How Disclosure Day Uses a Real Hollywood Legend’s UFO Story as a Major Plot Point

by

Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day skillfully blends stories of actual unexplained phenomena with popular beliefs about UFOs into a cohesive and engaging story. Considering his previous work—like Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T.—it’s clear Spielberg has long been interested in aliens and unidentified flying objects. While there are common themes across these films, Disclosure Day isn’t a direct sequel or continuation; instead, it draws inspiration from documented accounts of UFO sightings.

The show includes some clear references to well-known UFO stories, like the Roswell incident, and the aliens’ appearance matches popular descriptions. However, it also features more hidden details, such as a clip seemingly showing President Nixon discussing aliens with a famous actor – a story that’s actually a real urban legend.

Jackie Gleason Was Obsessed With UFOs

Jackie Gleason (1916-1987), a famous actor and comedian nicknamed “The Great One,” had a huge fascination with UFOs and extraterrestrial life. He was so interested that he had a house built in Peekskill, New York, designed to look like a spaceship – it became known as the Mothership. He even added a smaller, spaceship-shaped cottage on the property. After he passed away, Gleason left his extensive collection of UFO-related books, journals, and publications to the University of Miami, creating a valuable resource for researchers.

Bing Crosby was a major celebrity and had powerful connections. He was particularly known for hosting parties and golf tournaments that drew high-profile guests, including President Richard Nixon. This connection with Nixon sparked one of Hollywood’s most famous and lasting stories about UFOs.

Legend Claims Nixon Showed Gleason Real Aliens

Gleason’s former wife, Beverly, shared the story on multiple occasions. The most frequent telling goes like this: In February 1973, Nixon visited Florida. Around February 18th or 19th, Nixon surprised his friend Gleason by leaving his security detail and taking him to a hidden military base. Gleason came home disturbed, claiming he’d seen evidence that aliens exist.

According to Timothy Green Beckley’s UFOs Among the Stars, Gleason recounted driving with Larry Warren to a remote, restricted part of the base where they approached a heavily guarded building. He said security personnel stepped aside as they drove in and that after passing through several labs, Nixon showed them what he claimed was debris from a flying saucer, contained within multiple large cases.

Stepping further inside, we entered a room filled with these…cabinets. They resembled old-fashioned Coke machines, but instead of soda, they held the horrifically damaged bodies of what I initially thought were children. The truly unsettling part? A closer look revealed some of those figures were actually quite elderly. Almost all of them were brutally broken and twisted, like victims of a terrible crash – it was a deeply disturbing sight.

The story gained attention again in February when Donald Trump mentioned potentially releasing government files about UFOs. Roger Stone, enthusiastic about this, shared the old story about Nixon and Gleason on X, hoping for more information to come out. Eventually, Barack Obama was asked if aliens were real, and he jokingly said they weren’t being hidden—unless there was a massive, secret cover-up that even he, as president, wasn’t aware of.

Spielberg’s Disclosure Day Plays the Gleason Story Straight

The film Disclosure Day playfully reimagines a supposed real event from February 18, 1973, showing President Nixon giving a celebrity a tour to view alien beings. The film acknowledges the story that these aliens were severely damaged, perhaps from a crash or being shot down, and visually reflects this in its depiction of their appearance.

Interestingly, the documentary Disclosure Day takes a similar approach to past claims about President Obama – it suggests there’s a massive cover-up that has been kept secret even from those in power. The film argues that once a president leaves office after eight years, they’re no longer considered reliable enough to be entrusted with sensitive information like this. Essentially, it implies that even Donald Trump wouldn’t be able to reveal UFO records if he didn’t already have access to them.

Read More

2026-06-13 18:41