Leslie Jordan, the Emmy Award-winning actress, writer and singer best known for her roles on “Will & Grace,” “American Horror Story” and “Hearts Afire,” has died. He was 67.
Jordan was driving in Hollywood Monday morning and crashed into the side of a building on Cahuenga Blvd. and Romaine St. It was suspected he suffered some kind 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, she won an Emmy Award for guest actress in a comedy series for her work on “Will & Grace,” in which she played Karen’s sexually ambiguous socialite Beverly Leslie.
She appeared on television shows including “Ally McBeal,” “Ugly Betty,” “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” “Hidden Palms,” “Star Trek: Voyager,” “Caroline in the City,” “Pee- Wee’s Playhouse,” “Usury,” “Boston Public,” “Nash Bridges” and “Boston Legal,” as well as films such as “Ski Patrol,” “Rodeo Road,” “Love Ranch,” “Southern Baptist Sissies” and “ USA vs. Billie Holiday.”
Jordan played three different characters in three different seasons of Ryan Murphy’s “American Horror Story”, recurring in “Coven,” “Roanoke” and “1984.”
One of Jordan’s most celebrated roles was his turn as Earl “Brother Boy” Ingram in the drama “Sordid Lives,” which was later adapted into the 2000 romantic comedy film of the same name. In 1993, he created his first autobiographical play, “Hysterical Blindness and Other Southern Tragedies That Have Beset My Life So Far,” which ran for seven months off-Broadway at the SoHo Playhouse. The play focused on Jordan’s early life in Chatanooga, Tenn., and featured the actor backed by a gospel choir singing satirical songs about racism and homophobia. During the production of the play, Different he praised Jordan’s “lovely stage presence” and called the show “sweet and fun.”
In 2020, Jordan became a social media phenomenon, gaining millions of Instagram followers thanks to his humorous videos posted during the pandemic.
Jordan released a gospel music album titled “Company’s Comin'” in 2021 and, later that year, made a guest appearance on “The Masked Singer,” where he sang the gospel standard “This Is My Light.”
An 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 a much darker place today without the love and light of Leslie Jordan,” said David Shaul, Jordan’s agent. “Not only was he a great talent and a joy to work with, but he provided an emotional sanctuary for the nation during one of its most difficult times. What he lacked in height he made up for in generosity and greatness as a son, brother, artist, comedian, lover and human being. Knowing that he has left the world at the peak of his professional and personal life is the only comfort one can have today.
More to come…
