Leslie Jordan

Leslie Allen Jordan (born April 29, 1955) is an American actor and writer. He is best known for his roles as Lonnie Garr in Hearts Afire (1993–1995), Beverly Leslie in Will & Grace (2001–2006, 2017–2020), several characters in the American Horror Story franchise (2011–present), and Sid in The Cool Kids (2018–2019). One of his best-known onstage performances was in Sordid Lives, where he played Earl "Brother Boy" Ingram, a role he took to the big screen in the popular cult film of the same name.

Leslie Jordan
Jordan in 2007
Born	Leslie Allen Jordan (1955-04-29) April 29, 1955 Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States[1]
Occupation	Actor writer
Years active	1986–present
Height	4 ft 11 in (1.50 m)[2]

Early life

Leslie Jordan was born and raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee.[2] In a 2014 interview, Jordan said that he had a difficult time growing up Southern Baptist. "I was baptized 14 times. Every time the preacher would say, 'Come forward, sinners!' I'd say 'Oooh, I was out in the woods with that boy, I better go forward.'"[3]

During an appearance on Today with Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford, Jordan discussed his personal life and career. He described his mother, Peggy Ann, as being supportive and accepting though never truly understanding him. When asked about his mother, he said she lives in Chattanooga and is a private woman. Jordan's father was a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army and died in a plane crash when Jordan was 11 years old.[2]

Jordan moved to Los Angeles in 1982 where he became involved with drugs and alcohol and was arrested several times. When Jordan was 17 years old, he began to journal daily, which helped him recover from drug and alcohol abuse.[4] In 2010, Jordan told talk show host Wendy Williams that he had been sober for thirteen years.[5] In the same appearance Jordan said that before he gave up drinking, he once shared a cell with Robert Downey Jr., and when they both appeared later on Ally McBeal, Downey couldn't quite place where they had met before.[5]

Early in the AIDS crisis, Jordan became involved in AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) as a buddy and as a food delivery person for Project Angel Food.[6]

Career

Jordan is recognized for his diminutive size and Southern drawl.[2] He appeared as newspaper editor Mr. Blackly in the movie The Help.[7] His television career includes guest appearances on Murphy Brown, Will & Grace, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Star Trek: Voyager, Caroline in the City, Pee-Wee's Playhouse, Reba, Boston Public, Boston Legal, Nash Bridges, American Horror Story and Hearts Afire.[8] He guest-starred on the comedy-drama Ugly Betty as celebrity-trasher Quincy Combs. In 2007, Jordan starred as Jesse Joe in the short-lived CW television program Hidden Palms, and portrayed the ski patrol director in Ski Patrol.[9]

On the television series Will & Grace, Jordan played Karen's pretentious, sexually ambiguous rival Beverley Leslie[10] for which he received an Emmy Award for Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series at the 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards in 2006. His Emmy Award earned him an invitation to present the awards for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series and Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series at the 2006 Emmy Awards with Cloris Leachman a week later.[11]

Jordan starred in the pilot episode of Laugh Out, the world's first interactive, gay-themed comedy show.[10] On August 18, 2014, Jordan became a housemate in the celebrity edition of the British reality game show Big Brother. He was the second person to leave the Big Brother house (August 29, 2014). In January 2015, Jordan guest starred in the British sitcom Benidorm for two episodes as the character "Buck-A-Roo".

Jordan is an accomplished stage actor and playwright. In one of his best-known performances onstage, he played Earl "Brother Boy" Ingram in Sordid Lives, a role he took to the big screen in the popular cult film of the same name. Jordan reprised the role in the Sordid Lives: The Series, a televized spin-off of the movie airing on Logo where he plays a character that is in a mental hospital.[12] He wrote and starred in the autobiographical play Lost in the Pershing Point Hotel, which was also made into a motion picture. In 2004, he toured the country performing his one-man stage comedy, Like a Dog on Linoleum, to generally favorable reviews.[13][14]

Jordan's first autobiographical stage show was called Hysterical Blindness and Other Southern Tragedies That Have Plagued My Life Thus Far,[6] with music and lyrics by Joe Patrick Ward.[15][16] The production, in which Jordan was backed by a gospel choir singing satirical songs about racism and homophobia, was produced off-Broadway at the SoHo Playhouse and ran for seven months. Next, he distilled his experiences growing up as an effeminate, tiny boy in the Southern United States and in show business into an autobiographical one-man show, My Trip Down the Pink Carpet. During the opening of My Trip Down the Pink Carpet, Jordan's microphone stopped working, but he kept on with the show like nothing happened, and his show was a success.[6] After touring the nation for several months with the production, the show opened off-Broadway at the Midtown Theater on April 19, 2010. The show is produced by Jordan's friend, actress Lily Tomlin. Jordan announced on The Paul O'Grady Show that he will be bringing his show to London's Apollo Theatre.

On November 1, 2017, Jordan appeared in the new British television drama Living the Dream produced jointly by Sky and Big Talk Productions but branded as a Sky Original Production.[17]

In the fall of 2018, Jordan starred in the Fox network sitcom The Cool Kids, along with Martin Mull, Vicki Lawrence and David Alan Grier.[18]

On April 2, 2020, it was announced Jordan will play the lead role of Phil in the Fox sitcom Call Me Kat, along with Mayim Bialik, Swoosie Kurtz, Kyla Pratt and Cheyenne Jackson.[19]

As of July 29, 2020, Jordan has 5 million Instagram followers. He celebrated his milestone of 1 million followers by making a video wearing sunglasses and a fancy little suit for his followers. His following grew substantially in response to his posts during the COVID-19 pandemic.[20]

Personal life

Jordan is openly gay and lives in Los Angeles, California.[21][22]

Credits

Writer

• Lost in the Pershing Point Hotel (play)
• My Trip Down the Pink Carpet (2008)
• Hysterical Blindness and Other Southern Tragedies That Have Plagued My Life Thus Far

Stage

• Found a Peanut (1986)[23]
• Sordid Lives (1996)
• Southern Baptist Sissies
• Lost in the Pershing Point Hotel
• Like a Dog on Linoleum (2004)
• My Trip Down the Pink Carpet (2010)
• Lucky Guy (2011), off-Broadway musical in the role of Big Al Wright

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	Moving	Customer at Bar
1990	Ski Patrol	Murray
1992	Hero	Court Official
1992	Missing Pieces	Krause
1993	Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday	Shelby
1995	Black Velvet Pantsuit	Ernie
1996	Shoot the Moon
1997	Two Weeks from Sunday		25 minutes
1998	Goodbye Lover	Homer
1998	Hamburger Helper	Larry Lewis	22 minutes
1999	Eat Your Heart Out	Director
2000	John John in the Sky	Tot Dixon	a.k.a. I'll Wave Back
2000	Lost in the Pershing Point Hotel	Storyteller	writer (play; screenplay)
2000	Sordid Lives	Earl "Brother Boy" Ingram
2001	The Gristle	Jake Bennett
2003	Farm Sluts	Coroner	17 minutes
2003	Moving Alan	Arthur
2004	Home on the Range	Additional Voice	voice actor
2004	Madhouse	Dr. Morton
2005	Sissy Frenchfry	Principal Principle	28 minutes
2007	Watch & Learn	Martin	12 minutes
2007	Undead or Alive: A Zombedy	Padre
2008	Roadside Romeo	Additional voices
2009	Eating Out 3: All You Can Eat	Harry
2010	Demonic Toys: Personal Demons	Prof. Butterfield
2010	Love Ranch	Mr. Hainsworth
2010	Leslie Jordan: My Trip Down the Pink Carpet	Himself	Stand Up
2011	The Help	Mr. Blackly
2011	Mangus!	Bruce Jackson
2009	Rockabilly Baby		writer (play)
2012	Hollywood to Dollywood	Himself
2012	Yahoo! News/Funny or Die GOP Presidential Online Internet Cyber Debate	Ron Paul
2013	Southern Baptist Sissies	Peanut
2014	Lucky Dog	Mr. Kaufman
2017	A Very Sordid Wedding	Earl "Brother Boy" Ingram
2018	The Last Sharknado: It's About Time	Benjamin Franklin	Television film

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	The Fall Guy	Malone
1986	The Wizard	Jimmy
1987	CBS Summer Playhouse	Worm
1988	Frankenstein General Hospital	Iggy
1988	Night Court	Irwin
1989	Midnight Caller	Little Bob Johnson
1989	Murphy Brown	Kyle
1989	Newhart	L. Gardner
1989	The People Next Door	Truman Fipps	10 episodes
1989	The Road Raiders	Whip	uncredited
1990	American Dreamer	Short
1990	Babes	Clem
1990	Pee-wee's Playhouse	Busby
1990	Sugar and Spice	Monsieur Jacques
1991	Top of the Heap	Emmet Lefebvre	6 episodes
1992	Bodies of Evidence	Lemar Samuels	16 episodes
1992	Perfect Strangers	Rob Bob Phillips
1992	Reasonable Doubts	Asst. Public Defender Clifford Sizemore Marvin Sizemore	16 episodes
1993	Getting By	Mr. Bergner
1993	Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman	Alan Morris / The Invisible Man
1993	Nurses	Mr. Cooley Waits
1993	Reasonable Doubts	Asst. Public Defender Clifford Sizemore	16 episodes
1994	Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman	William Wallace Webster Waldecker / Resplendant Man
1993–1995	Hearts Afire	Lonnie Garr	28 episodes
1995	Charlie Grace	Darnell Sims
1995	Courthouse	Mr. Barnes
1996	Coach	Blatt
1996	Star Trek: Voyager	Kol	Episode: "False Profits"
1996	Mr. & Mrs. Smith	Earl Borden
1997	Arli$	Skip Lloyd
1997	The Pretender	Pat
1997	Weird Science	Boyd Butayne
1997	Wings	Teddy Kolb
1998	Buddy Faro	Frankie Delgado
1998	Caroline in the City	Dr. Leslie
1998	Dharma & Greg	Kenny
1998	Ellen	Top Studio Executive
1998	Maximum Bob	Cletus Huntley
1998	Pacific Blue	Bo Nyby
1999	Martial Law	Horatio Hawkins
2000	Any Day Now
2000	FreakyLinks	Hotel Clerk
2000	Nash Bridges	Walter Marley
2000	Sabrina, the Teenage Witch	Chuck
2000, 2002	Son of the Beach	Jordan	2 episodes
2000	The Strip	Gaston
2001	Ally McBeal	Dr. Benjamin Harris
2001–2002	Boston Public	Dr. Benjamin Harris	Recurring role; 5 episodes
2001–2006, 2017–2020	Will & Grace	Beverley Leslie	12 episodes
2003	Judging Amy	Reginald Hoyt
2003–2004	Reba	Terry (The jeweler from the rings)	Recurring role; 3 episodes
2003	Tracey Ullman in the Trailer Tales	Rog Monroe
2004	George Lopez	Doctor
2004	Monk	Town Official
2005–2006	American Dad!	Beauregard LaFontaine	voice actor; 2 episodes
2005	Boston Legal	Bernard Ferrion	Recurring role; 6 episodes
2005	Chasing Christmas	Past
2007	Ugly Betty	Quincy Combs	Episode: "Punch Out"
2007	Hidden Palms	Jesse Jo	Recurring role; 5 episodes
2008	12 Miles of Bad Road	Kenny Kingman	Recurring role; 6 episodes
2008	Privileged	Dale Dart
2008	Sordid Lives: The Series	Earl "Brother Boy" Ingram	10 episodes
2008	Under the Pink Carpet	Himself	2 episodes
2009	Alligator Point
2009	Glenn Martin, DDS		voice actor
2011	Desperate Housewives	Felix Bergman
2011	Shake It Up	Theodore Van Glorious
2011	Under the Pink Carpet	Himself	2 episodes
2012	DTLA	Theatre Director
2012	The Game
2012	Raising Hope	Reverend Bob
2012	The Secret Life of the American Teenager
2013	American Horror Story: Coven	Quentin Fleming	Recurring role; 3 episodes
2013	Baby Daddy	Edwin the Mall Elf	Episode: "Emma's First Christmas"
2013	RuPaul's Drag Race	Himself	Guest judge on Season 5, Episode 7
2013	Supernatural	Yorkie Mutt	voice actor; Episode: "Dog Dean Afternoon"
2014	Partners	Marion Phillips	Episode: "Jurist Prudence"
2014	Celebrity Big Brother UK	Himself	Series 14, 12 episodes
2015	Benidorm	Buck A. Roo	Series 7, Episodes 1 & 2
2016	Fear, Inc.	Judson
2016	American Horror Story: Roanoke	Ashley Gilbert (reenactor of Cricket Marlowe)	Recurring role; 3 episodes
2016	K.C. Undercover	Cecil B. DeVille
2017–present	Living the Dream	Aiden
2018–2019	The Cool Kids	Sid	Main role, 22 episodes
2019	American Horror Story: 1984	Courtney	Recurring role; 4 episodes
2020	Call Me Kat	Phil	Main role

References

1. Biography Archived April 7, 2014, at the Wayback Machine at Leslie Jordan's official website
2. "Leslie Jordan Biography". TV.com.
3. Middleton, Josh (March 12, 2014). "GIRL TALK: Gossiping With Southern Baptist Sissies Star Leslie Jordan". Philly Magazine. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
4. Duerst, Austin (October 16, 2012). "Funnyman Leslie Jordan reflects on 'The Help', 'Will & Grace', 'Ski Patrol' and one-man comedy shows". isthmus.com. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
5. ""Leslie Jordan's Famous Prison Mate," The Wendy Williams Show". youtube.com. April 20, 2010. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
6. Freeman, Chris (2009). "Leslie Jordan: from small screen to big stage". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
7. "Emmy-Winner Leslie Jordan Headlines Tuesday Night Live May 15".
8. "Leslie Jordan reveals how 'The Help' cast rescued a puppy — and who they named it after". EW.com. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
9. "'Will & Grace' actor's viral videos are a beacon of funny in the darkness". TODAY.com. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
10. "Atlanta Entertainment Company to Produce Innovative, Interactive Gay-Themed Comedy Show". prnewswire.com (Press release). Atlanta. May 2, 2015. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
11. Jordan, Leslie (2008). My Trip Down the Pink Carpet. Simon and Schuster.
12. Parks, Tim (August 17, 2006). "The 'Sordid Lives' of 'Southern Baptist Sissies". The Gay and Lesbian Times. Archived from the original on March 2, 2008. Retrieved April 8, 2008.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
13. Nichols, David C. (October 15, 2004). "'Dog on Linoleum' finds firm footing". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
14. Helbig, Jack (August 11, 2005). "Like a Dog on Linoleum". Chicago Reader. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
15. "Theatre Reviews". New York Magazine. June 13, 1994. p. 97 – via Google Books.
16. "Review/Theater; A Hollywood Soul's Trip From Tennessee". The New York Times. May 28, 1994.
17. Dowell, Ben (October 19, 2017). "Philip Glenister and Lesley Sharp are Brits abroad in first look at Sky's new Florida comedy Living the Dream". Radio Times. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
18. Boedeker, Hal (May 14, 2018). "Fox makes room for veteran performers". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
19. Petski, Denise (April 2, 2020). "Leslie Jordan Joins 'Call Me Kat' Fox Comedy Series Starring Mayim Bialik". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
20. https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2020/04/25/leslie-jordan-anderson-cooper-instagram-quarantine-ac360-sot-vpx.cnn
21. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/leslie-jordan-perfectly-loopy-quarantine-videos
22. Butterworth, Benjamin (December 26, 2015). "GT Icons – Will and Grace, Leslie Jordan". Gay Times. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
23. Drake, Sylvie (July 1, 1986). "Stage Review : 'Found A Peanut' As Child's Play". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 31, 2013.

External links

• Official website
• Leslie Battles for Gay Games Glory
• Leslie Jordan Interview
• Leslie Jordan on IMDb
• Leslie Jordan at the Internet Off-Broadway Database