Leslie Jordanthe openly gay actor who rose to fame on Will & Grace as the frenemy of Megan Mullally's Karen Walker and was immediately recognizable by his Southern accentdied in a single-car crash in Hollywood on Oct. 24 at age 67, Deadline reported.
According to the LAPD, a driver, likely suffering a medical emergency, drove a car into a wall at the intersection of Cahuenga Boulevard and Romaine Street around 9:45 a.m.
In addition to Will & Grace (for which he won an Emmy), Jordan appeared on TV in American Horror Story, Hearts Afire, Murphy Brown, Ugly Betty, Call Me Kat, Cool Kids and Boston Public. Also, he appeared onstage in the comedy Sordid Lives and reprised the role of "Brother Boy" in the 2000 film adaptation. Call Me Kat, in which Jordan was currently a co-star, paused production after producers received news of Jordan's passing. The Oct. 27 episode, titled "Call Me Uncle Dad," will air as scheduled and will include a tribute.
In 2020, Jordan became a social-media phenomenon, gaining millions of Instagram followers due to his humorous videos posted throughout the pandemic, Variety noted
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."
In a 2006 interview with Windy City Times, Jordan said, "Being an openly gay actor in Hollywood, I always thought there were two ways in which you can combat homophobia. One is through humor, which I learned during dodgeball in junior highkids would shout 'Smear the Queer!' and I had to tap-dance or get creamed. I learned I could be really funny and keep the bullies at bay.
"Another way is putting a face on it. America welcomed these characters [from Will & Grace] into their homes and lived and laughed and loved with them. There was a lot of progress made, and I'm really, really proud to have been a part of that. It could have just been any sitcom, but it wasn't; it was a gay-themed sitcom."