Leslie Jordan has Died

Leslie Jordan passed away at the age of 67. The news was reported by TMZ, which also mentioned the alleged cause of death: a car accident that occurred on the morning of Monday, October 24, likely caused by a medical emergency that struck the comedian while driving. Throughout his career, Jordan became one of the most beloved figures in American comedy, known for his roles in American Horror Story, Jason Goes to Hell, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, The Help, Madhouse, and The Strange Case of Dr. Frankenstein. Numerous messages of condolence have poured in from celebrities and fans alike, filling the actor’s social media posts.

Early Life

Leslie Jordan was born on April 29, 1955, and grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He graduated from Brainerd High School. Jordan shared that his mother, Peggy Ann Jordan (née Griffin; 1935–2022), supported and accepted him, though she never fully understood him. Jordan’s father, Allen Bernard Jordan, was a major in the U.S. Army Reserve and died, along with two others, in the crash of a Beechcraft Debonair civilian airplane at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, on March 31, 1967, when Jordan was just 11 years old. In a 2014 interview, Jordan spoke about the challenges he faced growing up as a Southern Baptist. “I was baptized 14 times. Every time the preacher would say, ‘Come forward, sinners!’ I’d think, ‘Oooh, I was in the woods with that boy, I better go on up.'”
Jordan moved to Los Angeles in 1982, where he became involved with drugs and alcohol and was arrested several times. When Jordan was 27, he began keeping a daily journal, which helped him recover from substance abuse. In 2010, Jordan told talk show host Wendy Williams that he had been sober for 13 years. During the same appearance, Jordan shared that before he quit drinking, he once shared a jail cell with Robert Downey Jr. When they later appeared together on Ally McBeal, Downey couldn’t recall where they had met before.

Jordan was openly gay. Early in the AIDS crisis, he became involved with the AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) as a friend and a food delivery volunteer for Project Angel Food.