With a sad, heavy heart we report that Friends star Matthew Perry is dead in an apparent drowning accident. According to TMZ, there is no reason to suspect foul play, and there were no drugs involved. He was simply enjoying a relaxing hot tub soak in his L.A. home.
Best known for his hilarious character Chandler Bing on the hit sitcom Friends, with an office job that no one ever seemed to know what he did for a living, we loved tuning in week after week to see Chandler help keep a reign on his roommate Joey’s behavior and try and fail to find love.
This must be a terrible blow to friends and family of Perry’s. I know just today we did a story about his stepfather, Keith Morrison. I’m sure everyone is in absolute shock at this loss. The people who know and love Perry had to have been so proud of his recovery from addiction and happy to see him doing so well. As fans, we all got the full story when his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing released in November 2022. We fully expected a man who had survived the pain and despair of addiction and a multitude of related health issues to recover and live a long, full life.
Perry has been candid about his drug use and stints in rehab, and our hearts ached for him in his interview with Diane Sawyer when he said, “secrets kill people like me.” He expressed that he sincerely hoped that his book would help someone. He said that he felt ok. That was only a year ago. He was a person with the strength and conviction to get professional help to pull himself out of a dark hole.
He will be greatly missed.
