One of the strangest stories in American UFO lore involves President Richard Milhous Nixon, born January 9, 1913 and died on April 22, 1994; the 37th U.S. President, and the comedian and actor Jackie Gleason, born February 25, 1915; died on June 24, 1987;- and four alleged deceased extraterrestrial bodies, supposedly being kept at a secret Air Force facility in Florida. The story is fascinating—but it is important to distinguish what was actually documented from what has only been alleged. There is no publicly verified evidence that Nixon showed Gleason extraterrestrial bodies.
Jackie Gleason, best known for The Honeymooners, had a genuine interest in UFOs and paranormal subjects. His fascination was sufficiently well known that stories about his alleged UFO experiences became part of his biography. He even had a distinctive, circular house in New York that was popularly nicknamed the “Mothership.” Gleason was also acquainted with Richard Nixon. According to accounts surrounding the story, the two men played golf together and had a personal relationship during Nixon’s presidency.
The most commonly repeated version places the incident in 1973, during Nixon’s presidency. According to the story, Nixon unexpectedly arranged for Gleason to accompany him to Homestead Air Force Base in South Florida. Gleason was allegedly taken, under the accompaniment of armed guards, through a heavily secured area of the base and eventually brought into a restricted room.
There, he saw four small humanoid bodies. The beings were described as approximately two feet tall, with relatively large heads, small or bald heads, and unusually large ears. Some versions say the bodies were embalmed or preserved and were being kept in cases. The account claims Gleason was deeply disturbed by what he saw.
The most important source for the allegation was Beverly McKittrick Gleason, born in 1925; died on 1983; Jackie Gleason’s second wife, and she swote that the story is true. According to Beverly’s later account, Gleason returned home after the alleged encounter and told her that Nixon had taken him to Florida to see the bodies. She said that he was extremely upset and that he described the beings to her. Beverly subsequently discussed the story publicly. In a later interview, she said she initially believed Gleason’s account completely because he appeared convinced that what he had seen was genuine. She also said that Gleason became angry when she talked publicly about it, because it was meant to be a secret. That last point has become an important part of the UFO legend: Gleason himself apparently did not publicly confirm the story, while his former wife continued to describe what he had allegedly told her.
According to Beverly’s account, Gleason had wanted the matter kept private. When the story became public, he reportedly objected strongly. This has been interpreted in two completely different ways. UFO proponents argue that his anger could have resulted from a genuine concern that he had revealed a government secret. Skeptics point out that anger over a sensational story does not demonstrate that the story was true. Gleason could simply have been angry that a private conversation had been made public. Anyway, you look at the matter, it was common knowledge at the time that the US government very much did not want the public to learn of such eerie stories.
The story has changed considerably as it has been retold. In one version, Nixon took Gleason to Homestead Air Force Base and showed him four preserved bodies. Other versions add a crashed flying saucer, pieces of an extraterrestrial craft, or even a spacecraft allegedly being kept inside a hangar. Some later accounts contain considerably more details than the earliest versions. This evolution is significant because it makes it difficult to determine exactly what, if anything, Gleason originally claimed.
A UFO researcher presenting the case at a 2003 crash-retrieval conference noted that three people claimed to have been told versions of the story originating with Nixon, Larry Warren, and Beverly Gleason, while emphasizing Beverly as the principal witness concerning Gleason’s account. This is where the evidence becomes extremely weak. There is no publicly authenticated government document, photograph, autopsy report, military record, or physical evidence establishing that Homestead Air Force Base possessed extraterrestrial bodies. Likewise, there is no publicly authenticated document establishing that Nixon personally took Gleason into a secret facility to view them. The story therefore belongs in the category of an unverified UFO allegation, rather than established history. Interestingly, even accounts sympathetic to the story acknowledge the lack of proof. One modern discussion of the case explicitly notes that there is no proof that aliens were stored at Homestead or that Nixon showed them to Gleason. Naturally, the U.S. government would not allow any proof to be made available to the public.
It is widely known that the United States government wanted information on UFOs (unidentified Flying Objects) is to be kept secret from the public. Such proof in the way of documentation would be highly classified. This matter is especially true for concealment considering any wreckage, ,especially of machines from the crafts, and the dead bodies of extraterrestrial crew thereof. There would also be very harsh penalties for exposing such otherworldly information to the general public, but often then when the situation gets “out of hand”, a very strong downplaying and misinformation campaign strategy becomes used. When there is absolutely no proof to a story about otherworldly aliens, the skeptics can convince a great majority of the public to simply dismiss the story; not to pay any further attention to it. And the United States government can be satisfied with that outcome.
What makes the story unusually persistent is that it isn’t simply an anonymous Internet tale. There really was a Jackie Gleason, there really was a Richard Nixon, they really knew one another, and Gleason really did have a strong interest in UFOs and paranormal subjects. Beverly Gleason also really did tell the story publicly and later discuss it in interviews. What remains unproven is the crucial part: whether Gleason actually saw extraterrestrial bodies—and whether President Nixon was the person who showed them to him.
So the best historical assessment is: The Nixon–Gleason alien-body story is a well-established UFO legend with a traceable history and identifiable witnesses, but there is no publicly verified evidence that the alleged event actually occurred. That distinction is particularly important because later books, podcasts, television programs, and Internet accounts sometimes present the story as an established fact rather than as an allegation. But, if the story is true, the U.S. government would see to it that the claims would be just an allegation as far as the public could tell.
