The many facets of a wee man who brought us gargantuian helpings of joy: Leslie Jordan.

Leslie Jordan photo
The many facets of Leslie Jordan

Leslie Jordan died yesterday, and the news hit me hard. I didn’t know the man, but I was fully aware of the countless hours of laughter, promise, insight, storytelling, and zest for life that he’d shared with me and his tens of millions of other fans.

Today I’m looking back—with thanks—at some of those moments, and I’d like to share a couple of them with you.

This one brings warmth and smiles.

These clips will always make me laugh.

This Instagram post makes me reflect.

Yesterday, his agent wrote,
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. What he lacked in height he made up for in generosity and greatness as a son, brother, artist, comedian, partner, and human being. 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.

By Stephen Brockelman

As a Sr. Writer at T. Rowe Price, I work with a group of the best copywriters around. We belong to the broader creative team within Enterprise Creative, a part of Corporate Marketing Services. _____________________________________________ A long and winding road: My path to T. Rowe Price was more twisted than Fidelity’s green line. With scholarship in hand, I left Kansas at 18 to study theatre in New York. When my soap opera paychecks stopped coming from CBS and started coming from the show’s sponsor, Proctor & Gamble, I discovered the power of advertising and switched careers. Over the years I’ve owned an ad agency in San Francisco; worked for Norman Lear on All in the Family, Good Times, Sanford and Son, and the rest of his hit shows; and as a member of Directors Guild of America, I directed Desi Arnaz in his last television appearance— we remained friends until his death. In 1988 I began freelancing full time didn’t look back. In January 2012 my rep at Boss Group called and said, “I know you don’t want to commute and writing for the financial industry isn’t high on your wish list, but I have a gig with T. Rowe Price in Owings Mills…” I was a contractor for eight months, drank the corporate Kool-Aid, became a TRP associate that August, and today I find myself smiling more often than not.

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

Discover more from BrockelPress

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading

Exit mobile version
%%footer%%