Matthew Perry’s family ‘heartbroken’ by Friends’ star’s death
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Matthew Perry, 54, was born in Massachusetts and largely raised in Canada after his parents divorced.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
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LOS ANGELES – Matthew Perry's family, friends and fellow celebrities on Sunday mourned the passing of the wise-cracking co-star of 1990s sitcom Friends who died at his Los Angeles home in an apparent drowning
“Matthew brought so much joy to the world, both as an actor and a friend,” Perry’s family said in a statement published by People magazine. “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of our beloved son and brother.”
The statement thanked Perry’s fans for their “tremendous outpouring of love”.
Perry, 54, was born in Massachusetts and largely raised in Canada after his parents divorced. He played Chandler Bing for 10 seasons on Friends, and was found dead in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home Saturday afternoon, media reports said citing police.
No official details were immediately released.
Asked about the circumstances of Perry’s death, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson, Captain Erik Scott, replied, without referring to Perry by name, that firefighters called to an address in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood found “an adult male unconscious in a stand-alone jacuzzi”.
“A bystander had brought the man’s head above the water and gotten him to the edge, then firefighters removed him from the water upon their arrival,” Scott wrote to Reuters by text, adding that a quick medical assessment at the scene revealed “the man was deceased” before emergency personnel arrived.
The cause and manner of death is to be determined by medical examiners, he said.
Scott’s account was consistent with several news media reports, citing law enforcement sources, that Perry was found dead in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home. No foul play was suspected, according to those reports.
Friends (1994 to 2004), still popular in syndication, made global stars out of Perry and all five of his lead castmates – Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and Lisa Kudrow.
The six earned wide critical acclaim for their on-screen chemistry, playing a close-knit group of young singles who shared space in each other’s apartments and hung out together at the Central Perk, a fictional Manhattan coffee house.
Although Chandler and Cox’s character, Monica, were wed in the show’s seventh season, Perry never married in real life.
None of Perry’s Friends co-stars had yet to publicly comment on his death as of Sunday afternoon.
But the official Friends webpage on Instagram said: “We are devastated to learn of Matthew Perry’s passing. He was a true gift to us all. Our heart goes out to his family, loved ones, and all of his fans.”
Singer Adele gave a tearful tribute to Perry and his Chandler character during her Las Vegas show on Saturday night.
“I’ll remember that character for the rest of my life,” said the British singer, 35, as the audience cheered, according to the Los Angeles Times. “He’s probably the best comedic actor of all time,” she said.
Many celebrities shared their thoughts on social media this weekend, such as American actor Alyssa Milano, who described Perry as, “always the funniest person in the room”.
“Matty, remember when we used to go play bingo at that church in the valley?” she wrote. “You made me laugh that painful kind of laugh. A cry laugh. You made me cry-laugh.”
Milano, 50, starred in the 1988 movie Dance ‘Til Dawn with Perry.
While Perry’s comedic side made him famous, his personal life was dark as he suffered from alcohol and drug addictions, including painkillers. He underwent several stints in rehab, including while he was a cast member on Friends.
Perry wrote about his struggles for sobriety in his memoir, Friends, Lovers, And The Big Terrible Thing, which was published in November 2022.
In his introduction to the book, he wrote, “Hi, my name is Matthew, although you may know me by another name. My friends call me Matty. And I should be dead.”
American actor Rainn Wilson, who played Dwight on The Office (2005 to 2013), said on Instagram that Perry was “a genius”, adding that “Chandler was one of the all-time great characters and his ability to spin a slightly funny line into absolute comedy gold was unsurpassed. Soar with the comedic angels, Matthew Perry. R.I.P.” REUTERS
