LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Comic strip actor Leslie Jordan, a prime-time Emmy winner for his role on the hit sitcom “Will & Grace” and a social media sensation during the COVID-19 pandemic, died Monday in a car accident while driving to work in Hollywood, a spokesperson said. He was 67.
Jordan apparently had an unspecified “medical problem” at the wheel of his car, and the vehicle hit the side of a building on the way to the Warner Bros. studio set of the TBEN television series “Call Me Kat,” his agent said. Don LeClair.
The petite actor — he was just five feet tall — starred on the show as a newly single gay man who worked as the chef baker at the Louisville, Kentucky, cafe of the lead character, Kat, played by Mayim Bialik. The show, in production for its third season, is largely based on the British sitcom ‘Miranda’.
Jordan was best known to American television audiences for his recurring role on the NBC comedy “Will & Grace”, as the comically conspiracy foil of the Karen character played by Megan Mullally. The role earned him an Emmy in 2006.
He rose to fame among a younger generation of fans with a series of video Instagram posts that went viral during the pandemic.
“The world is definitely a much darker place today without the love and light of Leslie Jordan,” his agent said in a statement. “Not only was he a mega-talent and a joy to work with, but he also provided the nation with an emotional refuge during one of its most trying times. What he lacked in height he made up for with generosity and greatness as a son, brother, artist , comedian, partner and human being.”
(Reporting in Los Angeles by Steve Gorman; editing by Will Dunham)
