{"id":101917,"date":"2024-12-05T14:24:04","date_gmt":"2024-12-05T07:24:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/?p=101917"},"modified":"2024-12-05T14:24:04","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T07:24:04","slug":"matthew-perry-friends-tv-comedy-star-dies-at-54","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/matthew-perry-friends-tv-comedy-star-dies-at-54\/","title":{"rendered":"Matthew Perry: Friends TV comedy star dies at 54"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style='\"font-size:'><b>US actor Matthew Perry, best known for playing wisecracking Chandler Bing in the hit \u201990s TV sitcom Friends, has died at the age of 54.\n</b><p><span style='\"font-size:'>The actor was found dead at his home in Los Angeles, law enforcement sources told US media.\n<p><span style='\"font-size:'>Friends, which followed the fortunes of six young friends living in New York City, aired from 1994 until 2004.\n<p><span style='\"font-size:'>Its final episode was watched by 52.5 million in the US, making it the most watched TV episode of the 2000s.\n<p><span style='\"font-size:'>The LA Times and TMZ, which first reported that Perry had died, said the actor was found unresponsive in a hot tub at his house.\n<p><span style='\"font-size:'>A Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson told the BBC that first responders went to an address in the Pacific Palisades area, regarding a \u201cwater emergency\u201d of an unknown type, but did not name Perry.\n<p><span style='\"font-size:'>Warner Bros, which produced the long-running show whose global reruns were loved by new generations of viewers, described Perry as a \u201ctrue gift to us all\u201d.\n<p><span style='\"font-size:'>Born in Massachusetts in 1969, Perry was raised in Ottawa, Canada, where he attended elementary school with Justin Trudeau, who later became Canadian prime minister.\n<p><span style='\"font-size:'>Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, wrote on X: \u201cMatthew Perry\u2019s passing is shocking and saddening. I\u2019ll never forget the schoolyard games we used to play, and I know people around the world are never going to forget the joy he brought them. Thanks for all the laughs, Matthew. You were loved \u2013 and you will be missed.\u201d\n<p><span style='\"font-size:'>Perry moved to Los Angeles as a teenager. He starred as Chazz Russell in Boys Will Be Boys and also had roles in shows including Growing Pains.\n<p><span style='\"font-size:'>But he became an international star on Friends, a show which followed the lives of six New Yorkers navigating dating, careers and friendship.\n<p><span style='\"font-size:'>The comedy, co-starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and Lisa Kudrow, became one of the most successful shows of all time.\n<p><span style='\"font-size:'>Perry was cast as the awkward Chandler Bing, famous for his sarcastic one-liners and his childish behaviour with room-mate Joey Tribbiani. The role earned him an Emmy nomination in 2002.<br>\n<span style='\"font-size:'><img fetchpriority='\"high\"' decoding='\"async\"' class='\"aligncenter' wp-image-101920 size-full src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/lorevista.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2024%5C/12%5C/131557974_mediaitem131557973.jpg%5C%22" alt='\"\"' width='\"976\"' height='\"549\"' srcset='\"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/131557974_mediaitem131557973.jpg' https: sizes='\"(max-width:'><span style='\"font-size:'>But while at the height of his fame, Perry was battling with addiction to painkillers and alcohol, and attended rehabilitation clinics on multiple occasions.\n<p><span style='\"font-size:'>In 2016, he told BBC Radio 2 that he could not remember three years of filming during Friends, because of drink and drugs.\n<p><span style='\"font-size:'>In an interview last year, he spoke about how he did not watch the show.\n<p><span style='\"font-size:'>\u201cI didn\u2019t watch the show, and haven\u2019t watched the show, because I could go, \u2018Drinking, opiates, drinking, cocaine,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cI could tell season by season, by how I looked. That\u2019s why I don\u2019t wanna watch it, because that\u2019s what I see.\n<p><span style='\"font-size:'>\u201cBut I think I\u2019m going to start to watch it because it\u2019s been an incredible thing to watch it touch the hearts of different generations.\u201d\n<p><span style='\"font-size:'>Entertainment reporter Sean Mandell described the overwhelming feeling in Los Angeles as \u201cshock\u201d and a \u201cubiquitous response\u201d in not believing Perry had died.\n<p><span style='\"font-size:'>He told BBC News Perry played an integral part in the success of Friends and was someone who was \u201cat the hub of the wheel\u201d.\n<p><span style='\"font-size:'>\u201cHis character had the perfect combination of whit, but also true heart and it was grounded,\u201d he said.<br>\n<span style='\"font-size:'><img decoding='\"async\"' class='\"aligncenter' wp-image-101921 size-full src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/lorevista.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2024%5C/12%5C/115477981_friendswarner.jpg%5C%22" alt='\"\"' width='\"976\"' height='\"549\"' srcset='\"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/115477981_friendswarner.jpg' https: sizes='\"(max-width:'><span style='\"font-size:'>Perry also appeared in several films, including Fools Rush In, Almost Heroes and the Whole Nine Yards \u2013 but never found a screen project which came anywhere near matching the huge success and fame he found in Friends.\n<p><span style='\"font-size:'>His later TV work, however, achieved some acclaim.\n<p><span style='\"font-size:'>His role as associate White House counsel Joe Quincy in Aaron Sorkin\u2019s The West Wing earned him two Emmy nominations for outstanding guest actor in a drama series in 2003 and 2004. He played the lead role in Sorkin\u2019s later series, Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip, then wrote and produced his own show called Mr Sunshine in which he also played the lead character.<br>\n<span style='\"font-size:'><img decoding='\"async\"' class='\"aligncenter' wp-image-101922 size-full src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/lorevista.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2024%5C/12%5C/131558606_screenshot2023-10-29074831.jpg%5C%22" alt='\"\"' width='\"976\"' height='\"549\"' srcset='\"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/131558606_screenshot2023-10-29074831.jpg' https: sizes='\"(max-width:'><span style='\"font-size:'>His final significant TV project \u2013 other than the Friends reunion \u2013 was a TV reboot of The Odd Couple, which lasted on American screens for three seasons. In 2017, Perry tweeted he found out it was being cancelled when he arrived on set and discovered his face on the stage door had been painted over with green paint.\n<p><span style='\"font-size:'>Maggie Wheeler, who played Chandler\u2019s troublesome ex-girlfriend Janice in Friends, was the first of Perry\u2019s co-stars to publicly pay tribute to the actor.\n<p><span style='\"font-size:'>Wheeler said the joy Perry brought to \u201cso many\u201d in his \u201ctoo short lifetime will live on\u201d.\n<p><span style='\"font-size:'>\u201cI feel so very blessed by every creative moment we shared,\u201d she wrote on Instagram.\n<p><span style='\"font-size:'>Morgan Fairchild who played Perry\u2019s on-screen mother and erotic novel writer Nora Bing, said: \u201cI\u2019m heartbroken about the untimely death of my \u2018son\u2019, Matthew Perry.\u201d\n<p><span style='\"font-size:'>\u201cThe loss of such a brilliant young actor is a shock,\u201d she added.\n<p><span style='\"font-size:'>Cruel Intentions actress Selma Blair said Perry was her \u201coldest boy friend\u201d, adding: \u201cAll of us loved Matthew Perry, and I did especially. Every day. I loved him unconditionally. And he me.\n<p><span style='\"font-size:'>\u201cAnd I\u2019m broken. Broken hearted. Sweet dreams Matty. Sweet dreams.\u201d\n<p><span style='\"font-size:'>Five days ago, Matthew Perry shared his last Instagram post. Hauntingly, the photo he shared showed himself in a hot tub.<br>\n<span style='\"font-size:'><img loading='\"lazy\"' decoding='\"async\"' class='\"aligncenter' wp-image-101923 size-full src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/lorevista.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2024%5C/12%5C/9333.png%5C%22" alt='\"\"' width='\"657\"' height='\"708\"' srcset='\"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/9333.png' https: sizes='\"(max-width:'>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>US actor Matthew Perry, best known for playing wisecracking Chandler Bing in the hit \u201990s TV sitcom Friends, has died at the age of 54. The actor was found dead at his home in Los Angeles, law enforcement sources told US media. Friends, which followed the fortunes of six young friends living in New York\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":101924,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[670],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-101917","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/The-Haunting-Last-Photo-Matthew-Perry-Shared-on-Instagram-\ud83d\ude14say-RIP\ud83d\udc94-Check-comments-below.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101917"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101917\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101925,"href":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101917\/revisions\/101925"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}</p></span></span></p></span></p></span></p></span></p></span></p></span></p></span></p></span></p></span></span></span></p></span></p></span></span></span></p></span></p></span></p></span></p></span></p></span></p></span></p></span></span></span></p></span></p></span></p></span></p></span></p></span></p></span></p></span></p></span></p></span></p></span></p></span></p></span></p>