'152, Pod A, Cell 13, top bunk': Leslie Jordan reveals he and Robert Downey Jr shared a cell in prison
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The 67-year-old comic actor Leslie Jordan, a prime-time Emmy winner for his role on the hit sitcom ‘Will & Grace’, died on Monday, October 24, in a car crash while driving to work in Hollywood. It is believed that the actor suffered a medical injury behind the wheel, crashing his car into the side of a building, as previously reported. Tributes poured in for the beloved actor, who once recalled his time behind bars with Robert Downey Jr.
On May 20, 2020, during 'Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen', Jordan said, according to ET, he once gave up his bunk bed in jail to the future 'Iron Man' star. In a fan question segment, he said reportedly said that he was serving a 120-day sentence in 1997 for "several indiscretions” at the same time when Downey Jr spent nearly a year in prison for violating parole for drug and weapon charges against him. Jordan said that he hasn't "had a drink since," and that he "could’ve gone for, like, a year for everything I did. It was that serious." And on Day 12 he was told, "We’ve got good news, you’re out." Jordan then mentioned about a guard telling him, "We don’t have a bed for Robert Downey Jr. He’s downstairs. You have to give him your bed. You're going to give him your bed and he's going to take your bed." "We were in a little holding area. I didn’t really get to converse with him at all," said Jordan, sharing that he and the actor would always have "152, Pod A, Cell 13, top bunk" in common.
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Struggle with substance abuse
Jordan had opened up about his battle with drug and alcohol addiction before his death. As per People, in 2021, he said, "We were Baptist. There was no alcohol in our family. We were teetotalers. I remember that, all of a sudden, I wasn't that awkward kid who didn't know what to do with his arms, who was afraid the ax was going to fall at any time. It hit me: I was adorable, I was precious. And I stayed precious and adorable for the next 33 years." Jordan started taking drugs after his move from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Los Angeles in 1982. His early success prompted him to get involved with West Hollywood’s gay club scene. Jordan revealed, as quoted by The Sun, “It started on the dancefloors and then it just escalated to where I’d get high at home and forget to leave the house.”
He said, according to People, "I felt it was a lot easier to be gay when I was loaded. My problem was I was a bar drinker. I started getting DUIs. My gosh. And that one year [1997] I got three in a row. They sentenced me to 120 days. The judge told me, 'If you so much as misbehave at all, I'll put you back in jail, Mister Jordan.'"