Friends cocreators Marta Kauffman and David Crane are remembering Matthew Perry following his sudden death.
“We are shocked and deeply, deeply saddened by our beloved friend Matthew’s passing. It still seems impossible. All we can say is that we feel blessed to have had him as part of our lives,” Kauffman, 67, and Crane, 66, tell Us Weekly in a joint statement on Sunday, October 29 with fellow executive producer Kevin Bright. “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.”
They continue: “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.”
News broke on Saturday, October 28, that Perry had died at the age of 54 after he was found unresponsive in a hot tub at his California home.
According to the Los Angeles Times, there was no sign of foul play. A cause of death has yet to be revealed.
The county’s medical examiner confirmed Perry’s death on Sunday, noting that the case was currently “open” and that an autopsy has been scheduled.
Marta Kauffman and Matthew Perry. Mathew Imaging/FilmMagic)
“We send all of our love to his family and friends. This truly is The One Where Our Hearts Are Broken,” the trio’s statement concluded, mimicking the format of Friends’ episode titles.
Kauffman, Crane and Bright, 68, cast Perry as the sarcastic Chandler Bing on Friends, which premiered in 1994 and ran for 10 seasons.
“I felt like I was gonna die if they didn’t laugh. It’s not healthy for sure, but I would sometimes say a line and they wouldn’t laugh, and I would sweat and go into convulsions,” Perry recalled during the Friends: The Reunion special in April 2021. “If I didn’t get the laugh I was supposed to get, I would freak out. I felt like that every single night.”
‘Friends’ Cast: Where Are They Now?
On September 22, 1994, TV audiences got six new pals with the cast of the hit NBC series Friends. Now, decades later, we’ve watched Jennifer Aniston (Rachel Green), Courteney Cox (Monica Geller), Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe Buffay), Matt LeBlanc (Joey Tribbiani), Matthew Perry (Chandler Bing) and David Schwimmer (Ross Geller) take on numerous other roles through the years. The friend group went from aimless 20-somethings to grown-ups with […]
Perry costarred on Friends alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer. The group’s onscreen friendship quickly blended into their offscreen lives, and as Perry struggled with addiction, they tirelessly encouraged his sobriety.
“[Jennifer] was the one that reached out the most,” Perry told Diane Sawyer in October 2022. “I’m really grateful to her for that.”
At the time, a source exclusively told Us Weekly that Aniston “always took time to listen to him, even when she was busy or had her own issues to deal with.” The insider added: “Matthew feels that these people who stood by him when the chips were down, Jennifer included, saved his life without question.”