Leslie Jordan (‘Call Me Kat’) would make history with posthumous Emmy win

Months after his life was suddenly cut short, Emmy winner Leslie Jordan (Best Comedy Guest Actor, “Will & Grace,” 2006) has a chance to receive more TV academy love for his final small screen performance as Phil on Fox’s “Call Me Kat.” If he does land in this year’s Best Comedy Supporting Actor lineup, he will join a group of 12 other comedy or drama series regulars who posthumously achieved Emmy recognition. If he scores his second victory, he will make history as the first deceased male actor to win an Emmy for a continuing program.

“Call Me Kat” was the first and only multi-season series on which Jordan played a regular role. In his last few episodes, his character, who worked as the head baker at a Kentucky cat cafe, finally found true love with drag performer Jalen, aka Queen Dicktoria (John Griffin). Following his final appearance, Phil was given a happy ending that involved him getting married and moving to Tahiti, and Jordan was honored with an emotional montage set to his and Dolly Parton’s rendition of “Where the Soul Never Dies.”

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Jordan will have been preceded by just two other posthumous comedy supporting actor nominees. The first was Nicholas Colasanto, who received bids for each of the first three seasons of “Cheers” and lost on his last one in 1985 to John Larroquette (“Night Court”). He was followed by Phil Hartman, who was recognized in 1998 for “NewsRadio” and ultimately beaten by David Hyde Pierce (“Frasier”).

The first performer to be posthumously nominated for an Emmy was Alice Pearce, who won the 1966 Best Comedy Supporting Actress award for “Bewitched.” She has since been followed in the same category by Selma Diamond (“Night Court,” 1985) and Kathryn Joosten (“Desperate Housewives,” 2012), who came up short against Rhea Perlman (“Cheers”) and Julie Bowen (“Modern Family”). Joosten had, however, already won two guest trophies for the same series (2005 and 2008).

The four actors who have received post-death supporting Emmy nominations for drama series are Angela Baddeley (“Upstairs, Downstairs,” 1976), Will Geer (“The Waltons,” 1978), Michael Conrad (“Hill Street Blues,” 1984), and Nancy Marchand (“The Sopranos,” 2000). Baddeley and Marchand lost to Ellen Corby (“The Waltons”) and Allison Janney (“The West Wing”), while Geer and Conrad were beaten by Robert Vaughn (“Washington: Behind Closed Doors”) and Bruce Weitz (“Hill Street Blues”). The men had previously been honored for the same roles, with Geer having taken the 1975 prize and Conrad having triumphed in both 1981 and 1982.

The first posthumous nomination in any comedy or drama lead category went to Jim Davis, who died four seasons into his “Dallas” tenure. He lost the 1981 Best Drama Actor contest to “Hill Street Blues” star Daniel J. Travanti. With no lead female cases to date, the only other male one involved John Ritter, who was nominated in 2004 for “8 Simple Rules” against eventual champ Kelsey Grammer (“Frasier”).

Also worth mentioning are Marion Lorne and Michael K. Williams, who were alive at the time of their respective supporting nominations for “Bewitched” (1968) and “Lovecraft Country” (2021) but died before the corresponding ceremonies took place. Lorne succeeded on her bid, while Williams lost to Tobias Menzies (“The Crown”).

According to Gold Derby, Jordan will have to overcome 100-to-1 odds to have a shot at joining the “Bewitched” ladies in this special winners’ circle. Fortunately for the lovable funnyman, there are surprise nominations every year, including in 2022, when comedic performers such as Sarah Niles (“Ted Lasso”) and Tyler James Williams (“Abbott Elementary”) broke through. He did receive a 2023 Critics Choice Award notice for “Call Me Kat,” so it’s quite possible that an Emmy bid could come next.

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