TV personality Matthew Perry of the sitcom “Friends,” who battled drug addiction, passed away at the age of 54

Actor Matthew Perry, who rose to popularity in the 1990s as the witty Chandler Bing on the hit American television sitcom “Friends” and wrote a book last year detailing his lengthy struggle with drug addiction, passed away on Saturday at the age of 54.

His passing was verified by an announcement made on the social networking site X, previously known as Twitter, by NBC, the broadcast network that ran “Friends” for ten years.

SOURCE: Reuters

NBC Entertainment expressed its deep sorrow for Matthew Perry’s untimely death. “His caustic wit and impeccable comic timing delighted hundreds of millions of people all around the globe. His influence will last for many decades.”

According to unidentified law enforcement officials cited by The Los Angeles Times and TMZ.com, the American-Canadian musician was discovered dead in a hot pool or jacuzzi.

At his Los Angeles home in the Pacific Palisades area, the actor was discovered dead from what seemed to be a drowning, according to NBC News, which cited an unidentified representative of Perry and a law enforcement source.

Ironically, Perry said, “Oh, so warm water swirling around makes you feel good? “in response to a picture of himself lounging by a pool or jacuzzi on Instagram on October 23. Call me Mattman.

The most well-known part of Perry’s career was playing Chandler in the wildly popular television series “Friends,” which costarred Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, and Lisa Kudrow and lasted for ten seasons on the NBC network from 1994 to 2004.

The show, which portrayed a close-knit group of young people who shared apartments and got together for coffee at the “Central Perk,” a make-believe Manhattan café, catapulted all six of the castmates into worldwide celebrity.

The four other friends—Rachel, Joey, Phoebe, and Ross—one by one learned about the covert affair between Chandler and Monica Geller, portrayed by Cox, in one of the main plot lines. In the end, the two protagonists get married.

17 years after the series end, the complete cast reunited for a much anticipated reunion special that debuted on HBO Max in 2021.

However, none were ever able to achieve the same degree of individual celebrity and financial success that they had when starring as the ensemble cast of what was once the most viewed prime-time television show in the United States. According to reports, everyone made $1 million per episode at the peak of the show’s success.

Perry’s protracted battle with prescription medication and alcohol addiction was kept mostly hidden from the public for the most of its first run. He wrote about it in his 2022 book, “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing.”

“Hello, you may know me by another name, but my name is Matthew. My pals refer to me as Matty. In the beginning of the book, Perry writes, “And I should be dead.”
Perry said that he had been sober for eighteen months in an interview with the New York Times that was published in October 2022. He claimed, “I’ve probably spent $9 million or something trying to get sober.”

In his autobiography, Perry said that immediately after the filming of the Chandler and Monica wedding episode, he was required to be taken back to treatment.
After “Friends,” Perry starred in three more unsuccessful network television projects: “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” “Mr. Sunshine,” and “Go On.”

Throughout his career, he has had recurring parts or cameos in several popular TV programs including “Beverly Hills, 90210,” “Ally McBeal,” “Scrubs,” and “The West Wing.” “Fools Rush In,” “The Whole Nine Yards,” “Almost Heroes,” and “Three to Tango” were among his film credits.

The actor, who was born in Massachusetts, grew up in Ottawa after the divorce of Perry’s father and the marriage of a Canadian TV personality by his mother, a journalist who had worked as former prime minister Pierre Trudeau’s press secretary.
The current prime minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, paid homage to his childhood buddy Perry and described his passing as “shocking and saddening.”

“I’ll never forget the schoolyard games we used to play, and I know people around the world are never going to forget the joy he brought them,” Trudeau posted on X.

Perry rose to the top of the junior tennis rankings in his early years before relocating to Los Angeles to pursue her career in acting and improvisational comedy.

Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan; additional reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa; reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles