Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer have issued a joint statement paying tribute to their Friends co-star Matthew Perry, who died on Saturday aged 54.
“We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew,” the five actors said. “We were more than just castmates. We are a family. There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss. In time we will say more, as and when we are able. For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty’s family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world.”
Perry, who was best known for his performance as sarcastic and lovable Chandler Bing on the hit sitcom, was found dead in his hot tub at his Los Angeles home, law enforcement sources told media on Saturday night.
An autopsy, pending a toxicology report, would determine the cause of death, the Los Angeles county medical examiner said. Foul play was not suspected, said Cap Scot Williams, who leads the city’s police robbery homicide division that is investigating Perry’s death.
Friends, a comedy about six professionals living in New York City, was a phenomenon, winning multiple Emmys and attaining record ratings; after 10 seasons, the 2004 finale reached more than 52 million viewers in the US, making it the most watched TV episode of the 2000s.
Perry was open about his struggles with addiction and sobriety, writing in his memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing about becoming an alcoholic as a teenager and his addiction to pain medication after a jetskiing accident in 1997. He later admitted to being unable to rewatch Friends because the fluctuations in his health were so visible.
“I was taking 55 Vicodin a day, I weighed 128lb [58kg], I was on Friends getting watched by 30 million people – and that’s why I can’t watch the show, because I was brutally thin,” he said.
The Friends co-creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane, along with the executive producer Kevin Bright, issued a joint statement on Sunday, using a play on the show’s episode titles to say, “This truly is The One Where Our Hearts Are Broken.”
“It still seems impossible,” they wrote. “All we can say is that we feel blessed to have had him as part of our lives. He was a brilliant talent. It’s a cliche to say that an actor makes a role their own, but in Matthew’s case, there are no truer words.
“From the day we first heard him embody the role of Chandler Bing, there was no one else for us. We will always cherish the joy, the light, the blinding intelligence he brought to every moment – not just to his work, but in life as well. He was always the funniest person in the room. More than that, he was the sweetest, with a giving and selfless heart. We send all of our love to his family and friends.”
Perry’s family said: “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of our beloved son and brother. Matthew brought so much joy to the world, both as an actor and a friend.
“You all meant so much to him and we appreciate the tremendous outpouring of love.”
Selma Blair, Hank Azaria, Gwyneth Paltrow and Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, were among others to pay tribute to Perry after his death.
