What Matthew Perry said about his 5 Friends in his memoirs

Matthew Perry's memoirs, just on time
'Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir'
Friends: a beacon of light in his life
An eternal bond
A note about each of his Friends
Grateful to all, but most to Lisa
David Schwimmer, the one who kept all together
Power in unity
Jennifer: the love that could have been
Matt, talent in its purest form
Courteney, his television wife
Lisa, his soulmate in laughter
The unbreakable bond has been broken
Matthew Perry's memoirs, just on time

It almost seemed like he knew he didn't have much time left. Matthew Perry released his memoirs just a year before his death.

'Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir'

Strikingly, his book - published while he was still very much alive - begins as follows: "Hi, my name is Matthew, although you may know me by another name. My friends call me Matty. And I should be dead."

 

"A message from the beyond"

"If you like," he continued, "you can consider what you're about to read to be a message from the beyond, my beyond." And this was written while the actor had apparently excellent health.

"I should be dead"

Why did the actor say he "should be dead"? Well, as he revealed in the book, Matthew Perry got very close to death because of his unhealthy habits. The actor opened up about his life of ups and downs, including his struggle with addictions.

Friends: a beacon of light in his life

Obviously, next to the dark memories stand the light ones. Let's take this occasion to focus on the happy times and important people in Matthew Perry's life and memoirs: his co-stars from 'Friends.'

An eternal bond

Every one of the six protagonists has boasted of the bond of friendship and brotherhood they created during the 10 years of filming the series together.

"We are a family"

"We were more than just cast mates. We are a family," said the joint statement released by David Schwimmer, Jennifer Aniston, Matt Leblanc, Courteney Cox, and Lisa Kudrow as they said goodbye to Matthew Perry in October 2023.

A note about each of his Friends

Before he passed away, Chandler Bing's alter ego had time to leave a thought about each of his five companions in the pages of his memoir.

Grateful to all, but most to Lisa

It should be noted that only Lisa Kudrow appears in the acknowledgments of the biography, in addition to the creators of the series, David Crane and Marta Kauffman. While he adored all of his colleagues, he had an especially close bond with Lisa Kudrow.

David Schwimmer, the one who kept all together

For example, he presented David Schwimmer as the common union representative for the six protagonists of 'Friends.'

 

 

"Thanks for getting us a million bucks a week"

He thanked him in his memoirs "for making us stick together when he could have gone it alone and profited more than all the rest, and deciding we should be a team and getting us a million bucks a week."

Power in unity

In this case, Matthew Perry remembers how Ross's alter ego was the one who proposed that they join together and negotiate their salaries together. This way, they gained the power of unity that led them to receive a million dollars per episode in the last seasons.

Jennifer: the love that could have been

As many had already suspected, Matthew Perry confirmed that he had been in love with Jennifer Aniston. They knew each other from before the series and his crush on the actress had started before 'Friends.'

 

"Letting me look at that face every day"

In his memoir, Matthew Perry wrote that he was grateful "for letting me look at that face an extra two seconds every single day."

"We can't be friends!"

Interestingly, Matthew and Jennifer met three years before 'Friends' and he asked her out on several occasions. Yet, she always refused and said they could be friends. To which Matthew would respond: "We can't be friends!" Ironically, they could and they would. With a capital F.

Matt, talent in its purest form

Meanwhile, Matt LeBlanc, the unforgettable Joey, got a lot of praise for his work in Matthew Perry's book. He said LeBlanc "took the only sort of stock character and turned him into the funniest character of the show."

Courteney, his television wife

Then, Matthew Perry thanked Courteney Cox "for making America think that someone so beautiful would marry a guy like me." He refers to the couple they formed in the famous sitcom.

Lisa, his soulmate in laughter

Finally, he defined Lisa Kudrow, the glorious Phoebe, by stating that "no woman has ever made me laugh as much."

The unbreakable bond has been broken

It is clear that the 'Friends' bond of love was still intact by the time Matthew Perry wrote his memoirs. The six actors who started out as friends would become siblings over time. The pain of losing one of their brothers must be hard to endure.

More for you