'Friends' Star Matthew Perry Dead at 54 After Apparent Drowning

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https://www.tmz.com/2023/10/28/frien...dies-drowning/

10/28/2023 5:10 PM PT

Matthew Perry -- one of the stars of 'Friends' -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us the actor was found Saturday at an L.A.-area home ... where we're told he appears to have drowned. Our sources say first-responders rushed over on a call for cardiac arrest. It's unclear where exactly on the grounds this happened.

Our sources say he was found in a jacuzzi at the home ... and we're told there were no drugs found at the scene. We're also told there is no foul play involved.

Perry is most famous for his role as Chandler Bing on the hit '90s sitcom, which ran for 10 seasons ... and with him in all 234 episodes. His character was a fan fave, as was performance -- mannerisms and lines of which have gone on to be recreated and spoofed by fans all over the world. One comes to mind, in particular ... "Could (blank) BE more .."

While 'Friends' was his biggest claim to fame ... MP had starred/guest starred in countless other TV shows over the years -- such as 'Boys Will Be Boys,' 'Growing Pains,' 'Silver Spoons,' 'Charles in Charge,' 'Sydney,' 'Beverly Hills, 90210,' 'Home Free,' 'Ally McBeal,' 'The West Wing,' 'Scrubs,' 'Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,' 'Go On,' 'The Odd Couple' and more.

He had also acted in a handful of memorable films (mostly comedy) ... like 'Fools Rush In,' 'The Whole Nine Yards,' 'Three to Tango,' 'The Kid,' '17 Again,' 'Getting In,' and many others. He's been off the scene more recently ... not having acted since a TV mini series in 2017.

While his onscreen persona was affable and upbeat, Matthew suffered mightily behind the scenes -- notably, from his addiction to drugs and alcohol ... pain killers, specifically. He was hooked on Vicodin for years -- even while on 'Friends' -- and had been in and out of rehab.

Matthew opened up about this painful chapter of his life in a memoir he put out last year -- where he detailed the struggles he had ... including his clear weight-loss/gain on the show.

During his press run for his book ... Matthew did a number of interviews where he got incredibly emotional -- including one with Diane Sawyer, where he detailed his story.

While Perry appeared to be clean and sober a year ago, the year prior -- when he and the other cast members were plugging the 'Friends' reunion show -- drew concern from fans ... as they felt he appeared unwell, at times slurring his words and looking a bit out of it.

On top of his substance use ... Matthew also dealt with health issues, some of which were serious and required hospitalizations. One such incident stemmed from a gastrointestinal perforation -- which forced him to undergo emergency surgery ... but he luckily recovered.

Matthew never married, but he was briefly engaged to Molly Hurwitz a couple years ago ... which came to an end after only 6 months. Before that, he'd been linked to Lizzy Caplan.

He was 54 years old.

RIP

[PaperClips]

Just Sad. I Looked at a Pic of Him the other day and thought he was struggling. Just so sad.

[80sTrivia]

Such sad, heartbreaking news...

[TVSCREEN2015]

R.I.P. Matthew

[Zoneboy]

https://www.latimes.com/california/s...rry-dead-at-59

“Friends” star Mathew Perry was found dead Saturday in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home, law enforcement sources said.

Authorities responded about 4 p.m. to his home, where he was discovered unresponsive. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing, did not cite a cause of death. There was no sign of foul play, the sources added.

Los Angeles Police Department’s robbery-homicide detectives are investigating the death.

Perry, the son of actor John Bennett Perry and Suzanne Marie Langford, onetime press secretary of Canadian Prime Minister Piere Trudeau, was born in 1969 and grew up between Montreal and Los Angeles after his parents separated when Perry was 1.


He got his start as a child actor, landing guest spots “Charles in Charge” and “Beverly Hills 90210” and playing opposite River Phoenix in the film “A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon” in the 1980s and early 1990s. But his big break came when he was cast in “Friends” — originally titled “Friends Like Us” — a sitcom about six single New Yorkers navigating adulthood that premiered on NBC in 1994. It soon became a juggernaut, the anchor of the network’s vaunted Thursday-night “Must-See TV” lineup, and turned Perry and his cast mates, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt Leblanc and David Schwimmer into mega-stars almost overnight.

As Chandler Bing, the handsome, wisecracking roommate of Leblanc’s Joey Tribbiani and, later, love interest of the fastidious Monica Geller, Perry distinguished himself in a crackling ensemble cast with his dry delivery, creating a catchphrase with a mere turn of inflection: Could he be any more Chandler?

There was a dark side to the life of one of television’s most beloved funnymen, however. In his 2022 memoir “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” Perry recounted his lifelong struggle with addiction to alcohol and opioids, which led to multiple stints in rehab and a number of serious health issues, including a five-month hospitalization in 2018 following a colon rupture that left him, he wrote, with a two percent chance to live through the night.

“Nobody wanted to be famous more than me,” Perry told The Times in April, discussing “Big Terrible Thing” at the Festival of Books. “I was convinced it was the answer. I was 25, it was the second year of ‘Friends,’ and eight months into it, I realized the American dream is not making me happy, not filling the holes in my life. I couldn’t get enough attention. … Fame does not do what you think it’s going to do. It was all a trick.”

[stevea]

He was 54. RIP.

[Zoneboy]

Originally Posted by stevea

He was 54. RIP.

Might have known that one of the major news sources would get his age wrong.

[opus]

Zoneboy’s LA Times link no longer works. Here’s their working link

‘Friends’ star Matthew Perry dead at 54

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"All Of Our Friend To The End": Friends Fans Heartbreakingly React To Matthew Perry's Death

Following the news of Matthew Perry's death, Friends fans are flocking to social media to express their heartbreak for the loss of the Chandler actor.

[rusty spike]

Very sad. It sounds like he had many personal dragons which he struggled with for years.

Hopefully, he can finally rest in peace.

[Mr. Television]

OMG. I'm just shocked.

[TV Shows Fan]

So sad. Rest in peace Matthew Perry.

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From Maggie Wheeler (Janice) on Instagram:

What a loss. The world will miss you Matthew Perry. The joy you brought to so many in your too short lifetime will live on. I feel so very blessed by every creative moment we shared. ♥️

• Maggie Wheeler, 'Janice' Actress on 'Friends,' Mourns Matthew Perry
  
• Matthew Perry's Friends costar breaks silence on tragic death at 54 while sharing she feels 'blessed' to have
  
• Matthew Perry's 'Friends' Co-Star Maggie Wheeler Remembers Actor Following His Death
  
• Celebrities post tributes to Matthew Perry
  
• Matthew Perry tributes: 'SNL,' 'Friends' girlfriend Maggie Wheeler
  
• Matthew Perry Dies At 54: Maggie Wheeler, Khloe Kardashian, Olivia Munn And Others Mourn Demise Of 'Friends' Star
  
• Selma Blair, Yvette Nicole Brown, Justin Trudeau, Warner Bros. TV Remember Matthew Perry: “His Comedic Genius Was Felt Around the World”
  
• Matthew Perry's Friends costar breaks silence on tragic death at 54 while sharing she feels 'blessed' to have
  
• Friends co-stars remember Matthew Perry after death: ‘The world will miss you’
  
• Friends’ Actor Maggie Wheeler Aka Janice And Other Celebs Mourn Death Of Matthew Perry

[TVShowAddict]

This is shocking, has Matthew struggled with drugs or have mental health issues?

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Originally Posted by TVShowAddict

This is shocking, has Matthew struggled with drugs or have mental health issues?

It's pretty well documented now, that Matthew struggled with alcohol and opioids at least dating back to when he was filming Friends. Perhaps consequently, he had to use a colostomy bag.