"You've always got to have a punchline to end it with."
Actor Leslie Jordan, 67, died on the morning of October 25, 2022. A day before his death, Jordan posted a video on Instagram singing a Christian hymn with a heaven theme. The hymn is called When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder. He sang, "When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound and time shall be no more / And the morning breaks, eternal, bright and fair. When the saved of Earth shall gather over on the other shore / And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there."
He was a devout Southern Baptist. The lyrics of the song are now being seen as poignant by his social media followers. A user wrote, "Now that's how you say goodbye. Soar high my friend."
"You were such a bright light, Leslie. Myself, and the rest of the world, we are going to miss you terribly. Such sad news," another person wrote. The actor gained popularity with his roles in popular TV shows like Will & Grace, Hearts Afire, Cool Kids, Call Me Kat, and American Horror Story. He became a social media sensation during Covid-19. He went from having 80,000 to 5.8 million followers. He told TMZ that his secret was just being himself—a silly, funny, goofy, happy-go-lucky senior citizen.
Jordan also acted in movies like The Help, Ski Patrol, Murphy Brown, Ugly Betty, and Boston Public. On Tuesday, he had a medical emergency and his car crashed into the side of a building. He was reportedly declared dead at the scene. He was on his way to the Warner Bros Studio set to act in the series, Call Me Kat in which he was playing the role of a head baker at Kat's cafe in the show. It is based on the British hit sitcom Miranda.
His publicist told BBC, "Not 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," David Shaul said. "Knowing that he has left the world at the height of both his professional and personal life is the only solace one can have today."
The police are unsure if he died because of the collision or due to a medical emergency. Jordan, born in Chattanooga, Tennessee came out as gay to his mother when he was 12 years old. "I told my mother I thought something was up. I didn't even know the word 'gay,'" he told PEOPLE in 2021. "Her only reference would've been, you know, like Liberace, who never even came out. She didn't pull her Bible out, which I thought she would. She said, 'I'm just really afraid that if you choose this path, you'll be ridiculed,'" he recalled, adding that she told him to "'just live your life quietly.' I didn't follow her advice on that one," he said.
When asked his secret to entertaining, he said, "You've got to have a very strong beginning. You've always got to have a punchline to end it with. It's the middle part that's hard."
References:
https://people.com/tv/how-leslie-jordan-got-sober-and-found-acceptance/
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-63381485
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Jason Kempin
