Be of Service to Others
Remembering Actor Leslie Jordan
When the week began, I was wrestling with a few topics to write about for today’s post. It was between a ghost encounter in one of the apartments I lived in or how I missed street photography. But, as I scrolled through Twitter early Monday afternoon, I discovered that actor Leslie Jordan had passed away. At first, I thought it was a prank but Variety magazine reported it. “Oh no!” I scrolled through my phone checking other news sources. Crap, it’s true! My heart sank. It felt like a lamp post croaked and I was left in the dark standing on a street corner. I was taken aback at how affected I was by this terrible news. I gave it a few days before resuming to write, perhaps letting my emotions settle down so I could return to my previous topics. Alas, something tugged at me to stick with this one. Somehow, Leslie’s personal story resonated with last Sunday’s post, A Letter to my Younger Self :
I wrote:
Each person has this light inside of them but not everyone has the courage to be the light bearers who will navigate us through the darkness of this world.
Hands down, Leslie Jordan was a light bearer!
I am one of the millions who found comfort in his humor when the world was on lockdown two years ago. I looked forward to his daily posts on Instagram. I played them a couple of times so my day ended on a joyful note. He soothed us with his jokes, pillow talks, and playful antics. I already loved his character Beverly Leslie on Will and Grace but it was his authenticity that drew me to him. His hair was disheveled like the rest of us and he pranced about his one-bedroom condo wearing slippers, shorts, and a t-shirt, sometimes he only wore a bathrobe. He was true to himself— an unapologetic flamboyant gay man from the south, who grew up in church and had this tremendous gift of wit and humor.
I further wrote in A Letter to my Younger Self:
Your north star is when you tie your gifts and abilities with purpose.
Fifteen years ago and long before millions took notice, Leslie traveled around the country sharing his message of serving others–a valuable lesson he learned at age 42 from his spiritual teacher during his recovery. This shift in mindset changed the course of his life. It became his north star. He found purpose by using his gifts and abilities to serve others. Listen to Leslie talk about his transformation in this 2007 video recorded at Google HQ:
He also sang church hymns during the pandemic. “These songs were a fabric of my youth. I personally draw so much comfort from these songs,“ he said during a behind-the-scenes video at his Grand Ole Opry debut. An unexpected singing career blossomed which led to recording duets with famous country singers like Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, Loretta Lynn, and Brandi Carlile among others. The album of hymns is called Company’s Comin.’ My eyes watered as I realized the magnitude of God’s work in his life. Leslie planted many seeds and I know for sure that God will someday make them grow.
Oh, Leslie. You brought so much light, love, and joy to so many. Thank you for sharing your gift and spreading your message of service to others. You will be missed! As I write this, I am imagining him sashaying towards the pearly gates of heaven twirling a baton and saying, “This is Leslie Alan Jordan reporting for duty!”
Rest in Peace, Leslie.
His “seeds” are growing in you, what a wonderful tribute.
I just read this comment on Leslie's IG post of him singing a Sunday hymn with TJ Osborne at the Opry: I immediately burst into tears. I'm zero religious at all. But I absolutely adored these Sunday sessions because I love music and I love Leslie. I'm so very sad we won't have new ones, but I'm grateful for what we had. There are so many of these comments on his feed! His light shines so bright.