Jackie Gleason’s former ‘The Mothership’ home asks $5.5M
Jackie Gleason’s spaceship-like home in Westchester County is back on the market — with an out-of-this-world discount.
The $5.5 million listing was specially commissioned by the late comedian and musician as an escape from filming “The Honeymooners.” Gleason, a well-known UFO and paranormal aficionado, dubbed his circular Cortlandt Manor home “The Mothership.”
Curbed first reported the listing.
The property hasn’t traded hands since the 1970s, although it unsuccessfully listed for $12 million in 2018.
The property’s comedic cachet is matched by its architectural chops. Robert Cika, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright, oversaw every detail of the ambitious engineering project.
The endeavor to erect the spaceship on stilts reportedly took $650,000 and several years to build — Gleason’s network bosses at CBS footed the bill, according Gleason’s 1987 obituary. At least some of its assembly took place inside an airplane hangar, according to reports, under the care of a Scandinavian shipbuilder.
The investment paid off in 1959 — Cika had produced an enduring architectural marvel, and Gleason was ready to enjoy it. Rumored guests of the home’s three bars and marble dance floor include Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe and Richard Nixon.
Nixon was a longtime golfing buddy of Gleason. The pair feature in a well-circulated conspiracy theory in which they encountered extraterrestrials of their own.
The only confirmed flying saucer connected to Gleason sits in the Hudson Valley, however, and it’s rooted firmly to the ground.
The 3,950-square-foot residence is a mid-century time capsule under a copper roof. There’s not a right angle in sight — the shower, the study, the furniture, the cabinets and even the 8-foot bed are all neatly rounded.
Floor-to-ceiling windows fill the circular space with light, complimenting the impressive craftsmanship above. The home’s exposed wooden ceiling trusses resemble row boats and some vents resemble stylized fish — the shipbuilder’s touch.
The marble fireplaces and floors come with their own unbelievable tales. It is reported that Gleason purchased an entire Italian quarry in order to secure the best marble, and his resulting fireplaces were so massive that they required delivery via helicopter.
The extraterrestrial getaway sits on 8.6 acres of solid Hudson Valley ground, about an hour’s drive north of New York City.
Two other guesthouses sit elsewhere on the property — a smaller “spaceship,” used as a bunkhouse and glamping site, and “The Barracks,” a 1930s stone house.
Gleason, a native of Bedford-Stuyvesant, sold the unique home back to CBS when relocated to Miami in the 1960s. Gleason resided in Florida until his death at 71 in 1987.
The property changed hands twice more, last trading for $150,000 in 1976. Corcoran agent Heidi Henshaw holds the current listing.