On October 28, actor and comedian Matthew Perry passed away. At age 54, Perry drowned in his home in Los Angeles, California. His death is still being investigated by Los Angeles officials. His untimely death has sadded close family and friends and most everyone who has seen Perry on the big and small screen. Perrys spirit was contagious. When watching him act and make jokes, people felt connected to Perry. While mourning, we will remember his best jokes, his strength in overcoming addiction, and the support he gave to thosewho also struggled with that disease. 

You might have known Mattew Perry better as Chandler Bing. Chandler Bing was a loveable, quirky, sarcastic character in the TV show Friends. On Friends, Perry was one of the six main twenty-somethings  living in New York City. His role was iconic. Friends has increased in popularity because people long to see Perry on the screen again. Perry was close with his costars. Jenifer Aniston, who played Rachel Green, a friend of Chandler’s, has publicly mourned Perry, sharing a heartfelt tribute on Instagram. She said, “We were always the six of us. This was a chosen family that forever changed the course of who we were and what our path was going to be.” 

Another group statement by five of the cast members reminiced, “We were more than just cast mates. We [were] a family.” The cast members on Friends were close to each other but also to the millions of people who watched the six friends’ messy lives take course. Die-hard Friends lovers at LFA have re-watched the show after Perry’s death, reminiscing on his life. Friends took their audience from the highs of life, finding love and celebrating with friends,  to the very lows, saying goodbye.

If watching him on Friends is as far as your Mattew Perry encounters have gone, his life seems filled with humor, sunshine and of course great friends. However, life was very different off set. Matthew Perry had a history of drug abuse. After an accident, Perry was prescribed pain meds. Eventually, he became addicted and took up to 55 pills per day. His disease of addiction became a dark cloud over his early fame. Perry recounted hangovers on set, even shaking before filming. Many years later, in his book, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir, Perry recounts his struggles. After thousands of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and countless of times in rehab, in 2022, on a book tour, Perry established his sobriety. After his own struggles with drug addiction, Perry prioritized helping others. In his remembrance, the Matthew Perry Foundation was formed. According to the foundation’s website, The Matthew Perry Foundation was started from the “realization of Matthew’s enduring commitment to helping others struggling with the disease of addiction.” Before his death, Perry said ,“I would like to be rememebered as someone who lived well, loved well, and was a seeker.”