Matthew Perry’s Death
The news spread like wildfire. On Saturday, October 28, Matthew Perry was found dead in his hot tub at his home. The actor was 54 years old. Perry is mostly known for his popular role as Chandler Bing on Friends the popular show that ran for nine seasons from 1994 to 2004. Perry’s acting was not the only remarkable thing he has achieved. While playing the lovable, charismatic Chandler, Perry struggled with drug addiction. Perry turned his struggle into a method of helping others, and after getting sober, he began to help others enter rehabilitation.
Perry’s struggles with addiction started at a young age. In his book Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, he calls himself a “just add water addict” claiming that he was an alcoholic from the moment he had his first drink at 14. Following a jetski accident in 1997, Perry was prescribed Vicodin- a highly addictive painkiller. He entered rehab later that year, but couldn’t stay sober. In 2000, he was hospitalized due to pancreatitis caused by heavy alcohol consumption. During this time, Friends was on a break between seasons six and seven. When the show returned, many audience members noticed the change in Perry’s appearance. He lost 20 pounds while he detoxed in the hospital.
Finally, in 2001, Perry realized the severity of the situation. He called people around him who could aid him in his recovery, and by 2002, Perry was in rehab. He stayed in a rehabilitation center for two and a half months. After he got out he did a plethora of interviews discussing the process of getting sober.
While Friends ended in 2004, and Perry’s acting career fizzled out, he did not step out of the spotlight. He publicly spoke about his addiction, and in 2015, he opened a sober house for men in Malibu, called the Perry House.
However, Perry struggled with his health, and many issues that stemmed from ongoing addiction. Throughout the 2010s, he spent countless days in the hospital, including surgeries for gastrointestinal perforations. When he was 49, his colon burst due to an opioid overdose. By 2021 he had undergone 14 stomach surgeries. He reported that this was just a reminder to stay sober. When he returned for the Friends reunion in 2021, people online commented that his appearance was concerning. Despite this, the cast and crew commented on his lively spirit, and what an honor it was to work with him years after the show had ended.
Rather than shut out the comments of the public, Perry invited people to see the inner workings of his bleak and struggling past. He wrote and released his memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing in 2022. Perry tweeted “So much has been written about me in the past. I thought it was time people heard from me. The highs were high, the lows were low. But I have lived to tell the tale, even though it sometimes looked like I wouldn’t. And it’s all in here. I apologize it’s not a pop up book,”
On October 28, 2023, law enforcement entered Perry’s home. When they approached the hot tub, they found Perry deceased. He was 54 years old. At first, it was announced to be a possible drowning, however, there are many possible causes for demise, especially taking into account the heat of the hot tub. Toxicology reports are being performed currently, however, in a high publicity case, they will likely take their time to ensure the results are reliable. The initial toxicology report informed the public that there was no meth or fentanyl in his system at the time of his demise. As more investigations are conducted, they will be able to share more about the cause of death, but it is inconclusive as of now.
While Perry is most known for his ability to make people laugh as Chandler, his legacy spans across a much greater magnitude, Through spreading his story before his passing, he helped to guide thousands of others to sobriety and will continue to do so, even in death.
