A comedian, actor and LGBTQ+ rights activist known for his thick Southern drawl and huge personality, 67-year-old Leslie Jordan died on Monday morning (Oct. 24) in a car crash.
TMZ reported on Tuesday (Oct. 25) that Jordan had been complaining about shortness of breath and "was scheduled to see a cardiologist within the next week to check out his heart, and see if there were any underlying health issues."
Law enforcement told TMZ that Jordan was driving his BMW in Los Angeles when he "suffered some sort of medical emergency" and crashed his vehicle into the side of a building.
Jordan was born on April 29, 1955 in Chattanooga, Tenn. Beyond his Emmy award-winning run on the sitcom Will & Grace, the beloved actor's TV show filmography includes Star Trek: Voyager, Murphy Brown, American Horror Story, Hearts Afire, The Cool Kids, Ugly Betty and Call Me Kat. He also appeared in movies (The Help) and plays (Sordid Lives).
During the pandemic lockdown, Jordan's humor and taste in western wear made him a social media superstar.
Jordan debuted as a country-gospel singer with his 2021 album Company's Comin'. He sang songs from his Southern Baptist upbringing with an impressive cast of friends: Dolly Parton, Tanya Tucker, Katie Pruitt, Charlie Worsham, TJ Osborne, Travis Howard, Danny Myrick, Brandi Carlile, Ashley McBryde, Chris Stapleton, Morgane Stapleton and Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder.
"I wanted it to have a sound of everybody just sitting in the living room and saying, 'Oh, you remember this old hymn,' the way my family did," Jordan told the Tennessean. "My dad would pull out an old baritone ukulele, and my uncle would pull out his banjo, and as kids we'd sit there and sing along. It was wonderful to be able to revisit all those songs that I loved growing up."
A Grand Ole Opry debut followed for Jordan in 2021, as did a role in Brothers Osborne's "I'm Not For Everyone" music video.
An autobiography titled How Y'all Doing?: Misadventures and Mischief from a Life Well Lived was released in 2021.
His mother, Peggy Ann Jordan, died in May at age 86.
