Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Leslie Jordan gifted friends HGTV home renovation

- By Marianne Garvey

Before his death last month, beloved actor Leslie Jordan gifted his best friends a complete home renovation.

In one of his final TV appearance­s, Jordan surprises two friends who he credited with helping him break into Hollywood and get sober. With star renovators Drew and Jonathan Scott, Jordan knocked on the door of Rosemary and Newell Alexander to tell his friends of 40 years they would be receiving a majorupgra­de to their home.

In the episode of the HGTV show “Celebrity IOU,” Jordan laughs as the Scotts put him to work, swinging a sledge hammer into walls on demolition day. At one point, he becomes overcome with emotion for being able to gift his friends with something they’ve always wanted.

The episode premiered

Monday on “Celebrity IOU,” the HGTV show where celebritie­s pick someone meaningful in their lives to surprise with a home makeover. It is now streaming on Discovery+. (CNN and HGTV are both part of Warner Bros. Discovery.)

Jordan, the actor whose Southern drawl made him a comedy and drama standout on “Will & Grace” and other TV shows, died Oct. 24 in an auto accident near his home in Los Angeles. He was 67.

The native of Chattanoog­a, Tenn., 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.

 ?? Dennys Ilic/HGTV ?? Leslie Jordan, center, surprises his friends, Newell and Rosemary Alexander, left, with help from Drew and Jonathan Scott on HGTV's “Celebrity IOU.”
Dennys Ilic/HGTV Leslie Jordan, center, surprises his friends, Newell and Rosemary Alexander, left, with help from Drew and Jonathan Scott on HGTV's “Celebrity IOU.”

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