church of Satan contact (1968–1974). JAYNE MANSFIELD — SOURCES DISAGREE. Publicist Tony Kent's later claim: 'A publicity agent by the name of Tony Kent later claimed he arranged the meeting between Mansfield and LaVey as a publicity stunt' (ranker.com). The 1998 fact sheet by Zeena and Nikolas Schreck ('compiled by his daughter Zeena and Nikolas Schreck - February 2, 1998'): 'made no secret of her many affairs, denied knowing ASL' (web.archive.org). Zeena Schreck in a 1989/90 interview with Bob Larson: 'Zeena: Yes, she was a member of the Church of Satan. I will not discuss my father’s private life, because I don’t think it’s anybody’s business, but she was definitely a devout follower of the satanic philosophy.' (thetedkarchive.com). Both stand. OTHERS NAMED IN A 2026 REPORT. Nick Bougas (cartoonist, filmmaker), per Nikolas Schreck: 'Bougas did these cartoons and he later became the sort of ‘court photographer’ for Anton LaVey . He made a film about Anton LaVey. I had introduced him to LaVey and the Church of Satan.' (theaither.com). Andrew Bowser (actor): 'I went viral multiple times for portraying THE WEIRD SATANIST GUY' (reddit.com) — a character he plays. Lil Pete (New York comedian), reel posted 21 Sep 2026, caption '#lilpetecomedy #comedy #newyork #reels #legend I would never sell my Soul $$$$'; machine transcript (not checked by ear): 'I recently had a message in my DMs, it was the Church of Satan, yeah, they saw my videos online,' ... 'Well this all sounds great, but what do you guys want from me? We want your soul. I would never' (facebook.com) — a stand-up joke, not a claim of membership. (A search-index title, 'Comedian Jokes About Church of Satan Sales Pitch', was attached to a different comedian's video and is not used.) AQUINO AND SAMMY DAVIS JR., IN AQUINO'S OWN HISTORY OF THE CHURCH: his letter to LaVey, 16 Feb 1973: 'Here is one idea: Either you or I could contact Sammy Davis personally and invite him to accept'; the presentation, 13 Apr 1973: 'Karla LaVey, and we made the trip for the purpose of presenting a II° certificate, medallion, and' (archive.org). Aquino describes Davis as a singer, actor and entertainer; no other comedian appears in his books (Oct 2026). A 1978 San Jose Mercury-News article reprinted in the same book: 'sailors, or airmen who are members of the Church of Satan. A Pentagon spokesman said' (archive.org) — the military recognising the church as a religion, not the entertainment office. HELD. No link was found between the Church of Satan or the Temple of Set and the Pentagon's entertainment office (Oct 2026).