‘Friends’ Star Matthew Perry Dead at 54
The one where we all lost a friend.
The world is mourning the loss of Matthew Perry after his sudden and shocking death at age 54 on Oct. 28. The actor, famous for his turn as the sarcastic and sweet Chandler Bing on Friends, died from an apparent drowning at his Los Angeles home, his rep and law enforcement sources told NBC News.
Last year, Perry released his New York Times bestselling memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, in which the actor couldn't be any more honest about his decades-long sobriety journey. The Mr. Sunshine star revealed revealed he had spent more than $7 million trying to get sober and reflected on a near-death experience in 2018 after his colon exploded from years of opioid overuse.
While Perry knew that most people would remember him for his 10-year run on one of TV's most beloved shows of all-time, he shared his wishes for his legacy.
photosMatthew Perry: A Life in Pictures
"When I die, I know people will talk about Friends, Friends, Friends," he said on the Q with Tom Power podcast in 2022. "And I'm glad of that, happy I've done some solid work as an actor, as well as given people multiple chances to make fun of my struggles on the world wide web…but when I die, as far as my so-called accomplishments go, it would be nice if Friends were listed far behind the things I did to try to help other people. I know it won't happen, but it would be nice."
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Perry's ultimate hope for his posthumous legacy, he continued, was "to be remembered as somebody who lived well, loved well, was a seeker."
Amid his own struggles, The Whole Nine Yards actor created the Perry House in Malibu, a sober-living facility for men, and he also wrote a play, The End of Longing, as another way to share his journey to inspire others to seek treatment.
More than anything, Perry said, he wanted to help people: "That's what I want. The best thing about me, bar none, is that if an alcoholic or drug addict comes up to me and says, 'Will you help me?' I can say yes and follow up and do it."
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In fact, he revealed to E! News shortly after his memoir was published, the book was already making a tangible differenceคำพูดจาก สล็อตเว็บตรง. "We've already heard about five different people that have read it and then checked into rehab the next day," he said at last November's GQ Men of the Year event.
"There's been some real up and downs in my life and this is a lot about the downs," he added, "but the further down you go the more people you can help."
Here are all the biggest revelations from Perry's memoir:
Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing is available wherever you buy books.
