Matthew Perry laid to rest in Los Angeles among Friends cast members and family – latest
Friends star’s cause of death has been deemed ‘inconclusive’ following an initial autopsy as no signs of meth and fentanyl
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Matthew Perry was laid to rest at a Los Angeles cemetery yesterday in a service attended by relatives and castmates from the hit 1990s television sitcom Friends.
All five Friends co-stars – Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer – were present at the Forest Lawn cemetery in the Hollywood Hills neighbourhood of Los Angeles, reported TMZ.
Page Six said Perry’s father, John Bennett Perry, and his stepfather, Keith Morrison, were also there. About 20 people dressed in black attended and gathered around a burial plot, TMZ said.
On Friday, Perry’s hope of being remembered for “helping people to recover” from addiction realised as a foundation is set up in the late actor’s name.
The Matthew Perry Foundation said it "will honor his legacy and be guided by his own words and experiences and driven by his passion for making a difference in as many lives as possible”.
Last year, while promoting his book Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, the actor admitted that he hoped he would be remembered for his outreach work, rather than his time on the hit sitcom.
VOICES: Let Matthew Perry’s legacy be those he helped with addiction
Perry changed the narrative around addiction. Could he have been a more relatable role model? Adam Bloodworth writes:
Perry changed the narrative around addiction. Could he have been a more relatable role model?
Friends director reveals how cast are coping with Matthew Perry news
Friends director James Burrows has shared some insight into how the rest of the main cast members are dealing with Perry’s sudden death.
“I had to have a couple of days to just let it soak in,” Burrows said on the Today show on Thursday. “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.”
Read more:
Friends director says lead cast have been ‘destroyed’ by Matthew Perry death
James Burrows directed the first four episodes of ‘Friends’, which first aired in 1994
Lisa Kudrow is not adopting Matthew Perry’s dog, despite multiple reports.
Earlier this week, it was rumoured that Kudrow would be taking in the late actor’s dog after his sudden passing on Saturday 28 October at the age of 54. However, a source has confirmed to People that Perry didn’t own a dog at the time of his death.
Read more:
Perry died from an apparent drowning at his home in Los Angeles on 28 October
Friends creator says she was ‘concerned’ about Matthew Perry during 2021 reunion
Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman has admitted that she was “concerned” about Matthew Perry during the show’s 2021 reunion special.
Nearly two decades after the hit NBC sitcom came to an end in 2004, the six leads – Perry, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow and Matt LeBlanc – returned to the show’s original soundstage for Friends: The Reunion.
Before that point, Perry – who died on Saturday, 28 October, aged 54 – hadn’t appeared on-screen since his four-episode feature on the 2017 drama mini-series The Kennedy’s After Camelot.
Speaking to TODAY show’s Hoda Kotb during a recent interview – which aired on NBC on Wednesday (1 November) – Kauffman said she was “concerned” about what point in Perry’s sobriety cycle he was in during the reunion.
Read more:
Perry was found dead in his Los Angeles home aged 54
Opening line of Matthew Perry’s memoir has a heartbreaking new meaning
The opening line of Matthew Perry’s affecting 2022 memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing has taken on a heartbreaking new light in the wake of the Friends star’s death.
In the wake of the heartbreaking news, tributes poured in from across the world, with many hailing Perry’s performance as the sarcastic but loveable Chandler as one of the best parts of the hugely popular sitcom.
However, while Friends was undoubtedly Perry’s biggest success as an actor, the star himself said he would rather be remembered for his ability to help others overcome their alcohol addiction.
The actor made no secret of his own addiction struggles over the years and, in November 2022, he discussed this candidly in his book.
Now, fans of Perry are sharing the opening line of the memoir, which has taken on new resonance following his death.
Read more:
Sitcom star’s fans are highlighting the line following his apparent drowning
Matthew Perry’s advice in last interview before his death: ‘People do change’
‘His book kept me sober’: Tributes to Matthew Perry’s ‘courageous’ work to help others battle addiction
In the wake of Matthew Perry’s death, people honour the Friends star for his advocacy work to destigmatise substance use disorder and help those in recovery.
Ariana Baio and Clémence Michallon report:
In the wake of Matthew Perry’s death, people remember the ‘Friends’ actor for his advocacy work to destigmitise substance use disorder and help those in recovery. Ariana Baio and Clémence Michallon report
How Matthew Perry confronted his drug addiction and spent his life urging others to seek help
Perry made no secret of his addiction struggles over the years, writing candidly about his substance abuse and attempts to stay sober in his affecting memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.
Released in 2021, the book chronicled the exacerbation of Perry’s addiction under the “white-hot flame of fame” after he shot to international stardom, aged 24, as the wise-cracking Chandler Bing in the hit sitcom Friends.
“Hi, my name is Matthew, although you may know me by another name,” he wrote in the book’s opening passage. “My friends call me Matty. And I should be dead.”
In the book, Perry recalled drinking heavily through the first two seasons of Friends, although he said he was never drunk or high on set, and then becoming addicted to the opiate pain medication Vicodin after a jet ski accident while filming Fools Rush In with Salma Hayek in 1996.
By the end of the 10th series of Friends, Perry became “entrenched in a lot of trouble”, he revealed years later.
Read more:
‘Friends’ star, who has died aged 54, was a prominent campaigner for drugs reform and spoke candidly about his own battles with substance abuse
The question Miriam Margolyes regretted asking Matthew Perry on Graham Norton Show
Margolyes has paid tribute to Perry weeks after revealing “regret” over a question she asked the Friends star on The Graham Norton Show.
Actor Margolyes, whose credits include The Age of Innocence and Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, appeared on Norton’s BBC chat show in 2020 alongside Perry, who died on Saturday (28 October).
Perry, who was promoting a West End play at the time, was left squirming after an x-rated anecdote Margolyes shared. As the audience laughed, Perry, appearing visibily shocked, stated: “I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been more uncomfortable in my life.”
Read more:
‘On reflection, I really wish I hadn’t asked it,’ actor confessed in memoir
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments