Jonathan and Drew Scott Recall Leslie Jordan Opening Up to the Celebrity IOU Crew Before His Death
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Celebrity IOU is paying homage to the late Leslie Jordan.
The actor, who tragically died in a car crash at 67 on Oct. 24, will appear in the season 3 premiere of the HGTV show on Nov. 14 alongside hosts Drew and Jonathan Scott. The Property Brothers stars spoke to PEOPLE about working with the Will & Grace actor who they say was an "incredible human being."
"He's a positive light that just makes you smile no matter what your day has been like," Drew tells PEOPLE.
In the show, A-listers surprise friends and mentors with a home makeover. Jordan gifted his dear friends of 40 years, Rosemary Alexander, 81, and Newell Alexander, 87, with a modern Southwestern ranch renovation.
"They've just always been there for me," Jordan says of Rosemary and Newell in the episode. "I had some struggles with alcohol, a little drug use. I'm 25 years clean and sober, but they were instrumental in that too because they never judged me."
"I really found out the secret to happiness is to do for others," Jordan adds in the preview when describing why he teamed up with the HGTV siblings.
According to Jonathan and Drew, the American Horror Story star's kindness did not stop with his longtime friends. The actor was spotted talking to members of the TV crew during breaks on multiple occasions.
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"He's also just really easy to be around, and I don't know how many times he'd be on set and we'd be filming and then on a break I would walk over and he was just sitting down chatting with somebody from the crew or from construction and sharing stories, making them laugh, but also sharing vulnerabilities and talking about some of the stuff that he'd gone through," recalls Jonathan. "Just a really remarkable human being."
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Drew agrees and says, "He creates community for people, lets them know that there's somebody here for you and there's somebody that's been through something similar."
PEOPLE previously spoke with Jordan's friend Rosemary about what the touching gift means to them and how it contributes to his legacy. "He's not only a part of our past and our history, but he's a part of our every day," Rosemary says of the home.
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In addition to Jordan's heart-wrenching episode following his death, Celebrity IOU's full lineup of stars includes Drew Barrymore, Cindy Crawford, Terry Crews, Cheryl Hines, Kate Hudson, Idina Menzel and Wilmer Valderrama.
"You see this side of Kate Hudson that you're not used to seeing in a romantic comedy who just enters demolition mode and karate kicks a wall off a shed," says Jonathan. "I was blown away that Barrymore had such an exquisite design eye and she came with a 40-page inspiration board."
RELATED: Halle Berry, Lisa Kudrow and More Stars Will Tackle Home Makeovers on Season 3 of 'Celebrity IOU'
Previous seasons' stars included Brad Pitt, Tiffany Haddish, Halle Berry, Snoop Dogg, Allison Janney, Rainn Wilson as well as Jonathan's girlfriend Zooey Deschanel.
The latest episode of Celebrity IOU premieres Monday, Nov. 14 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV and is available to stream on discovery+
