Jordan died at the age of 67 Monday after a car accident in Hollywood, California.
Leslie Jordan was as vibrant as ever in one of his final interviews before his death. In a CBS Mornings interview filmed two weeks before the car accident that took his life, Jordan spoke about his rise to fame during the COVID-19 pandemic, his burgeoning country music career and making music with some of Nashville's biggest stars.
"Give me a good pandemic and I flourish," Jordan joked when asked about the Instagram videos that grew his social media following to almost 6 million users. "I started posting on Instagram, and I did two posts a day, I think for 80 days, and then, I don't know what happened."
He continued, "People have said to me, 'What's the secret?' I have no idea. It would jump a million a day."
Jordan attributed the "innocence" of his fun-loving videos to his increased following, though he admittedly told CBS Mornings that he sometimes got tired of putting on that "bright and bubbly" persona he had come to be known for.
The funnyman had a vibrant career long before reaching Instagram fame, first staring in commercials, Jordan worked his way up, eventually winning an Emmy in 2006 for his role as Beverley Leslie on Will & Grace. He also appeared on countless TV shows, including Boston Legal, Reba, Desperate Housewives, American Horror Story and Call Me Kat, the latter of which marked his latest role.
On the film side, he had roles in The Help and Sordid Lives. Jordan was also a theater actor having appeared in My Trip Down the Pink Carpet and The Lucky Guy, and according to his IMDb page, the late actor and comedian was signed on to two upcoming projects -- Strangers in a Strange Land, a film that's currently in post-production, and Ron, a film in pre-production, in which Jordan was cast as the leading role.
Jordan was also pivoting to a new career -- country music. After making records with his idol, Dolly Parton, Chris Stapleton and others, CBS Mornings filmed Jordan on the set of a new music video for a collaboration with country duo LOCASH and Blanco Brown.
"I had a Sunday Instagram hymns singing, where we would just sing these old hymns that I grew up with, and people started tuning in, and so, somehow from that, we decided to make an album" Jordan shared.
It was unexpected, but a fun move for the 67-year-old star, who officially labeled himself a Bona fide country music singer.
"I love Nashville and the way that Nashville embraced me," he recounted. "And to be taken kinda series, and to have made an album with Dolly Parton, Christ Stapleton, Brandi Carlisle -- that's something."
The last moment captured by the outlet was an earlier recording of Jordan singing the same hymn he posted on Instagram Sunday, just one day before his death. In it, he sang a gospel tune about the afterlife, with musician Danny Myrick on guitar.
"When the trumpets of the lord shall sound and time will be no more/ And the morning breaks eternal bright and fair," Jordan sang. "When the saved diverse shall gather over on the other shore/ When the road is calling yonder, I'll be there."
"Sunday Mornin’ Hymn Singin’ with @dannymyrick," Jordan wrote in the caption to the post. "Danny helped me with a new original song that should be comin’ out real soon."
Jordan signed off sweetly, sharing, "Love. Light. Leslie."
Jordan was driving Monday morning when it's suspected he had a medical emergency and crashed into the side of a building, TMZ, who was first to publish the news, reported.
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Fire Department shared more details about the crash, in which they revealed that Jordan was not breathing and had no pulse when authorities arrived at the crash site.
While LAFD responders worked quickly to revive him, after 40 minutes of advanced life support measures, the LAFD, with the concurrence of the medical control Physician at the Paramedic Base Station Hospital, declared him dead at the scene.
An eyewitness at the scene told ET that when they arrived to work across from the crash on Monday, they saw paramedics trying to resuscitate Jordan, but it looked apparent he was already gone.
Days before his death, another eyewitness told ET that they saw Jordan pick up a prescription at CVS in West Hollywood. He left the store holding a couple of small prescription bags with the orders stapled to them, the eyewitness said.
For more on Jordan and his tragic passing, check out the video below.
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