Will & Grace actor Leslie Jordan dies aged 67

Emmy award-winning actor Leslie Jordan, best known for his roles in Will & Grace and American Horror Story, has died aged 67.

The Tennessee native, who won an outstanding guest actor Emmy in 2005 for Will & Grace, appeared recently on the Mayim Bialik comedy Call me Kat and co-starred on the sitcom The Cool Kids.

A statement from his agent said: "The world is definitely a much darker place today without the love and light of Leslie Jordan. Not only was he a mega talent and joy to work with, but he provided an emotional sanctuary to the nation at one of its most difficult times.

"Knowing that he has left the world at the height of both his professional and personal life is the only solace one can have today."

Jordan earned an unexpected new following in 2021 when he spent time during the pandemic lockdown near family in his hometown.

He broke the sameness by posting daily videos of himself on Instagram.

Many of Jordan’s videos included him asking "How ya’ll doin?" and some included stories about Hollywood or his childhood growing up with identical twin sisters and their 'mama,' as he called her.

Other times he did silly bits like complete an indoor obstacle course.

"Someone called from California and said, ’Oh, honey, you’ve gone viral.’ And I said, ’No, no, I don’t have Covid. I’m just in Tennessee," said Jordan at the time.

Soon he became fixated with the number of views and followers he had, because there wasn’t much else going on.

"For a while there, it was like obsessive. And I thought, ’This is ridiculous. Stop, stop, stop.′ You know, it almost became, ’If it doesn’t happen on Instagram, it didn’t happen.’ And I thought, ‘You’re 65, first of all. You’re not some teenage girl.’"

The spotlight led to new opportunities. Earlier this month he released a gospel album called Company’s Comin’ featuring Dolly Parton, Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, Eddie Vedder and Tanya Tucker.

He wrote also wrote a book called How Y’all Doing?: Misadventures and Mischief from a Life Well Lived.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know