'MO - May 2008 - (Page 15)

now. I was doing this series with Lily Tomlin. You don’t hire Lily Tomlin and Leslie Jordan and give us Linda Bloodworth-Thomason words in a big romping Texas comedy, and not expect it to be a little broad. HBO shelved it, a 25-million-dollar project, and the rumor I heard was because they thought my character was not a good representation of the gay community—because I play a rich old queen who likes hustlers. I don’t know where Linda got that idea. ’mo: Do you think you’re sometimes seen as an unofﬁcial representative for the gay community? LJ: I try to in my real life, you know, do my part. I’m going to give back what I’ve so freely been given. But this is my job. I am certainly not a Tom Cruise, I can’t say I’m not going to take this or that part because it doesn’t reﬂect well on the gay community. Fuck that, I’ve got expensive boyfriends. I have to take what comes my way. ’mo: Speaking of boyfriends, you wrote pretty boldly about some of your relationships in your book, are you dating anybody right now? LJ: No, after 53 years I’m married to my career. It is the one thing that has never let me down. I’ve been doing this 25 years and I know what it takes. You get self-involved. Sometimes I come home after 16-hour-days and there’s just nothing left to give. I can’t even be pleasant. I don’t know how people do it. I’ve got this loft and it is just me. All by myself. I’m old, farty and I snore. I am right now, at 53years of age, like Ms. Jean Brodie. I am in my prime and I am happier than I have ever been. I am not looking for a partner in any way. I do have poodles. They’re straight boys I take with me everywhere. They just kinda take care of me. I call them poodles. I am fascinated with straight boys. I don’t have sex with them … I beg and plead but they never let me, which … is better I suppose. Let me show you a picture of my last poodle. I was in Atlanta, Georgia, in a strip club, I walked into a gay strip joint and this gorgeous man was up on stage and I said, “You’ve danced your last dance.” [Mr. Jordan pulls out a photo.] Oh wait, that’s my mother! ’mo: So how is Sordid Lives the series going? LJ: We’re through shooting. We’ve added Rue McClanahan to the cast and Olivia New moseattle.com ’mo magazine dishes with Will & Grace star Leslie Jordan about his new book and his upcoming performance with the Seattle Men’s Chorus ton-John has recorded eight original songs. We had so much fun. Go to YouTube and see the trailer. It is a romp. ’mo: What can you tell us about your upcoming performances with the Seattle Men’s Chorus? LJ: Well my very ﬁrst show was called Hysterical Blindness and Other Southern Tragedies that have Plagued My Life Thus Far. That ran Off-Broadway for seven months. I don’t sing but I can sell a show. We had a really funny number called, There Ain’t No Queers in Heaven. Mary Bond Davis who created the role of Motormouth Maybelle [in Hairspray] would sing: “They gonna slam those pearly gates Cause there’s only room for straights in the mighty, mighty kingdom of the lord Another queen for Satan’s choir Singing show tunes in the ﬁre.” So we caught the rights for that. When I was a kid, I twirled the baton. I was really good. My mother taught me. So one time my daddy comes home with all his army buddies (he was a Lt. Colonel) and sees me twirling so it inspired a song called, Daddy Watch Me Twirl. We’re borrowing from all my shows. I told the chorus, “if you want to get tears in the audience, there is something about a gay man getting acceptance from a father.” So we found this story that is my story but it is all gay men’s story. My father was killed in a plane crash when I was 11 and my whole life I thought he was disappointed in me. So out of the blue one day my mother shows me all these pictures and on the back, in handwriting that looks just like mine, it said, “My pride and joy.” I found my acceptance 30 years after he died. It’s going to be a great show, a really great show. Mr. Jordan’s book, My Trip Down the Pink Carpet, will be available June, 2008, and he will also be performing with the seattle Men’s chorus, June 27—28 in Mccaw hall. the trevor Project can be found on the Web at www.thetrevorProject.org, or by calling 866.4.u.treVor (866.488.7386). big funny 15 issue #15 | may 2008 http://www.thetrevorproject.org http://moseattle.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of 'MO - May 2008

'MO - May 2008 Contents Letter From the Editor Voices Instant Activist Pet Project 'mo-BIZ: SeattleMeds Pharmacy 'mo-Money: The Federal Reserve 'mo Magazine Interview with Will & Grace Star Leslie Jordan Form & Function: Better Legs By Summer Healthy Alternatives Vancouver: Heading North in Rail Time Book Review: Where Are You Now? By Mary Higgins Clark Seattle International Film Festival Preview Capitol Hill Guide SceneOut: People@Places 'mo-Single Q&A

'MO - May 2008

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