In the early days of television, one of the most popular entertainers was comedian and actor Jackie Gleason, who starred in “The Honeymooners” and “The Jackie Gleason Show.”

Until 1964, Gleason's variety show was recorded with live audiences at Studio 50 in New York City. But then a friend told him he could play golf all year in South Florida, so Gleason loaded his cast and crew onto train cars and moved the show to the Miami Beach Auditorium, now the Jackie Gleason Theatre of the Performing Arts. He starred in the show until 1970 when CBS canceled it.

Gleason fell in love with Miami and Miami Beach. In 1965, he bought a home abutting the Country Club of Miami's golf course in Hialeah. By 1971, he moved a bit north to the Inverrary golf community near Fort Lauderdale where he hosted the PGA Jackie Gleason Inverrary Classic, attracting the big-name golf pros, celebrities such as Bob Hope and Joe Namath and politicians including Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. It was to be his last home. He lived there with his one true love of his life, Marilyn Taylor (June Taylor's little sister), with whom he fell in love in the 1950s but couldn't marry until 1974 due to divorce and marriage restrictions by the Catholic church.

Marilyn continued to live in the house for several years after Gleason's death in 1987 and sold it with the condition that everything in the house would remain, including furniture and Jackie's personal mementos. The buyer agreed, and now upon his death, the house is once again for sale — almost completely unchanged.

The 4,123-square-foot home has six bedrooms, three bathrooms and Gleason's famous entertainment room with sunken bar and chairs that fit up to the bar “preventing one from falling off” should they enjoy a little too much. Also included is Gleason's large library and a huge dining room. Most of Gleason's furnishings and decor are still intact, and the new owner will have the option of preserving the history or creating a fresh style.

The Great One's last great party and golf lake home in Lauderhill, Fla., is for sale at $299,000.

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