Matthew Perry was “happy” and “doing good in the world” before his death, according the creators of Friends.
In a joint interview on CBS’s Today show, Marta Kauffman and David Crane discussed their shock at the news of Perry’s passing at the age of 54 on Saturday (28 October).
“He was happy and chipper,” Kauffman said of Perry, who played Chandler Bing for 10 seasons of the hit sitcom. “He didn’t seem weighed down by anything. He was in a really good place, which is why this seems so unfair.”
Kauffman said she was in “utter shock” after hearing the news last weekend. The actor was found unresponsive in his hot tub at his home in Los Angeles, the LA police department said. His cause of death is yet to be confirmed.
“My first instinct was to text him, honestly. And then deep sadness. So much sadness. It’s hard to grasp,” she said. “One minute he’s here and happy and then poof. And doing good in the world. Really doing good in the world.
“He seemed better than I had seen in a while. I was so thrilled to see that. He was emotionally in a good place. He looked good. He quit smoking. Yes, he was sober. He learned things throughout this and what he learned more than anything is that he wants to help other addicts, and it gave him purpose.”
In an exclusive interview, ‘Friends’ creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane remember Matthew Perry.
They speak to @hodakotb about the loss of the actor, the last conversations they had with him and the impact he made in the world. pic.twitter.com/96FcJkbghE
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) November 1, 2023
Meanwhile, Crane was asked about Perry’s previous comments that people would be “shocked about his passing but no surprised”.
He said: “Given the journey he’d been on, and we were all aware of it, there was always a part that was kind of bracing for something like this. It is hard to believe, because he was such an alive person that it’s hard to believe he’s not here.”
Crane went on to say that, while he felt that Perry would understand the impact he had on people, “at the same time I wonder … how much he was able to internalise it and find comfort in it”.
The producers added that they were aware of Perry’s struggles with addiction over the years, and that their priority was to support him. “I talked to him about it actually right after the reunion [which aired in 2021],” Kauffman said. “Once he went into treatment, he was open about it. Unless he was using.”
Finishing off the interview, she added: “I lost a friend in multiple ways, and what’s amazing is the outpouring from the fans who lost a friend of theirs, too. And I hope wherever he is, he feels it.”
Earlier this week, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer issued a joint statement paying tribute to their Friends co-star, saying they were “utterly devastated by the loss”.
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