Leslie Jordan Dead at 67

[+ Lucky]

The news reports that prolific gay actor and star of Will & Grace was found dead today. He was killed in a car crash.

https://nypost.com/2022/10/24/leslie-jordan-dead-at-67-beloved-actor-dies-in-car-crash/

Edited October 24, 2022 by Lucky
new link

[wsc]

I now feel the sting of his best W&G line, addressed to Karen: I thought I smelled gin - and regret!

Goodbye, sweet and funny little man; this tear's for you.

[Guest]

He was a sweet and funny man. I hope he hadn't been drinking when he crashed his car. 

[+ Lucky]

11 hours ago, Unicorn said:

I hope he hadn't been drinking when he crashed his car. 

At this point, what difference would it make?

[Rod Hagen]

I just saw him two weeks ago at WeHo Starbucks.  I used to talk to him during lunch at French Market.  An INCREDIBLE flirt.  :-)

[EZEtoGRU]

TMZ is reporting Jordan likely suffered a "medical emergency" prior to the crash.  He may have already been incapacitated before the crash.  If you look at pictures of his crashed car, it doesn't look bad enough to have caused someone to die as a result of the crash.  It would not surprise me at all to hear he had a heart attack or something like that.

RIP Leslie Jordan.

[Luv2play]

6 hours ago, Rod Hagen said:

I just saw him two weeks ago at WeHo Starbucks.  I used to talk to him during lunch at French Market.  An INCREDIBLE flirt.  🙂

God, is French Market still going? I went there a few times in the 1990's.

[+ jeezopete]

20 hours ago, Unicorn said:

I hope he hadn't been drinking when he crashed his car. 

From The Guardian:

He got sober at the age of 42. “I ended up in the pokey,” he says. “That’s what I tell people: if you want to get sober, try 27 days in the LA men’s county jail. That will sober your ass up.”

It was while serving time for three counts of driving under the influence in a year, in 1997, that he says he crossed paths with the then down-on-his-luck Robert Downey Jr. “They came to me and said: ‘We don’t have any room for him, he’s downstairs waiting, but we can’t let you out until 2am.’ It’s a rule in California, that you can’t let a drunk out until after the bars close.” So the pair became cellmates for a short period until Jordan could be released. In 2001, they met again while filming Ally McBeal, but Downey Jr couldn’t place him. “He said: ‘Didn’t we? Are you?’ and I said: ‘Yep, 152, pod A, cell 13, you was top [bunk], I was bottom.’”

[samhexum]

7 hours ago, Rod Hagen said:

I just saw him two weeks ago at WeHo Starbucks.  I used to talk to him during lunch at French Market.  An INCREDIBLE flirt.  🙂

Eric McCormack called him “the funniest and flirtiest southern gent I’ve ever known."

Edited October 25, 2022 by samhexum
for shits and giggles

[+ friendofsheila]

I saw him on stage in LA.  He was good.  This is sad.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Luv2play said:

God, is French Market still going? I went there a few times in the 1990's.

No, it's not. But you can call me Unicorn. 

Edited October 26, 2022 by Unicorn

[Guest]

I was shocked to hear the news.  Honestly, it seemed like he hadn’t reached his pinnacle yet.  Very sad. 

[samhexum]

It's a shame he had to play the same exact annoying role (the aging, mincing queen) the same exact way in his last couple of roles.  I actually found him quite annoying on FOX's THE COOL KIDS, which had a dream cast, but was awful:  David Alan Grier, Martin Mull, Leslie Jordan, and Vicki Lawrence.

 

[+ sniper]

On 10/25/2022 at 12:20 PM, EZEtoGRU said:

TMZ is reporting Jordan likely suffered a "medical emergency" prior to the crash.  He may have already been incapacitated before the crash.  If you look at pictures of his crashed car, it doesn't look bad enough to have caused someone to die as a result of the crash.  It would not surprise me at all to hear he had a heart attack or something like that.

RIP Leslie 

He was quite short...if the airbag deployed that could have been what did it.

[+ FrankR]

57 minutes ago, sniper said:

He was quite short...if the airbag deployed that could have been what did it.

If I understand it correctly he drove a modern BMW…not a model T Ford. These days steering wheels are adjustable... 🚘

Edited October 26, 2022 by FrankR

[pubic_assistance]

17 hours ago, samhexum said:

It's a shame he had to play the same exact annoying role (the aging, mincing queen) the same exact way in his last couple of roles.  

I was thinking the same thing. 

Am I the only person who felt his character was the equivalent of blackface ? Every stereotype of the gay man wrapped up in one little Southern pocket gay.  I never found it funny. 

Rest in Peace 

The show is finally over.

Edited October 27, 2022 by pubic_assistance
Spelling

[+ sniper]

1 hour ago, FrankR said:

If I understand it correctly he drove a modern BMW…not a model T Ford. These days steering wheels are adjustable... 🚘

It's a documented issue that air bags pose a risk to smaller drivers. Because they are closer to the wheel, the bag is exerting more force at the point it comes into contact with the driver's body.

[samhexum]

 

[Mercury]

I saw those pictures surface but didn’t realize that was him?

[samhexum]

2 minutes ago, Mercury said:

I saw those pictures surface but didn’t realize that was him?

He could've been the Armond Rizzo of the '80s

[samhexum]

Will & Grace fans have Joan Collins to thank for the gift that was Beverley Leslie.

In the wake of Leslie Jordan‘s sudden death this week, former Will & Grace exec producer Jeff Greenstein is revealing the surprising story behind the creation of the late actor’s signature, Emmy-winning role.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about Leslie Jordan, obviously, reflecting upon his brilliance, marveling that I got to spend a few years in the company of such an extraordinary comedic talent — and realized that some of y’all may not know the story of how Beverley Leslie came to be,” Greenstein shared on Instagram late Tuesday. “We’d done an episode late in Season 2… featuring Joan Collins as Helena Barnes, a rival member of Karen’s social circle. Joan was a total delight, and we immediately began contriving ways to have her back on the show.”

Cut to Season 3, “We cooked up a story in which Helena tries to steal Karen’s beloved Rosario away from her,” explained Greenstein, whose credits also include Friends and Desperate Housewives. “The episode climaxed with a high-stakes game of billiards, with the winner getting to ‘keep’ the housekeeper. Now, Helena had been abrasive before, but in writing this episode we pushed her much, much further. And when Joan read the finished script, she passed. Emphatically.”

Instead of tossing out what was “a promising storyline,” Greenstein and Co. “decided to simply develop another rival for Karen,” the EP shared. “And I believe it was [series co-creator] Max Mutchnick who started talking about ‘Beverley Leslie,’ a deeply closeted gay man living off an unseen sugar-mama wife named Crystal. We took the Collins script, did a simple search-and-replace of ‘Helena’ with ‘Beverley,’ polished up a line or two, and casting director Tracy Lilienfield proceeded to work her magic. And from the moment Leslie Jordan stepped on our stage, we knew we’d found gold. Not only was Leslie a comedic genius, and his repartee with Megan Mullally delicious, but his Southernness added a flavor to the show which was irresistible. Any time he wandered into an episode, he brought us a touch of Tennessee Williams.”

[+ Snbrd]

I barely made it through the first season of Will & Grace. Some funny one-liners delivered by annoying, predictable unappealing characters. Hence, I never saw Leslie Jordan on that or any other series I can recall. However, when I did see him, or hear hime being interviewed, I always found him funny. I get the point about playing to a stereotype but I have happy memories of the attention I received at the first gay bars I visited by admittedly older patrons. They included: Napoleon, an eccentric piano bar in Boston's Bay Village; Mr. P's in D.C.; and until not too long ago, Martini's in San Diego. They were full of his type. 

[KrisParr]

Jordan’s “My Trip Down the Pink Carpet” is worth a watch. It’ll no doubt show up on Netflix soon if not already. He was very talented, agile, funny and was more than the stereo-typed characters he played. So much more. 

[+ azdr0710]

thought some clips would be posted by now.....here's something......

 

[BSR]

10 hours ago, azdr0710 said:

thought some clips would be posted by now.....here's something......

 

Thanks for the video.  Maybe Beverley Leslie wasn't gay-positive enough for some, but gotta say, the character made me bust a gut.  Thanks for the many laughs, Beverley.  Rest in peace, Leslie Jordan.