Matthew Perry, one of the stars of the hit NBC comedy “Friends,” was remembered during the Emmy Awards' In Memoriam segment, which featured a musical number by singer-songwriter Charlie Puth and the duo The War and Treaty.
The number began with Puth's popular song, “See You Again,” which the singer originally wrote in memory of Paul Walker, who died in a car accident in 2013. As a commemorative slideshow featuring portraits of Hollywood actors and other creatives who died in 2023. played on screen, the musical trio then transitioned into the “Friends” theme song in honor of Perry, whose portrait concluded the slideshow.
Perry died from the “acute effects” of ketamine, a drug sometimes used to treat depression, the Los Angeles County medical examiner's office said in an autopsy report released in December. She was 54 years old.
The autopsy report said Perry was receiving ketamine infusion therapy every other day for a period of time, but had reduced that intake more recently, and his last known infusion was a week and a half before his death. Other factors contributing to Perry's death included drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid use disorder.
Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry and Jennifer Aniston.
(NBC/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
Perry rose to stardom in the 1990s as Chandler Bing, a role he landed when he was just 24, on the popular NBC sitcom and quickly made the character a fan favorite with his deadpan sarcasm and quirky neuroticisms. . The role, which he played for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004, earned him an Emmy nomination in 2002 for lead actor in a comedy series. (Over the course of his acting career, Perry earned five Emmy nominations, including two for his guest role on “The West Wing” and one as executive producer of the 2021 “Friends: The Reunion” special about Max.)
In her 2022 memoir, “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing,” Perry detailed her plight with addiction, which began at the age of 14 and increased as her fame for starring in “Friends” grew. At one point, she said in her book, she took almost five dozen pills a day. The book also describes the health challenges she faced as a result of the decades-long battle, including a series of medical episodes in 2018 that included a brief period on life support and two weeks in a coma.
Aniston, Cox, Kudrow, LeBlanc and Schwimmer first broke their silence on Perry's death last November, sharing touching individual tributes on social media.
“Matthew. “I say goodbye with a heavy heart,” LeBlanc wrote in an Instagram post, along with photos of scenes from “Friends.”
In her tribute, Aniston said: “Having to say goodbye to our Matty has been a crazy wave of emotions that I have never experienced before. Being able to really SIT in this pain allows you to feel moments of joy and gratitude for having loved someone so deeply. And we loved him deeply.”
