Katie reflects on losing a friend.
The world lost actor and comedian Leslie Jordan yesterday at the age of 67. Jordan was known for his work on Will & Grace, then turned into an unlikely social media celebrity, thanks to the funny and heartfelt videos he posted on Instagram in the early days of the pandemic. Here, Katie reflects on their friendship.
I loved Leslie Jordan. It was a thoroughly modern friendship — like so many of you, I became captivated by Leslie when he started posting about his daily musings on Instagram. I reached out and asked if we could do an lG live, and that’s when it all started.
We stayed in touch and he called me when he was visiting friends on Long Island. I invited him over for sweet tea and we danced in my backyard. When John and I spent time in LA last winter, we had lunch and he had us in stitches throughout the meal. We said goodbye and he zoomed away in his convertible BMW.
There was something so sweet and gentle about Leslie. He was hilarious of course, but he really cared about other people. His stories about his parents — and the fact that when he was a little boy, his father bought him a bride doll — made me cry. (His father died when he was 11.) It wasn’t easy for him, growing up in the 1950’s. Then he became an important figure in the gay community. Leslie was devoted to his mom, who died last spring, and his twin sisters, still living in Chattanooga.
When I asked Leslie if he’d be a special guest on my book tour, he didn’t hesitate to fly up to San Francisco from LA. The crowd was just as charmed and mesmerized by him as I was.
We were new friends, but good friends. Thank you Leslie for your tenderness, humor, and for all the goodness you brought to this very screwed-up world. The best gift Leslie gave us was laughter, so I’d love for you all to watch our conversation right here:
