Del Shores to honor late actor Leslie Jordan at Cathedral City LGBT Days

Actor and social media star Leslie Jordan didn’t live in Palm Springs, but according to film director and playwright Del Shores, the city was a “refuge” for the performer, who died last fall.

On Saturday during the Cathedral City LGBT Days at Mary Pickford is D'Place, Shores will host two shows in tribute to Jordan. The event will also feature special guests such as Newell Alexander, Rosemary Alexander, Ann Walker and Emerson Collins.

Shores and Jordan did many appearances at LGBT Days together, including a tribute to Shores’ 2000 film "Sordid Lives,” a comedy about white trash as a gay actor struggles to come out to his eccentric, dysfunctional Texas family. Initially, Shores was hesitant when asked to do a tribute show to Jordan.

“I was booked to do a show right after he passed away and he’s such a part of my shows and I always talked about him. It was just so hard. But when (organizers) contacted me about this, and when I asked my partners in crime to do it with me, they said yes. I thought this will be a wonderful way to honor him in the desert and for people to have their own little memorial for him.”

Last October, while driving to the set of the sitcom “Call Me Kat,” Jordan was driving approximately 20 to 35 miles per hour northbound on Cahuenga Boulevard in Los Angeles when he veered and struck a parked car. Shortly after, Jordan's vehicle jumped a curb and collided into a building. A passerby called 911, and emergency services attempted life-saving measures before pronouncing him dead at the scene.

According to an autopsy report provided to USA TODAY, internal examination by the medical examiner's office found Jordan had "moderate to severe atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease."

Shores said “there were signs” before Jordan died.

“He was having some chest pains, (a doctor) did an EKG and he tested fine. Two days after his death, he was scheduled to have an appointment with a cardiologist. When the autopsy came back, it was a heart attack, one artery was 80% blocked,” Shores said.

Shores said he was teaching in Louisiana when Jordan’s partner called to ask “Have you heard from Leslie” after the studio said he didn’t show up to work. When Jordan’s partner heard from the police about his death, he asked Shores to call Jordan’s sister. But one outlet was already reporting on Jordan’s death.

“F - - king TMZ released it before we could tell anybody that cared about him and they’re awful people. Then, my daughter calls me, she’s hysterical and asked, ‘Is it true?’” Shores said. “It was a whirlwind of tragedy. It’s hard when you lose somebody who isn’t famous, but when someone’s famous, you relive it over and over because it was so intense.”

When asked what he believes Jordan’s legacy in Palm Springs will be, Shores said “he was the greatest storyteller I ever knew.”

“He could stand on stage and make people pee their pants. He was so funny with talking about his life and what was crazy about Leslie is nothing was off limits. I would have to be like, ‘You need to take that off Facebook. You can’t put that up on there.’ But he also gave back to the community. He hosted the Steve Chase Awards one year and anybody that wanted a benefit, they would call Leslie and he would show up if he was available.”

In 2021, Jordan took to Instagram with a video that showed him standing in front of Shores' star near Palm Canyon Theatre. Jordan appeared in Shores' 2000 film "Sordid Lives" as Earl "Brother Boy" Ingram. He described the role in the video as a "Tammy Wynette-obsessed drag queen who gets put in a mental hospital."

"I'm just wondering why he got a star and I didn't?" Jordan said before spilling some of his beverage on the star with an "oops."

“This was our relationship. It was all done in fun and hysterical. He was kind of right, why didn’t he have one? I had one, why did I get one when he didn’t?” Shores said.

If you go

What: Remembering Leslie Jordan event at Cathedral City LGBT Days

When: 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, March 4

Where: Mary Pickford is D'Place, 36-850 Pickfair St., Cathedral City

How much: $25 to $55

More information: cathedralcitylgbtdays.com

Desert Sun reporter Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment. He can be reached at brian.blueskye@desertsun.com or on Twitter at @bblueskye.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Del Shores to honor actor Leslie Jordan at Cathedral City LGBT Days