Matthew Perry. Son, brother, friend.
On October 28th, actor and activist Matthew Perry lost his life in an accidental drowning incident as a result of drug use at his Los Angeles home at the age of 54. Perry became a sitcom legend playing the iconic role of Chandler Bing on Friends for 10 years from 1994 to 2004. He was open about his struggles with alcohol and drug addiction and offered endless support to countless addicts through his charities and foundations. His life is immortalized on screen and page through his acting work and his memoir, titled Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, recounting the highest and lowest points of his life. He stated in an interview that he wanted to be remembered as somebody who “lived well, loved well, was a seeker. And his paramount thing is that he wants to help people. That’s what I want.”
Perry’s Friends costars, who he referred to as his family, are feeling his loss more than almost anyone else. Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer all attended Perry’s funeral and later came out with heartfelt posts on Instagram memorializing their friendship. Before their individual posts, the group released a joint statement. Their statement read, “We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family. There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss.”
Matthew Perry’s loss will be felt and mourned for years to come as Friends remains one of the most popular shows of all time and Max, the only service the sitcom is available to stream on, has added a memorial to Perry’s life at the beginning of every season of the show. He is survived by his mother and father as well as his step father. He never married or had children. In his book, Perry shared images of himself and his family throughout the years. One showed Perry as a young adult with a young family member. The image was captioned “I have always been great with kids. Man, I wish I had one of my own.”
Matthew Perry will live on through his work in television, film and writing but most importantly, he will live on through his charities and foundations offering support and relief to those struggling with addiction all around the country.