Actor Matthew Perry, who was well-known for his role as the witty and sarcastic Chandler Bing on “Friends,” said last year he wanted to be remembered for the work he did in helping people overcome their addiction struggles.
“The best thing about me, bar none, is if somebody comes up to me and says, ‘I can’t stop drinking, can you help me?’ I can say yes and follow up and do it,” he said in a Nov. 2022 interview with Tom Power. “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.”
Perry was reportedly found by his assistant in a hot tub at his Pacific Palisades home. A representative for the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s office confirmed to Fox News Digital an autopsy was completed Sunday and the toxicology results are pending.
Matthew Perry claimed he spent “probably $9 million” trying to get sober through the years. (David M. Benett)
Daily Mail senior reporter Caitlyn Becker told “The Big Weekend Show” Perry worked “hard” to help the sober community and people recovering from addiction.
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“He sold his Malibu home years ago and created Perry House, which was a sober living facility for men. He’s since sold that, I think, in 2015, but he really did dedicate his life to not only bringing joy to fans, but to being honest about the hardships he had in his own life and even saying, ‘I might not be able to do it for myself, but I will help you if you ask for it,’” she said.
Perry’s memoir “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing” detailed his struggle with alcoholism and opiates and how he fought to overcome it.
Matthew Perry appears on stage at the 2023 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at the University of Southern California on April 22, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. ((FOX News/Getty Images))
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“His addiction to painkillers began in ’97 after a jetski accident. But he had said that prior to that, it was when he was about 21 years old that he realized he had a problem with alcoholism. Throughout his life, he had been in and out of rehab something like 15 to 17 times. At one point, he writes in his book that he was taking 55 Vicodin in a single day while working on ‘Friends’ and still showing up and delivering his lines,” Becker explained. “Fans of the show will, of course, remember watching his character, who is beloved, but throughout the season[s] you see drastic physical changes with him, and those often coincided with where he was in the throes of his addiction”
Co-host Charlie Hurt said it was admirable that Perry dealt with his struggles “so forthrightly and very honestly.”
“He really was committed to telling that story to try to help other people, which is so admirable,” Hurt added.
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Friends cast (Photo by: David Bjerke/NBCU Photo Bank)
Fellow co-host Lisa Boothe said Perry is an “icon” and a “household name” who brought a lot of laughs to a lot of people.
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FOX News’ Tracy Wright contributed to this report
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