My Trip Down the Pink Carpet
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4.5 • 71 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
A hilarious romp from small-town USA to the pink carpet of Hollywood with beloved Emmy Award–winning actor, playwright, popular and laugh-out-loud funny Instagram icon, and gay legend.
Leslie Jordan was a small man with a giant propensity for scene stealing. Best known for his bravura recurring role as Karen’s nemesis, Beverley Leslie, on Will & Grace (for which he won a Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series Emmy in 2006), he also made memorable appearances on Ally McBeal, Boston Public, Monk, and Murphy Brown.
Raised in a conservative family in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Leslie—who described himself as “the gayest man I know”—boarded a Greyhound bus bound for LA with $1,200 sewn into his underpants and never looked back. His pocket-sized physique and inescapable talent for high camp paved the way to a lucrative and varied career in commercials and on television. Along the way he immersed himself in writing for the stage, and his one-man testimonials have become cult off-Broadway hits. But with success came dangerous temptations: a self-proclaimed former substance abuser and sexaholic, Leslie has spent time in jail and struggled to overcome his addictions and self-loathing.
My Trip Down the Pink Carpet is a rollicking, fast-paced collection of stories, served up with wit, panache, and plenty of biting asides. Filled with comically overwrought childhood agonies, offbeat observations, and revealing celebrity encounters—from Boy George to George Clooney—it delivers a fresh, laugh-out-loud take on Hollywood, fame, addiction, gay culture, and learning to love oneself.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Actor and playwright Jordan, who calls himself "the gayest man I know," makes a raucous, energetic and occasionally wistful tour guide to his life in Hollywood and out. Readers may know Jordan best as "Beverley Leslie," his Emmy-winning recurring role on TV sitcom "Will & Grace," but Jordan spends remarkably little time dishing about that, or any other, job. Instead, he focuses much of the book on his personal life, especially the challenge and isolation of growing up gay in Chattanooga, Tenn., dealing with alcohol addiction and learning to accept himself. Sober since 1997, readers might wish for more details of his "drunken-addled sex life, a soap opera unto itself" (his harshest anecdote is a catty story about buying underwear for Beverly D'Angelo), but Jordan is funny and entertaining throughout. His grateful and optimistic tone is likable, and he proves most memorable when he gets serious; a story about joining an addiction recovery group populated entirely by heterosexual men sums up his appeal: vulnerable, wise, eye-opening and welcoming, Jordan should connect with just about anyone who's felt like an outsider.
Customer Reviews
I just met Leslie Jordan
My husband a I are just finishing a wonderful week vacation in St. Thomas. The second day here we were enjoying a view from the Mountain Top overlooking the ocean and who stepped up next to us, but Leslie Jordan. He was on a cruise ship that had just docked for the day. He was working the cruise. I was so excited to meet him, we introduce ourselves and had a picture taken with him. Later that day I downloaded his book "My Trip Down The Pink Carpet" on my new iPad. I just finished the book and loved every word of it. It felt like I just had a week vacation being entertained by Leslie Jordan. Growing up gay on a farm in the midwest and coming from a Evangelical Bible church, I was able to relate to much of his upbringing. Meeting Leslie was a thrill and then reading his stories was the icing on the cake. Thank you Leslie for your stories and for graciously letting my husband and I have a picture taken with you. I thoroughly enjoyed your book. Greg