ICONIC Friends star Matthew Perry has died after an apparent drowning.
The 54-year-old actor was best known for his portrayal of Chandler Bing in the hit sitcom, Friends.
Perry was reportedly found dead in a jacuzzi in his Los Angeles, California, home, according to TMZ.
The veteran actor has previously opened up about his struggles with addiction. The outlet reports that no drugs were found at the scene.
Just days before his passing, Perry posted a chilling final photograph of him inside a rooftop pool to Instagram.
Follow our Matthew Perry live blog for more news and updates…
Police cordon remains in place
The police cordon remains in place during the early hours of the morning.
Matthew Perry’s body was removed from the property just after 1.00am.
Fans mourn loss of Friends star
Fans grieved Perry’s death in the comment section of his final Instagram post.
“Ominous final post,” one Instagram user said.
“Rest in paradise Mattman.”
Matthew’s eerie final Instagram post
Matthew Perry’s eerie final Instagram post on Monday showed him taking a late night dip.
In the image, the star best known for his beloved character Chandler Bing can be seen relaxing in the water with a pair of headphones on.
“Oh, so warm water swirling around makes you feel good?” the star wrote in the description.
Warner Bros pays tribute
The company that produced the TV show Friends, Warner Bros, has paid tribute to the star.
The company said: “We are devastated to learn of Matthew Perry’s passing.
“He was a true gift to us all. Our heart goes out to his family, loved ones, and all of his fans.”
Morgan Fairchild pays tribute to ‘son’
Morgan Fairchild, who played Matthew Perry’s mom in friends had paid tribute following his tragic death.
She wrote: “I’m heartbroken about the untimely death of my “son”, Matthew Perry.
“The loss of such a brilliant young actor is a shock. I’m sending love & condolences to his friends & family, especially his dad, John Bennett Perry, who I worked with on Flamingo Road & Falcon Crest.”
Inside Matthew Perry’s character – Chandler Bing
Perry played the beloved character Chandler Bing on the popular sitcom, which ran for ten seasons.
He is well-known for his relationship with the character Monica Geller, portrayed by actress Courteney Cox.
Chandler and Monica eventually got married, with their wedding taking place during episodes 23 and 24 of season 7.
The fictional wedding aired on May 17, 2001.
The hit TV show debuted on September 22, 1994, on NBC and concluded on May 6, 2004.
Fans flock to social media to pay tribute
Shortly after news of his passing broke, heartbroken fans flocked to social media to pay tribute to the late star.
One person posted on X, formerly Twitter: “Please don’t tell me this Matthew Perry [news] is true.”
“Unbelievable. Rest in peace,” a second fan reacted with.
A third user wrote: “RIP. That’s horrid,” and another added, “No. Unbelievable, only 54! He was my favorite from Friends!”
Nashville Predators honor Matthew Perry
The Nashville Predators have honored Matthew Perry on the ice.
The news of Perry’s death broke during Nashville’s home NHL matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
And in the third period, the organist at Bridgestone Arena played the Friends theme song, I’ll Be There For You by the Rembrandts, to pay homage to the veteran actor.
Matthew Perry’s father distraught
The U.S. Sun witnessed Perry’s father looking distraught as he arrived in his car and spoke to officers before slowly walking back to his vehicle and being allowed under the cordon.
Matthew’s mother was also in attendance alongside his step-father.
The U.S. Sun also learned investigators turned up at Perry’s Los Angeles home around 7pm local time, and were waiting for the coroner.
The medical examiner stayed at the property for over an hour before taking Matthew Perry’s body to the funeral home.
Friends pays tribute
The official Friends X account has paid tribute to late Matthew Perry.
“We are devastated to learn of Matthew Perry’s passing. He was a true gift to us all. Our heart goes out to his family, loved ones, and all of his fans,” they wrote on the platform.
Posted about pickleball days before death
Matthew Perry shared a post on Instagram about pickleball just days before his death.
The photos showed a board that read: “Batman plays pickleball.” Perry captioned the photo: “WTF?”
TMZ are reporting that Perry was playing pickleball in the hours leading up to his death.
Credit: Instagram/mattyperry4 Selma Blair pays tribute
Selma Blair has paid tribute to the late Matthew Perry.
She posted a photograph of the two of them on Instagram following the tragic news.
“My oldest boy friend. All of us loved Matthew Perry, and I did especially. Every day. I loved him unconditionally. And he me. And I’m broken. Broken hearted. Sweet dreams Matty. Sweet dreams,” she wrote.
Who are the Friends cast?
The cast of Friends
The sitcom Friends took the world by storm when it aired in 1994. The show not only launched the careers of the cast members but became one of the popular shows in television history. Here is the cast of Friends:
- Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green
- Courteney Cox as Monica Geller
- Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing
- Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani
- David Schwimmer as Ross Geller
- Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay
Tried to hide his addiction
Perry says he tried to hide his condition, but his yo-yo-ing weight from series to series alarmed both his co-stars and his fans, previously saying about the time “I was out of control and very unhealthy,” and joking “I returned to my original birth weight.”
By 2001 he was drinking a liter of vodka a day. He told People: “I didn’t know how to stop.
“If the police came over to my house and said, ‘If you drink tonight, we’re going to take you to jail’, I’d start packing.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
Former assistant pays tribute
Matthew Perry’s former assistant Briana Brancato has paid tribute to the late Friends star.
“Broken hearted. Sweet dreams Matty,” Briana wrote with a heartbreak emoji.
She wrote the text on a photo of the pair looking at one another.
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Nice, genuine guy’
The neighbor added: “I saw everything, but don’t really want to go into it.
“I was very sad. At the same time I did kind of expect it in some sense, but I didn’t expect it to be so soon. He’d not lived there long.
“I was very heartbroken to see what happened. I encountered him once, he was very friendly, friendlier than I thought.
“Very nice genuine guy. I’ve always looked up to Matthew and he’s probably one of my favorite actors of all time. He made the funniest jokes on the show.
“I just hope his friends and family can come together at this time.”
EXCLUSIVE: Neighbor ‘saw too much’
An immediate neighbor, accompanied by his parents, told The U.S Sun’s Katy Forrester he saw “too much” when the police arrived and found Matthew unresponsive.
“I was actually home when the ambulance showed up and looked outside, I was just about to head to my friends house.
“They were outside my neighbors door. I didn’t think much of it at the time until police started arriving and everything. They didn’t hammer the door, they kept silent.
“It was very disturbing, and very sad after all those years.. from what he’s gone through and his addictions and whatever.”
Relationship with Jennifer Anniston
In an interview, Matthew Perry discussed his relationship with Friends co-star Jennifer Aniston during their time on the show.
“At the time I should have been the toast of the town, I was in a dark room meeting nothing but drug dealers and completely alone,” he told Diane.
He recalled how Jennifer approached him one day on the set of Friends, where she bluntly revealed to the actor that she and the rest of the cast “know you’re drinking.”
“Imagine how scary a moment that was,” he said, before talking more about Jennifer’s continued support during his recovery.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
Perry’s addiction got worse after Friends fame
Matthew Perry’s addiction increased in proportion to astronomic success of Friends, he says.
At the height of the sitcom’s success, Perry said he was consuming 55 Vicodin a day and weighed 128 pounds.
To promote his book, he chatted to Diane Sawyer about some of the more painful details of his past, which saw him at one point drinking a liter of vodka a day.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
Matthew Perry’s dad arrives at home
The U.S. Sun Assistant Editor Katy Forrester is at the scene of Matthew Perry’s home.
“Matthew’s father looked stunned as he arrived in his car and spoke to officers before slowly walking back to his vehicle and being allowed under the cordon,” Katy reports.
‘S**t all over my face’
“‘I had sh** all over my face, all over my body, in the bed next door.
“When it breaks, it breaks. You have to get nurses,” he told GQ.
Unfortunately, the colostomy bag removal operation was unsuccessful and in its place went an ileostomy bag.
Perry, however, suggested this was far more difficult, saying it was “ten times worse.”
He explained: “You have to deal with an ileostomy bag 18, 19 times a day. A lot of suicides with an ileostomy bag. People can’t take it.”
Waiting for coroner
The U.S. Sun Assistant Editor Katy Forrester is at the scene of Matthew Perry’s home.
“A police cordon tape is across the end of the street, news crews are gathering, and it is understood they are waiting for the coroner as the body has not been removed from the house yet,” Katy reports.
Perry suffered gastrointestinal perforation
In 2018, when Perry was 49, he suffered a gastrointestinal perforation as a result of extreme opiate usage.
He was given a two percent chance of living after he was comatose for two weeks, and he had to use a colostomy bag while his colon, an imperative digestion organ, healed, he told GQ.
While his body was relying on the bag, he woke up covered in his own feces “50 to 60” times during the five-month hospital stay.
Perry’s heartbreaking final post
Matthew Perry posted for the final time on his Instagram on October 23.
Heartbreakingly, it appears the post came from within his jacuzzi.
Perry captioned the post “Oh, so warm water swirling around makes you feel good? I’m Mattman.”
Credit: Instagram/mattyperry4 Fans mourn Matthew Perry
Fans of Matthew Perry and Friends have taken to social media to mourn the actor’s death.
So far none of his costars have spoken.
“Chandler has always been such a comfort character growing up, i can’t believe Matthew Perry is gone,” one user on Twitter said.
“This one hurts a lot rest in peace Matthew Perry you’ll always be our chandler bing,” another user said.
“Rest in peace to the man who played one of my favorite characters of all time. matthew perry was able to put a smile on my face when no one else could and i’ll remember his impact he had on me and his legacy forever,” another comment said.
