Dolly Parton joined the cast of the Fox sitcom Call Me Kat last Thursday (Jan. 5) for a sweet tribute to the late Leslie Jordan. Jordan played Phil, a character written off in the Season 3 winter premiere through an out-of-country move with his partner to Tahiti.
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"Usually at a memorial, people talk about somebody," Parton said during a surprise appearance. "Well, I'm going to talk to you, because there is that place on the other side, and I'm certainly going to see you there, little brother. You left a lot of people here with a lot of precious, precious memories. Everybody loved you, but I doubt many of them loved you more than I did."
Parton also sang part of "Where the Soul Never Dies," which she recorded as a duet with Jordan for his collaborative 2021 gospel album Company's Comin'.
"I just want you to know that we all love you," she continued. "We all miss you, and I bet you're having a big laugh over all of us being sad and sorrowful, and I know that would be the last thing you would want us to be. You made us happy while you were here and we're happy that you're at peace. I just want you to know that I will always love you. Goodbye, my sweet Leslie. See you over there."
Earlier that week, series star and producer Mayim Bialik teased a tribute to Jordan featuring a surprise guest he "admired and considered a mentor of his."
During the same segment, Bialik and fellow actors Cheyenne Jackson, Kyla Pratt, Julian Gant and Swoosie Kurtz broke the fourth wall to celebrate Jordan's life and legacy.
"What we've done here is given Phil a happy ending. What we're really doing is mourning the loss of our dear friend, Leslie Jordan," Bialik said. "He is irreplaceable. We will miss him very much. Love, light, Leslie."
