Just two weeks ago, Leslie Jordan sat down with CBS News for her final TV interview.
In the clip, released Tuesday, the late Emmy winner appears enthralled by his late-stage social media fame and new venture as a country singer — while reflecting on his early days and performing “Leslie.” A character actor builds a career typecast. Speaking of Jordan. ,
“Sometimes I get tired of it,” Jordan said, reminiscing on the sassy — and of course, “sissy” — roles and the “personality” that made her work in Hollywood since the mid-’80s. .
Standout credits in his early career were playing the inept secretary on “Murphy Brown” before “Will & Grace” earned him an Emmy winner. Recent projects include working with Ryan Murphy and Lady Gaga on “American Horror Story” and starring as Phil in “Call Me Cat.”
“It’s like, they’ll say, I’ll do a take or something, and they go, ‘Okay, where – talk about Leslie Jordan,'” he said of his trademark line delivery. “And I say, ‘Well, well, that I can do.’ Whatever it is, I don’t know!” Pressed by interviewer Anthony Mason to clarify “Leslie Jordan’s point,” the comedian concluded, “Well, it’s just bright, bubbly.”
The CBS News interview first came together to highlight Jordan’s rise to social media fame during the pandemic, a period of time that saw her go from 80,000 Instagram followers to 6 million.
“I was just thinking, God, who are these people!?” He remembered. “They want to hear what I have to say!”
But Mason and his crew were also interested in learning more about Jordan’s latest foray as a country music singer. He released a country-gospel album titled “Companies Comin'” in April 2021, an effort that stemmed from his Instagram fame.
He explained, “I had a Sunday Instagram hymn recital, where we would sing these old hymns I grew up with, and people started tuning in.” “And so, somehow, we decided to make an album.”
Discussing his forays into the music industry in the midst of filming a music video with country duo Locash and Blanco Brown, Jordan said it was “so unexpected, just to be, you know, in my 60s.”
“I’m a country music singer now,” he said. “I love Nashville and the way Nashville embraced me and was taken seriously. And made an album with Dolly Parton, Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlyle. You know, it’s something.”
Jordan died suddenly on Monday morning while he was driving in Hollywood, leading to a single car accident.
Watch CBS News’ full video interview, which is embedded above.
