Dolly Parton once told the late actor and comedian a dirty joke?!
Leslie Jordan racked up some good stories throughout his life. The beloved actor and comedian, who died after a car crash on Monday at age 67, met many famous faces throughout his decades-long career.
In honor of his life, ET is looking back at the five best, most star-studded interactions Jordan ever recounted about his life, from the time Dolly Parton told him a dirty joke to when Harry Styles slid into his DMs.
Keep reading to see those stories and more.
He Was Once Stuck in the Same Jail Cell as Robert Downey Jr.
During a 2020 appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, Jordan revealed that he and Robert Downey Jr. were once "stuck in the same jail cell together."
Jordan was incarcerated in 1997 "for several indiscretions" at the same time that Downey Jr. spent nearly a year in prison for violating parole for drug and weapon charges against him.
Jordan recalled a guard telling him, "We don’t have a bed for Robert Downey Jr. He’s downstairs. You have to give him your bed. You're going to give him your bed and he's going to take your bed."
"We were in a little holding area. I didn’t really get to converse with him at all," Jordan said, before sharing what he and the actor will always have in common. "152, Pod A, Cell 13, top bunk."
During the same interview, Jordan said that he hasn't had a drink since that experience. He reiterated that during a May 2021 interview with ET's Nischelle Turner, where he revealed that his "four unfortunate incarcerations" inspired him to get sober.
"I'd start drinking all of a sudden I'd find myself drunk. [I'd say], 'Well how did I get drunk? Excuse me. Do you know how I got drunk? Do you know how I got drunk? 'Cause I’m drunk and it's two o'clock in the morning and I've got to get home,'" he told ET. "Every time I'd get pulled over by this one car and they'd take me to the Van Nuys holding tank and that woman she'd go, 'Baby, baby, baby. When are you gonna put the plug in the jug? We're not gonna be able to see you on these TV shows anymore.' Of course, my fear was I'd kill a family of five easily... I went immediately into rehab."
Harry Styles Once Slid Into His DMs
During that same chat with ET, which came around the time Jordan's popularity had exploded thanks to his at-home videos during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said that Harry Styles was one of the most memorable celeb DMs he received in response to his posts.
"I was so nervous I couldn't remember exactly what he said, but we talked back and forth a little bit," Jordan recalled. "[There's] a new movie called My Policeman, in which he plays gay. I wrote back, 'Well, you're halfway there with your outrageous outfits and everything.' I said, 'But listen, I've been playing gay for 66 years so if you need any pointers or tips.'"
Jordan continued gushing about the "As It Was" singer, stating, "He's so handsome. I didn't realize he's so handsome."
He Thought Lady Gaga Was an Extra the First Time They Met
In 2016, Jordan appeared in American Horror Story: Roanoke alongside Lady Gaga, but didn't immediately recognize the pop star when they were first introduced.
"The first day, I showed up and there was a girl standing there and they said, 'Leslie, have you met Stefani?' And I thought she was maybe an extra. I didn't know who she was," Jordan said on Trailblazers Radio earlier this year, Entertainment Weekly reported.
As such, Jordan introduced himself to the pop star by stating, "Nice to meet you. Welcome aboard."
"They could tell I didn't know," he said. "They go, 'Leslie, that's Gaga.' I go, 'Huh-uh.' They said, 'Yes, it's Gaga.' And she was just adorable."
According to the outlet, during a 2020 edition of Jordan's Pillow Talk Instagram series, he had an unforgettable filming experience with Gaga too.
"We had a scene where she was gonna blow fairy dust in my face, and then knock me down, and blind me, chase me, and then roll me over, kick me. And then she was supposed to squat down on me and cut me with a knife," he said. "She took me in the woods right before we shot, and she said, 'You know, I tend to sexualize all my acting partners.'"
"I thought, 'Where's this going?'" Jordan continued. "Well honey, she kicked me, rolled me over, and got down on me and started riding me... I didn't know what I was supposed to do! I just laid there and thought, 'How do I get myself into these situations?'"
Dolly Parton Would Tell Him Dirty Jokes
ET's 2021 interview with Jordan also included a fun anecdote about Dolly Parton, whom he teamed up with to record "Where the Soul Never Dies" for his gospel album, Company's Comin'.
"It was like heaven," Jordan said of working with Parton. "It was so simple. People say, 'What's Dolly like?' You know what she's like. You know exactly what she's like, the way she acts, the way she presents herself. I walked away really, really realizing how smart she is. You know and how much her fans mean to her, they are everything."
"She loves a dirty joke here and there," Jordan added. "She'll tell a dirty joke and you'll just about fall on the floor. She has got a funny joke about her post office, her box office... She just giggles and giggles and dares you to say a word."
Following Jordan's death, Parton fondly remembered the comedian on Instagram.
"Well, I am as hurt and shocked as if I have lost a family member. Leslie and I had a special bond, I think the world felt they had a special bond with him," she said in a statement. "I know people always say 'Oh, they will be missed,' but in this case that could not be more true. He will be missed by everyone who knew him personally and by everyone who was entertained by him. Rest in peace lil' brother."
He Wanted to Work With Kacey Musgraves
Following the release of his 2021 album, Company's Comin', Jordan told ET's Rachel Smith that he dreamed of collaborating with Kacey Musgraves.
"Oh my god, I got to have lunch today with Kacey Musgraves and... I thought, gosh, you know, but I didn't bring it up," he said of collaborating with Musgraves. "... It can't just be somebody the producers come and go, 'Here,' and I don't know them. You know, it's gotta be fun and so we've already planned on a second one."
Musgraves was likewise fond of Jordan, taking to her Instagram Story on Monday to pen a tribute.
"What a joyous, effervescent light he was. A true luminary," she wrote alongside a selfie with the late comedian. "I feel lucky to have gotten to spend a little time with him. Always left beaming. Rest in rhinestones, Leslie."
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