On October 29, actor Matthew Perry, best known for playing Chandler Bing in the popular series Friends, passed away 54 years old at his Los Angeles home after an apparent drowning in his jacuzzi. According to a statement by the Los Angeles Fire Department, first responders arrived at the residence at 4:07 p.m. Saturday after a call about a cardiac arrest. “An adult male patient was deceased prior to first response arrival,” an LAFD spokesperson told PEOPLE. “The patient was found by a bystander who had repositioned the victim where the head was out of water. Firefighters pulled the victim out of the jacuzzi and did a quick medical assessment to find he was deceased.” The investigation into Perry’s death is still ongoing but according to reports from TMZ, police are not suspecting any foul play and there were no drugs found at the scene.
The death of Matthew Perry came as a huge shock to the entire world and many people are still grieving and sending their condolences to his family and friends while also sharing what Matthew Perry meant to them and how his character Chandler helped make a difference in their lives. A memorial has been set up for him by fans outside of the West Village building in New York that was used as the exterior of where the Friends apartment was filmed. There are tons of bouquets and notes still being placed there every day and it goes to show how impactful Matthew Perry was towards the entire world, not just the entertainment industry. Dozens of celebrities and fellow actors have spoken out about how talented, witty, and kind Matthew Perry was and how he continued to laugh and make a difference in the world, even with his own struggles with substance abuse. His Friends co stars – Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and Courteney Cox – released a joint statement two days after his death. “”We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family,” their statement reads. “There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss.”
“In time we will say more, as and when we are able,” the statement continues. “For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty’s family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world.”
This is a loss that will take many days, weeks, months and more to process and fully understand but Matthew Perry certainly did not leave this earth without leaving his own legacy. Since his time on Friends, he has been very open with his battle with addiction and dedicated his life to helping others overcome addiction and enter sobriety. He has stated in the past that he rarely ever rewatched Friends because it triggered bad memories of when he was drinking and taking drugs. He could tell by how he looked each season what issues he was struggling with. However, that never stopped him from fighting back against his demons. Perry turned his former house into a sober living facility center until 2015 called The Perry House and declared he was sober in 2021 with an estimated $9 million spent on his road to sobriety, according to Variety. In his memoir, “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” Perry wrote about how grateful he was for the show Friends since it gave him a reason to wake up every morning and that it completely changed his life and made him realize he had so much to live for.
While promoting his book, Perry spoke about his legacy on the “Q with Tom Power” podcast in 2022: “The best thing about me, bar none, is that if somebody comes to me and says, ‘I can’t stop drinking, can you help me?’ I can say ‘yes’ and follow up and do it,” Perry said. “When I die, I don’t want ‘Friends’ to be the first thing that’s mentioned. I want that to be the first thing that’s mentioned. And I’m gonna live the rest of my life proving that.”
Matthew Perry had so much more life to live but it cannot be denied that he lived a meaningful and inspirational life with the years he was given. Even though Perry didn’t want Friends to be the first thing he was remembered by, he had no idea that he helped so many people just by being. Just by playing the sarcastic but lovable Chandler that became many people’s comfort character.
