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He was known for his witty and often wicked sense of humour, but Leslie Jordan was far more than just a laugh a minute.
In what would be his final interview before his death, the 61-year-old told CBS Mornings how helping others after a lifetime of battling alcoholism had given him happiness.
“You know you learn that in recovery very early on, that the way in which to stay clean and to stay sober is to be of service to another, and that takes you out of yourself,” he said.
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“The only thing that fame gives you is a platform,” he continued. “And then you have to decide, am I gonna give or am I gonna take? And I want to give – I want to leave a mark in some ways.”
The pint-sized star died after suffering what's believed to cardiac arrest at the wheel of his BMW, causing him to crash into the side of a building in Hollywood.
Having starred in such series as Will & Grace, Murphy Brown and American Horror Story, he'd experienced a career resurgence curing Covid with his hilarious videos on social media.
His short clips, in which he’d sometimes just bemoan the boredom of lockdown, saw his Instagram account explode from around 80 000 to six million in a matter of weeks. He also became a sensation on TikTok.
Speaking to CBS, Leslie said he never thought he’d go viral on social media.
“Give me a good pandemic, and I’ll flourish,” he laughed. “I don’t know what happened. People have said to me, ‘What's the secret?’ I have no idea. It would jump a million a day.
“I was just thinking, ‘My gosh, who are these people that want to hear what I have to say?’ It was just the innocence of it, I guess.”
It’s since emerged he was on his way to the set of his comedy TV series Call Me Kat (starring Mayim Bialik of Big Bang Theory fame) when he suffered a fatal heart attack.
According to sources close to the actor, he’d been complaining recently of shortness of breath and had become so concerned he’d set up an appointment with a cardiologist. Sadly, it was an appointment he'd never keep.
Sources: dailymail.co.uk, tmz.com
