The Gay Place (1961) is a series of three novellas, with interlocking plots and characters, by American author Billy Lee Brammer.

The governor himself, Arthur Fenstemaker, a master politician (said to have been based on Brammer's mentor Lyndon Johnson[1]) serves as the dominant figure throughout.

[1][3][4][5][6][7][8] In The Flea Circus, Governor Fenstemaker maneuvers conservative state representative Roy Sherwood into helping him get a liberal appropriations bill passed.

Much of this occurs at the Dearly Beloved Beer and Garden Party (based on Austin’s Scholz Garten),[6] where young politicians drink, philosophize, and gossip.

Several people, including Brammer's wife at the time, claim that Governor Earl Long of Louisiana was a major influence.

[14] Lyndon Johnson claimed not to have read past the first 10 pages of the book, but responded by denying Brammer White House press credentials.

Columbia Pictures agreed to finance it, and Jackie Gleason, who had just played opposite Newman in The Hustler, was cast as Arthur Fenstemaker.