Matthew Perry, one of the stars of “Friends,” died on October 28, 2023. Perry starred as Chandler Bing on “Friends” from 1994 to 2004. The actor also featured in other productions such as “17 Again.” “Fools Rush In,” and “Serving Sara.”
Perry was found dead in a jacuzzi at his home in Los Angeles and is said to have died of apparent drowning. Further investigations into his death are ongoing, but no drugs were found at the scene of his death, and no foul play is involved.As per sources, Perry came home in the morning hours after playing close to two hours of pickleball. He gave his assistant an errand to attend to, but when the assistant was done two hours later, he came back and found the actor unresponsive and called 911.
Law enforcement officers say Perry appeared to have drowned, while sources claim first responders were called for a cardiac arrest. In the last few years before his death, the actor spoke frankly about his addiction struggles and drug abuse. He said he decided to get sober because he was worried he would die the next day.
The actor noted that he struggled with alcohol pretty much through all “Friends” seasons except the whole of season nine, where he was sober throughout. Perry had a few years in between when he was sober. But when he couldn’t stop drinking, he knew that it wouldn’t come as a surprise to him if he died.
Perry was proud of how far he had come in his battle against alcohol addiction and drug abuse.
Perry explained that he wrote his memoir “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing” because he wanted to encourage other people on a sobriety journey to not give up. He wanted his story to give ordinary people hope as he was an actor and a celebrity who overcame addiction.The movie star also opened up about the times alcoholism almost led to his death. In one of his treatments, he was rushed to the emergency trauma room, where his colon exploded. Perry was put in an ECMO machine and was in a coma for 14 days. An ECMO machine does the work of the heart and lungs for a patient in critical condition.On that night, there were five more patients on an ECMO machine, but only Perry survived. The actor took his sole survival as a sign to share his story and help others who have fallen into alcoholism fight the disease. In another case in 2019, the “Three to Tango” actor’s heart stopped for five minutes when he was getting treatment.
The actor was at the hospital, where doctors were conducting a procedure on him as he had pain in his stomach. During the operation, he was administered propofol, which stopped his heart for five minutes. A guy saved Perry’s life by conducting CPR, but the man broke the actor’s eight ribs during the process.
Now, Perry’s journey alive on Earth has come to an end. However, before his death, he spoke about the way he would like to be remembered and the kind of impact he wanted to leave behind after his long stint on “Friends” and fight against alcoholism.
How Perry Would Love to Be Remembered
Perry was proud of how far he had come in his battle against alcohol addiction and drug abuse. He said in November 2022, less than a year before his death, that the best thing about him is that if someone went to him for help because they couldn’t stop drinking, he knew he could help them:
“When I die, I don’t want Friends to be the first thing that’s mentioned. I want that to be the first thing that’s mentioned. I’m going to live the rest of my life proving that.”
Perry spent the last years of his life proving that he was keen on his fight against alcoholism and helping others overcome the disease. The actor wanted this legacy to be that of someone who lived well and loved well.However, Perry mostly wanted to be remembered as someone whose desire was to help people who had been on the similar unhealthy and dangerous path of alcoholism as he. Perry’s memoir and the stories he shared about his sobriety journey in interviews will remain a hope and motivation for people now and generations to come.