Matthew Perry’s Family Pay Tribute To The Late Actor

Matthew Perry’s family have paid tribute to the late actor after he was found dead at his home in Los Angeles on Saturday October 28. According to reports, the Friends star, who was found in his hot tub, had died as a result of drowning. However, further investigations are ongoing.

In an exclusive with People, the family released a statement saying: “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of our beloved son and brother. Matthew brought so much joy to the world, both as an actor and a friend.”

They add: “You all meant so much to him and we appreciate the tremendous outpouring of love.”

A talented comic star who battled alcoholism and drug addiction

Matthew Perry’s death comes less than a year after he released his memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, a candid and intimate look behind the scenes at his life working in TV and movies as well as his battle with addiction to alcohol and drugs.

His biggest success was in the NBC television sitcom Friends in which he played the lovable joker, Chandler Bing, alongside fellow cast members Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow, and Matt LeBlanc. The role earned him a Screen Actors Guild Award.

He also appeared in a number of movies, the most successful of which was The Whole Nine Yards alongside Bruce Willis, as well as Fools Rush In and Almost Heroes.

Following the finale of Friends in 2004, Perry had success in the brilliant comedy-drama series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip which was created by Aaron Sorkin. It ran for a single season containing 22 episodes and was originally broadcast between 2006 and 2007.

But throughout his career he has battled drug and alcohol addition. In his memoir, he opened up about his attempts at recovery and why he was unable to watch Friends.

He starts the book with: “Hi, my name is Matthew, although you may know me by another name. My friends call me Matty. And I should be dead.”

At one point during his time on Friends, he was taking up to 55 Vicodin painkillers a day and was down to just 128lb (just over 9st) in weight. His issues with opiate painkillers followed a skiing accident while filming Fools Rush In with Salma Hayek in 1996.

He said in an interview in 2016 that he did not remember filming Friends between series 3 and 6 because he was a “little out of it at the time”.

In Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, Perry noted that audiences would be able to tell by his appearance whether he was taking drugs or drinking too much booze.

“When I’m carrying weight, it’s alcohol; when I’m skinny, it’s pills; when I have a goatee, it’s a lot of pills,” he said.

But he felt he was able to get over his addiction in later life and said he was now able to draw upon his experience to help others do the same.

While appearing on the Q With Tom Power podcast in 2022 to discuss his book, he said: “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,” he said.

Perry said on the podcast that he wanted to be remembered “as somebody who lived well, loved well, was a seeker” and that he wants to help people. “That’s what I want,” he said.