In 1994 Friends aired their first pilot episode. The episode starred David Schwimmer, Matt Leblanc, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, and Matthew Perry. His first line on the show was making a snarky comment about Monica’s (Courteney’s) date. From there he is launched into the public eye as the sarcastic, cruel-humored Chandler from Friends.
In the show, he’s known as the awkward, sarcastic one with dry humor and is very bad with women. He’s meant to be laughed at, with his awkward shyness with women and his impeccable timing for jokes. Matthew even improvised scenes and comedic jokes. So many bloopers stayed in the show because of his comedic talent.
Little did the public know, Matthew was hiding a part of himself that would soon be the reason for his demise.
Throughout the ten seasons of Friends, his weight fluctuated and his appearance changed every season. His severe depression and drug/alcohol abuse was apparent. Perry landed a few successful roles in movies such as ‘Fools Rush In’ and ‘17 Again’. None of his films were nearly as successful as Friends.
Matthew Perry wrote a memoir entitled ‘Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing’ in which he discusses his addictions. His addiction first started in a skiing incident during the filming of Fools Rush In. He was prescribed Vicodin, a highly addictive drug, for his pain and it escalated into him consuming up to 55 pills a day. In his 2022 memoir, he had this to say about his appearance on Friends:
“When I’m carrying weight, it’s alcohol; when I’m skinny, it’s pills. When I have a goatee, it’s lots of pills.”
When I’m carrying weight, it’s alcohol; when I’m skinny, it’s pills. When I have a goatee, it’s lots of pills.
— Matthew Perry
Perry has had multiple near-death experiences because of his health issues. Opioid overuse caused his colon to burst, and he had to be hooked up to a machine to breathe. In the COVID-19 pandemic, he underwent surgery in which a propofol shot stopped his heart for 5 minutes.
The Friends actor had gone to rehab and detox centers numerous times in his life and spent millions of dollars trying to get sober. Matthew Perry has said that if he died, he believed people would be shocked, but not surprised.
Starting on October 17th, Perry posted a series of posts to his Instagram all with something relating to Batman in them. He referred to himself as ‘Mattman’ in the captions of these posts. People claim that this activity is eerie and almost like he knew something was going to happen to him soon.
Perry’s last post on social media was posted six days before his death with the caption ‘Oh, so warm water swirling around makes you feel good? I’m Mattman’. In the photo, he’s sitting in a pool late at night as he overlooks the night sky.
Matthew Langford Perry was born August 19th, 1969, and ded October 28th, 2023. He was found lifeless in his jacuzzi after a day spent playing pickleball. Toxicology reports are still pending, but no drugs or alcohol were found at the scene.
Author’s note: I have been a Friends fan for as long as I can remember. I’ve spent nearly every night binging the show before bed with my parents. There is not a single line from the show that I don’t have memorized, and I’ve seen all the bloopers and deleted scenes. I’ve always related to Chandler Bing as a character, and I am shocked to see Matthew Perry gone so soon. I’ll never forget the laughs he’s provided for me and my family.
