From Netflix’s “Wild Wild Country” to HBO’s “The Vow,” interest in cults has risen in recent years. LA Times contributor Erin Osmon wrote about one LA cult that has had an interesting afterlife since it began in the 1970s. Osmon joined Lisa McRee on “LA Times Today” with more on the Source Family cult. 

Osmon talked about the origins of the Source Family and its founder, Jim Baker.

“After the war, he came to LA to audition for a role as Tarzan in a movie. And at a certain point, he became interested in health food. He opened up two very early health food restaurants in LA and then he got really into yoga and kind of the proto-hippie movement. And he opened the Source restaurant. And he, at that time, was transforming into a figure that he called Father Yod. The beliefs were based on western esotericisms, a blend of Eastern and Western mysticism,” she explained.

Baker called his female followers his “spiritual wives.” Osmon said the women she spoke to for her story said they didn’t feel exploited by Baker and remembered their time with him fondly.

The Source Family eventually opened a health restaurant called The Source on Sunset Boulevard.

“The Source became such a cultural touchpoint in Los Angeles that it sort of became parodied. SNL parodied it in a skit. Celebrities were going there. Goldie Hawn, Joni Mitchell, John Lennon ate there. It really took off. It was the first place in Los Angeles where you could get healthy, organic, vegetarian food and people loved it,” Osmon said. 

But, eventually, the Source Family was kicked out of their Los Feliz home because of their practices. 

“At a certain point, Father Yod felt called to move the family. So he sold off the restaurant, and they looked for a new place to live. And they ended up in Hawaii and they spent a little time in San Francisco. But when they got to Hawaii, things got really hard for them because the reputation sort of preceded them and they were really heavily scrutinized by the government there and the police and things really started to fall apart,” Osmon said. 

After Baker’s death from a hang gliding accident, interest in the cult did not go away. Osmon said there is reportedly interest from Hollywood to make a limited series about the family.

Watch the full interview above.

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