‘Will & Grace,’ ‘American Horror Story,’ and ‘Hearts Afire’ star Leslie Jordan, an Emmy-winning actor, writer, and singer, has passed away. He was 67.
Jordan struck the side of a building at Cahuenga Boulevard and Romaine Street while driving in Hollywood on Monday morning. He may have experienced a medical emergency of some kind.
In addition to “The Help,” “The Cool Kids,” and “Call Me Kat,” which is currently airing its third season on Fox, Jordan was a seasoned actress. He received an Emmy Award in 2006 for his performance as Beverly Leslie, Karen’s sexually ambiguous socialite foe, on the comedy series “Will & Grace.”
He appeared in movies like “Ski Patrol,” “Roadside Rodeo,” “Love Ranch,” “Southern Baptist Sissies,” and “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” as well as television shows like “Ally McBeal,” “Ugly Betty,” “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” “Hidden Palms,” “Star Trek: Voyager,” “Caroline in the City,” “Pee-We
Jordan appeared again in the “Coven,” “Roanoke,” and “1984” episodes of Ryan Murphy’s “American Horror Story” and played three different roles over the course of three different seasons.
As Earl “Brother Boy” Ingram in the stage play “Sordid Lives,” which was later turned into a cult romantic comedy film of the same name in 2000, Jordan played one of his most well-known parts. His first autobiographical stage production, “Hysterical Blindness and Other Southern Tragedies That Have Plagued My Life Thus Far,” ran off-Broadway at the SoHo Playhouse for seven months in 1993. In the performance, which detailed Jordan’s early experiences in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the actor performed satirical songs about racism and homophobia while being accompanied by a gospel choir. Variety complimented Jordan’s “endearing stage presence” and dubbed the play “bittersweet and amusing” at the time it was produced.
Jordan rose to fame on social media in 2020 after uploading amusing videos that gained him millions of Instagram followers.
In 2021, Jordan issued a gospel CD named “Company’s Comin’.” Later that year, he participated as a special guest panellist on “The Masked Singer,” singing the gospel song “This Little Light of Mine.”
Jordan, an LGBTQ icon, was given the Timeless Star award by GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics in 2021. In 2013 he served as a guest judge on “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” and in 2022 he served as a guest director. He worked with Project Angel Food and the AIDS Project Los Angeles during the AIDS crisis.
Jordan was reared a Southern Baptist and was born and raised in Tennessee. He relocated to Los Angeles in 1982, and a few years later he started to accumulate credits. He struggled with drug and alcohol problems beginning in his 20s. Jordan announced in 2010 that he has been sober for 13 years.
The absence of Leslie Jordan’s love and light has undoubtedly made the world a much darker place, according to Jordan’s agent David Shaul. He was not only a huge talent and a pleasure to work with, but he also offered the country an emotional haven during one of its most trying moments. His magnificence as a son, brother, artist, comic, partner, and human being more than made up for his short stature. The only comfort one can have right now is the knowledge that he left this planet at the pinnacle of both his professional and personal lives.