Leslie Jordan, an Emmy-winning actor, writer and singer best known for his roles in “Will & Grace,” “American Horror Story” and “Hearts Afire,” has died. He was 67 years old.
Jordan was driving in Hollywood on Monday morning and crashed into the side of a building on Cahuenga Blvd. and Romaine St. It was suspected that he was suffering from some sort of medical emergency.
Jordan was a veteran actor whose credits also included “The Help,” “The Cool Kids,” and “Call Me Kat,” which is currently airing its third season on Fox. In 2006, he won the Emmy Award for Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his work on “Will & Grace,” in which he played Beverly Leslie, Karen’s sexually ambiguous socialite nemesis.
He appeared in TV shows such as “Ally McBeal”, “Ugly Betty”, “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman”, “Hidden Palms”, “Star Trek: Voyager”, “Caroline in the City” , “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse”, “Reba”, “Boston Public”, “Nash Bridges” and “Boston Legal”, as well as films like “Ski Patrol”, “Roadside Rodeo”, “Love Ranch”, “Southern Baptist Sissies” and “USA vs. Billie Holiday.
Jordan played three different characters on three different seasons of Ryan Murphy’s “American Horror Story,” recurring in installments “Coven,” “Roanoke,” and “1984.”
One of Jordan’s most famous roles was his role as Earl “Brother Boy” Ingram in the stage play “Sordid Lives,” which was later adapted into a cult 2000 romantic comedy of the same name. In 1993 he created his first autobiographical show, “Hysterical Blindness and Other Southern Tragedies That Have Plagued My Life Thus Far”, which ran for seven months off Broadway at the SoHo Playhouse. The play chronicled Jordan’s early life in Chatanooga, Tennessee, and featured the actor backed by a gospel choir singing satirical songs about racism and homophobia. At the time of production of the piece, Variety hailed Jordan’s “endearing stage presence” and called the show “bittersweet and hilarious”.
In 2020, Jordan has become a social media phenomenon, gaining millions of Instagram followers through his comedic videos posted throughout the pandemic.
Jordan released a gospel music album titled “Company’s Comin'” in 2021, and later that year appeared as a guest panelist on “The Masked Singer,” where he performed the gospel standard “This Little Light of Mine”.
LGBTQ icon, Jordan received the GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics’ Timeless Star award in 2021. He appeared on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” as a guest judge in 2013, and again in 2022 as a guest director.
“The world is definitely a much darker place today without the love and light of Leslie Jordan,” said David Shaul, Jordan’s agent. “Not only was he a mega talent and a joy to work with, but he provided an emotional sanctuary for the nation at one of its most difficult times. What he lacked in size he made up for in generosity and in greatness as a son, brother, artist, comedian, partner and human being, knowing that he left the world at the height of his professional and personal life is the only consolation one can have today.
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