The shocking death of Matthew Perry, beloved ‘Friends’ actor, at age 54

Matthew Perry was found deceased on Saturday, October 28th in a jacuzzi tub at an L.A. home.

Paramedics were called to the home due to a report of a cardiac arrest. There is no reported concern for foul play and there were no drugs found at the scene.

He was born to Suzanne Marie Morrison, a Canadian journalist, and John Bennett Perry, an American actor and former model. He grew up in Ottawa, Canada.

His mother Suzanne worked as Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau’s press secretary. Suzanne went on to marry ‘Dateline’ host Keith Morrison.

Perry attended Rockcliffe Park Public School in Ottawa with Trudeau, who is the current Prime Minister of Canada.

Trudeau responded to Perry’s confession by taking to Twitter and jokingly challenged Perry to a rematch.

Perry left Ottawa to live with his father and began to pursue acting. His had his film debut in ‘A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon’ which starred River Phoenix.

Perry is best known for playing the role of ‘Chandler Bing’ on the popular comedy series which aired from 1994-2004.

Perry received great acclaim for his portrayal of ‘Chandler.’ He received a Screen Actors Guild award for his work on the series and was nominated twice for an Emmy for ‘Friends.’

Perry was battling alcoholism while working on ‘Friends’ and he has shared that because of his addiction, he doesn’t remember three of the years he worked on the series. He also developed a problem with the painkiller vicodin which was prescribed to him in 1997 to treat pain from a skiing accident.

Perry first went to rehab in 1997 but unfortunately relapsed. In 2000, he was hospitalized with an inflamed pancreas due to his substance abuse.

His fear that his alcoholism would lead to his death led him to reach out to family for support in getting help. He returned to rehab in 2011 to focus on staying sober.

In 2013, Perry opened ‘Perry House,’ a facility offering support to men with addiction problems. While Perry sold the sober living centre in 2015, he continued to offer support to those living with an addiction.

California’s Phoenix House treatment centre awarded him with the 2015 ‘Phoenix Rising Award’ for giving back to they system that repeatedly supported him on his bumpy path toward sobriety.

In an emotional reunion, the six cast members came together to reminisce about the show while revisiting the sets and sharing favourite moments. This show would would mark Matthew Perry’s last television appearance.

In Perry’s memoir, ‘Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir,’ he shared details of his life struggling with addiction and how it caused innumerable issues with his health. He explored how with his fame, there was no anonymity during the dark times in life.

In a November 2022 interview with The Toronto Star about his memoir, Perry was asked what he would like to be remembered for. He replied, ‘This, and the sobriety and helping others, all that stuff. That should be number one on the list of things I did. And maybe ‘Friends’ a little bit lower.”