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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2006 > May > 18 > Entry
‘Will & Grace’ actor lets a few finale tidbits slip
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s always a plus when dish-dense celebrities blatantly disregard those pesky confidentiality agreements. So, naturally, we were only too happy to apply our speed-scribbling techniques over lunch with “Will & Grace” actor Leslie Jordan recently.
Over salsa and chips at Zocalo in Midtown, the character actor, who has portrayed the prissy, pompous Beverley Leslie on the NBC sitcom for most of its eight-year run, spilled like ice dancers Federica Faiella and Massimo Scali at the Winter Games in Turin.
“Oh, please, ” Jordan said, waving his hand, “what are they gonna do? Fire me?”
Jordan told us that tonight’s one-hour series finale was shot over three nights with audiences earlier this spring. The sitcom’s creators, David Kohan and Max Mutchnick, were lured back to write the episode directed by “W&G” vet James Burrows.
“Debra [Messing] just fell apart,” Jordan confided. “She cried the entire week. But you could not have dreamed a more perfect ending for the show. There’s flashbacks, flash-forwards, you laugh, you cry. It was amazing to be asked back for the finale.”
While Jordan didn’t disclose major plot points, he did let slip that Beverley Leslie figured prominently in the final night’s last shot, when he was left dangling over the soundstage.
“My character flies out the window,” he recalled, laughing. “All that’s left are his opera slippers. It jolted me so much that the next thing I knew I was dangling above everyone in a Cathy Rigby harness. I looked down and all four of them — Eric [McCormack], Debra, Megan [Mullally] and Sean [Hayes] — were all clapping in slow motion. It took me a moment to focus and to get my senses back, it all happened so fast. I kinda got teary-eyed. I mean, what a way to go out.”
The foursome presented Jordan with a signed, silver-framed photo of themselves blowing him a kiss.
Said Jordan: “It was very sweet. I’m just proud to have been a part of a show that, through laughs, battled homophobia.”
Tonight, he’ll co-host an invitation-only Q100 “Will & Grace” viewing party at Red Chair in Midtown.
And somehow the 14th Street Playhouse has found a way to squeeze in another week of the actor’s hit one-man show, “Like a Dog on Linoleum.” Now the run will end May 28.
45 years of Atlanta
Atlanta magazine publisher Sean McGinnis put the city’s weighed-down news racks into comic perspective Tuesday night at the Atlanta History Center. Taking a good-natured poke at the recent glut of inaugural parties for the Atlantan, Atlanta Peach and Skirt! magazines, McGinnis kicked off the glossy’s 45th-anniversary party by announcing: “This isn’t a launch party!” (Skirt! operates under an Atlanta licensing agreement with Cox Newspapers, which owns the AJC.)
Among the notables hanging out, alongside the large silk renderings of Atlanta magazine covers: Spanx founder Sara Blakely, CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta, V103’s Frank Ski, Dave FM’s Holly Firfer, the Zone’s Steak Shapiro and WSB-TV anchors Collins Spencer and Jovita Moore.
B.E.D.’s VIP top bunk
Across town on Tuesday night, we took a gander at B.E.D.’s new rooftop bar on Marietta Street. Aside from finding a spectacular snooping perch into Ted Turner’s Luckie Street penthouse across the way, we were able to glean a few details from the club-eatery’s co-owner, Parnell Delcham. The rooftop will be frequented by “B.E.D.’s biggest supporters, who can help us reach our goals,” he told us. Translation: A-list celebs and well-dressed guys with black AmEx cards, looking to buy bottles of bubbly for scores of hot females.
After stumbling a bit out of the block since its February debut, B.E.D. has a freshly installed chef and menu. Delcham conceded that the Miami-New York brand’s Atlanta location earned its early reputation for making prospective patrons feel like they were pledging a fraternity or sorority.
“We have to control the environment,” he reasoned.
Come again?
“If we had just opened the floodgates to everyone, we’d be done in a year,” Delcham explained. “We’d become Shout. We’ve got to have a proper dress code, and we’ve got to have the right ratio of females to males. Atlanta is an incredibly diverse city. We want to celebrate that.”
Uncoupling
Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney and his wife, Heather Mills McCartney, are planning to separate after four years of marriage.
Making matters worse, the kaput couple, via a statement e-mailed to Buzz Central from publicist Paul Freundlich, inevitably blamed the media: “It is with sadness that we have decided to go our separate ways. Our parting is amicable and both of us still care about each other very much but have found it increasingly difficult to maintain a normal relationship with constant intrusion into our private lives.”
For the record, Buzz’s last “intrusion” into the couple’s private life was on Oct. 31, 2003, when we announced the birth of the pair’s daughter, Beatrice.
Coupling
Actress Nicole Kidman and country singer Keith Urban will tie the knot, the country music star’s publicist has finally confirmed. And you’ll never guess who their flack is.
“They are very happily engaged,” said publicist Paul Freundlich, who we’re assuming scored massive amounts of overtime Tuesday. He declined to discuss details, while no doubt figuring out a way to blame us when Urban starts his inevitable couch-jumping phase.
Celebrity birthdays
“Maude” actor Bill Macy is 84. Keyboardist Rick Wakeman of Yes is 57. Country singer George Strait is 54.
Contributing: news services. If you have a tip, 404-526-2749. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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