Matthew Perry’s iconic scenes from ‘Friends’
There was “no meth or fentanyl” in Matthew Perry’s system at the time of his death, initial toxicology tests have reportedly found.
On Wednesday (1 November), entertainment website TMZ reported investigators have “ruled out” the possibility that Perry died from a meth or fentanyl overdose. However, law enforcement officials said further tests are being conducted after the results of his initial post-mortem report were “inconclusive”.
The Friends star, who shot to international fame for his portrayal of the affable and sarcastic jokester Chandler Bing, died on 28 October in an apparent drowning in his hot tub. He was 54.
In an interview with TODAY show host Hoda Kotb, Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman said Perry’s death “seems so unfair” because the actor “was in a really good place” when they last spoke.
Kauffman and Crane’s interview with Kotb aired in full on Wednesday (1 November), just days after Perry’s Friends co-stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer said they were “utterly devastated” by his death in a joint statement.
Voices: Why Matthew Perry’s death is a watershed moment for millennials
There are other icons who have passed, but Perry was that exact right combination of just-young-enough and not-quite-as-young-as-you-remember to make you really reflect on what his death means to you, Ryan Coogan writes
Tom Murray3 November 2023 04:11
Tribute: Matthew Perry, the comic genius who wore his big, bruised heart on his sleeve
The Friends star’s performances were a masterclass in comic timing. And in his life outside of Chandler Bing, he was disarmingly honest about his frailties and his struggles with addiction. Fiona Sturges pays tribute
Tom Murray3 November 2023 03:13
Listen: Matthew Perry 911 call audio released as cause of death probed
Matthew Perry 911 call audio released as cause of death probed
Tom Murray3 November 2023 02:10
Gwyneth Paltrow recalls ‘magical summer’ with Matthew Perry
Actor and Goop founder Paltrow remembered how Perry “hoped his break was around the corner” when she met him in 1993 at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts, in a touching tribute on Instagram.
Alongside a photograph of Perry taken in the Noughties, she wrote: “We were both there for most of the summer doing plays. He was so funny and so sweet and so much fun to be with. We drove out to swim in creeks, had beers in the local college bar, kissed in a field of long grass.
“It was a magical summer,” the Iron Man actor continued. “He had shot the pilot of Friends but it had not aired yet. He was nervous, hoping his big break was just around the corner. It was.”
Tom Murray3 November 2023 01:13
‘The West Wing shows us the great dramatic career Matthew Perry never had’
Matthew Perry was so much more than Chandler Bing, argues Louis Chilton, who recalls the late actor’s extraordinary Emmy-nominated guest role in which his character unpicks a scandal that brings down the vice president. His show-stealing turn on the political drama gave a glimpse of what might have been…
Tom Murray3 November 2023 00:12
Matthew Perry spent more than $9m trying to get sober
In his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, Perry detailed his battle with addiction to alcohol and painkillers.
Over the course of his three-decades-long journey towards sobriety, he wrote that he spent over $7m (£5.7m) on 15 rehab stints.
Speaking to The New York Times a few weeks before his book’s release, he disclosed that the figure was actually more like “$9m [£7.4m] or something trying to get sober”.
Tom Murray2 November 2023 23:14
Where to read Matthew Perry’s memoir
Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, which was published almost exactly a year ago, documents Perry’s rise to fame, his past relationships and his subsequent struggles with addiction.
The memoir has shot up both Amazon’s and Apple Books’ top charts, with Friends co-star Paget Brewster, who played Chandler’s love interest Kathy, urging fans on X to “please read his book. It was his legacy to help”.
Find out where to read it here:
Tom Murray2 November 2023 22:15
Watch Matthew Perry’s most iconic Friends scenes
Watch Matthew Perry’s most iconic Friends scenes
Tom Murray2 November 2023 19:30
‘No meth or fentanyl found’ in Matthew Perry’s system
Early toxicology tests have reportedly revealed Matthew Perry did not have meth or fentanyl in his system at the time of his death, as the investigation into the Friends star’s cause of death continues.
However, a conclusive update is not expected for “four to six months” with further tests currently underway, American entertainment tabloid TMZ reported, citing law enforcement sources, on Wednesday (1 November).
(Getty Images)
Perry died from an apparent drowning at his home on 28 October
Tom Murray2 November 2023 18:30
Friends director reveals how cast are coping with Perry’s death
Friends director James Burrows has shared some insight into how the rest of the main cast members are dealing Perry’s sudden death.
Burrows, 82, who directed 15 episodes of Friends during its 10-season run, appeared on the Today show on Thursday to discuss the actor’s passing.
“I had to have a couple of days to just let it soak in,” Burrows said on the US morning show. “He was part of a family and he was the first one to not be part of that family anymore.”
Burrows said that upon hearing the news, he texted three of the lead cast members – Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow.
“I had texted the girls the day we found out,” Burrows said. “They were destroyed. It’s a brother dying.”
Tom Murray2 November 2023 17:29