Friends fans everywhere are reeling after hearing the shocking news that Matthew Perry died in an apparent drowning at age 54. The actor was found October 28 in a hot tub at his home in Los Angeles, where a medical team responded to call of a possible cardiac arrest. Perry’s cohorts in Hollywood are also in shock over the loss, and celebrities including Friends guest stars Selma Blair and Paget Brewster took to social media to pay tribute. Saturday Night Live even addressed it on its broadcast, just hours after his passing was reported.
Matthew Perry — who was best known for portraying Chandler Bing on Friends — was open about his struggles with addiction over the years, even writing about near-death experiences in his memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing that was released in 2022. It was reported that first responders found no drugs at the scene, and no foul play was suspected. Selma Blair, who guest starred in a Season 9 episode of Friends, said she was “broken” over the news, as she posted a sweet photo of the two of them together:
As news of Matthew Perry’s passing spread Saturday night, SNL also memorialized the actor. Perry served as guest host on NBC’s live sketch show one time, on October 4, 1997, and a tribute card was shown toward the end of the October 28 episode:
Yvette Nicole Brown noted the loss of her former co-star, as the two appeared together on the reboot of The Odd Couple, which aired on CBS from 2015 to 2017. Alongside a photo of the cast, she wrote:
Our #OddCouple family suffered a great loss today. The entire entertainment world has. I am too sad about the news to say more than this: @mattyperry4 was a sweetheart who deserved more peace in this life. 54 is too young to go. We love you, Matty! #RIPMatthewPerry 💔 pic.twitter.com/oUG7UQAHDzOctober 29, 2023
Calling the Friends star “one of the funniest people I knew,” actor Chad Lowe also expressed how difficult it was to see Matthew Perry struggle with addiction. He commended him for how he aimed to help people by speaking out about it in what would be the last year of his life. Lowe posted on X:
So sad to learn about Matthew Perry’s death. He was one of the funniest people I knew. It was hard to watch him struggle with his alcoholism over the years. But he was courageous in the fight and helped a lot of people by going public with his battles. He was loved by so many.
Legendary TV director James Burrows — who famously took the Friends cast to Las Vegas before their popularity skyrocketed — posted a throwback photo of him and Matthew Perry with a short caption to memorialize the comedic actor:
Paget Brewster, whose character Kathy briefly dated Chandler (and Joey) on Season 4 of Friends, implored people to read Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing to honor Matthew Perry’s legacy and allow him to continue helping those in need. She wrote:
I’m so very sad to hear about Matthew Perry. He was lovely to me on Friends and every time I saw him in the decades after. Please read his book. It was his legacy to help. He won’t rest in peace though.. He’s already too busy making everyone laugh up there.
Adele was also a longtime fan of his, as she paused the Saturday night show of her Las Vegas residency to address Matthew Perry’s death. Per the L.A. Times, she called Perry “incredibly, incredibly brave” for being open about his struggles with sobriety and spoke about having a friend when they were 12 years old who would do “the best” Chandler Bing impression. As she introduced her song “When We Were Young,” Adele told her Vegas audience:
I’ll remember that character for the rest of my life. He’s probably the best comedic character of all time.
I’m sure there are many people who agree with that assessment. Our thoughts go out to everyone affected by the loss of the actor. For those who want to pay tribute to Matthew Perry by watching his career-defining role, all 10 seasons of Friends can be streamed with a Max subscription.
