After news broke that “Friends” star Matthew Perry died on Saturday, his co-stars on the iconic sitcom started to pay tribute to the Chandler Bing actor.
“We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family. There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss,” Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer wrote in a statement to People on Monday. “In time we will say more, as and when we are able. For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty’s family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world.”
Some of Perry’s scene partners on the show also paid tribute. Maggie Wheeler, who played Chandler’s on-again, off-again girlfriend Janice on the first four seasons of “Friends,” took to Instagram to write, “What a loss. The world will miss you Mathew Perry. The joy you brought to so many in your too short lifetime will live on. I feel so very blessed by every creative moment we shared.”
Paget Brewster, whose “Friends” character Kathy dated Chandler in season 4, took to X to write, “I’m so very sad to hear about Matthew Perry. He was lovely to me on Friends and every time I saw him in the decades after. Please read his book. It was his legacy to help. He won’t rest in peace though…He’s already too busy making everyone laugh up there.”
Perry starred on “Friends” for 236 episodes over 10 seasons, from 1994 to 2004. His portrayal of Chandler blended a mix of sweetness and sarcasm that made him a fan favorite and a pop culture icon. The actor was one of the core six “Friends” of the title, alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer.
“Friends” was nominated for 62 Primetime Emmy Awards, and won for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2002. In 2021, the cast got back together for the Max special “Friends: The Reunion.”
Beyond his “Friends” family, other Hollywood stars such as Mira Sorvino, Josh Charles and Selma Blair paid tribute to Perry, remembering him as a “sweet, troubled soul” and a “great actor.”
Outside of “Friends,” Perry starred in series such as 2006’s “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” 2012’s “Go On” and a 2015 “Odd Couple” revival, as well as films such as 1997’s “Fools Rush In,” 2000’s “The Whole Nine Yards” and 2009’s “17 Again.” Perry also acted onstage, with credits including 2003’s “Sexual Perversity in Chicago” and a 2016 production of “The End of Longing,” both staged in London.
The actor was very forthcoming about his long struggle with drugs and alcohol, which he documented at length in his 2022 memoir “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.”
From Variety US