‘Call Me Kat’ Casts Beloved Actor as New Baker After Leslie Jordan’s Death

In the wake of Leslie Jordan’s death, Call Me Kat has cast a beloved actor to take on the baker role left by the loss of Jordan’s character, Phil Crumpler. TV Line reports that Jack McBrayer is joining the show as the cat cafe’s newest employee. McBrayer is most well-known for his role as NBC page Kenneth Parcell on 30 Rock.

McBrayer is playing Gideon, a kindhearted and naive Amish baker who is “on a journey of self-discovery.” At this time, McBrayer is said to only be guest starring in the show. There is no word on if the character will become a permanent addition to the cast. Previously, Call Me Kat brought on Emmy Award-winning actress Vicki Lawrence (Mama’s Family, The Carol Burnett Show) to guest star in an episode of the sitcom, playing Lurlene Crumpler, Phil’s mother. Jordan and Lawrence previously worked together on another Fox sitcom, The Cool Kids, which followed the lives of a senior citizen group living together in a retirement home.

During Jordan’s memorial farewell episode, Phil was revealed to have gone off on a Tahiti vacation with his partner Jalen. The pair advised their friends that they had chosen to stay in Tahiti and buy a small bakery to run. At the end of the episode, the cast broke down in tears, revealing that they made the decision to give Jordan’s character a happy ending.

Jordan died on Oct. 24, with TMZ reporting that the 64-year-old actor was involved in a car accident. He was said to have “suffered some sort of medical emergency” that may have caused him to crash his BMW into the side of a building in Hollywood. Following his death, it was reported that Jordan had complained he was experiencing shortness of breath. Sources close to Call Me Kat star stated that his health was enough of a concern that he’d scheduled an appointment to meet with a cardiologist. 

The outlet also noted that some first responders believed that Jordan may have suffered a heart attack. No evidence of drugs or alcohol was found in Jordan’s system. The comedian had been sober for over 20 years at the time of his death. According to PEOPLE, the comedian’s official cause of death was listed as “sudden cardiac dysfunction.” The outlet cites a report from the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office as the source of their information, and adds that Jordan’s death was determined to be from natural causes.” The coroner’s office also noted arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease as a secondary factor in his death.