<\/p>\n
By Sonia Rao<\/strong><\/p>\n Actor Leslie Jordan died on Monday in Los Angeles, according to his agent. Jordan was reportedly in a car accident, though his cause of death was not confirmed. He was 67 years old.<\/p>\n While known in recent years for appearing in the television series \u201cAmerican Horror Story\u201d, \u201cWill &Grace\u201d and \u201cCall Me Kat\u201d, Jordan became a viral internet sensation early in the pandemic because of videos he posted to Instagram. <\/p>\n He filmed himself doing all sorts of humorous activities, from baton twirling as exercise to singing \u201cLizzo\u201d while impersonating Sia with a fringed pillow atop his head. <\/p>\n At the time of his death, Jordan had 5.8 million followers and nearly a 1\u00a0000 posts on the platform.<\/p>\n Jordan\u2019s agent, David Shaul of the BRS\/Gage talent agency, said: \u201cThe world is definitely a much darker place today without the love and light of Leslie Jordan.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot only was he a mega talent and joy to work with, but he provided an emotional sanctuary to the nation at one of its most difficult times,\u201d Shaul wrote, referring to the Instagram videos Jordan filmed during lockdown. <\/p>\n \u201cWhat he lacked in height he made up for in generosity and greatness as a son, brother, artist, comedian, partner and human being. <\/p>\n \u201cKnowing that he has left the world at the height of both his professional and personal life is the only solace one can have today.\u201d<\/p>\n In an interview with \u201cThe Washington Post\u201d in April, Jordan said he joined Instagram at the urging of casting executive Tess Sanchez Greenfield, who said it would be \u201cperfect for you\u201d.<\/p>\n His follower count grew swiftly as his videos were widely reposted \u2013 at first by cast mates such as Megan Mullally, he said, and then by absolute strangers. <\/p>\n At one point, according to Jordan, he \u201cposted something a tiny bit off-colour once and something called \u2018the best of Grindr\u2019 some sort of hookup site, posted it.\u201d<\/p>\n Jordan didn\u2019t fully understand his rise to internet fame at the time \u2013 \u201cWho are these people? I had no idea,\u201d he initially responded to the surge in followers \u2013 but embraced it all the same.<\/p>\n \u201cBut anyway, it\u2019s all good,\u201d he told The Post. \u201cIt\u2019s all good to be 65 and have a million followers on the internet. Not the path I planned, but you go with the flow.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to his comedic talents, Jordan earned praise for being open about his sexuality. <\/p>\n He spoke about what it was like to be a gay man who grew up in the church on Shania Twain\u2019s radio show last year: \u201cI firmly believe that God made me this way. I\u2019m not a mistake,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n After learning of Jordan\u2019s death, playwright Jeremy O Harris tweeted that Jordan was \u201ctruly one of the spirits that made ageing as a queer man feel more exciting than existing in the present.\u201d<\/p>\n Eric McCormack, who played the titular Will on \u201cWill & Grace\u201d, said he was \u201ccrushed to learn about the loss of \u2026 the funniest and flirtiest southern gent I\u2019ve ever known \u2018who brought joy and laughter\u2019 to the series. <\/p>\n \u201cGone about 30 years too soon. You were loved, sweet man,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Actor Sean Hayes, who also starred on the long-running show, shared a photo of himself with Jordan and wrote on Twitter that \u201cLeslie Jordan was one of the funniest people I ever had the pleasure of working with. Everyone who ever met him, loved him. There will never be anyone like him.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack\u00e9e Harry, who tweeted that she was \u201ccompletely heartbroken\u201d, shared a clip of Jordan appearing alongside her in the sitcom \u201cThe Cool Kids\u201d.<\/p>\n She said: \u201cThis man was never afraid to act a fool! The smiles he brought to our faces doing so can never be counted. They\u2019re endless.\u201d<\/p>\n Actress Marlee Matlin remembered working with Jordan on her first television series, \u201cReasonable Doubts\u201d, adding that he was \u201cat the top of his game and had so much to look forward to.\u201d<\/p>\n Mayor Tim Kelly of Chattanooga, Tennessee, Jordan\u2019s hometown, shared a photo of himself with Jordan and described the actor on Twitter as \u201ca Chattanooga legend and national treasure who brought joy and hope to millions, leaving behind a lasting legacy of love and acceptance.\u201d<\/p>\n Actresses Lynda Carter and Hannah Waddingham were among those to note how Jordan\u2019s videos had cheered them up during the pandemic. <\/p>\n \u201cWhat a feat to keep us all laughing and connected in such difficult times. It feels so cruel that this could happen to such a beautiful soul,\u201d Carter said. <\/p>\n Waddingham expressed gratitude for Jordan\u2019s \u201cselfless warmth and humour through world lockdown,\u201d saying she felt \u201cso blessed I got to tell you in person what you\u2019d meant to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Sonia Rao Actor Leslie Jordan died on Monday in Los Angeles, according to his agent. Jordan was reportedly in a car accident, though his cause of death was not confirmed. He was 67 years old. While known in recent years for appearing in the television series \u201cAmerican Horror Story\u201d, \u201cWill &Grace\u201d and \u201cCall Me […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1238564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-celebrity-gossip"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1238564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1238564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1238564\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1238564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1238564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1238564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}