Matthew Perry has reportedly died. The “Friends” actor was 54

Actor Matthew Perry, famously known for the role of Chandler Bing in the iconic show Friends, was found dead Saturday in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home, law enforcement has reported.

Spokesperson of the LA Fire Department reported that first responders arrived at Perry’s home at about 4 p.m. regarding a “water emergency” of an unknown type, but did not name the actor. Sadly, upon arrival, they discovered Perry’s unresponsive body. According to them, there were no drugs of any type at the scene. At the time being, no foul play is suspected.

A representative of the actor hasn’t issued any comments regarding the tragic incident.

The investigation over Perry’s passing is still ongoing and the cause of death remains unknown. It will be determined by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office at a later date.

“We are devastated by the passing of our dear friend Matthew Perry,” Warner Bros. Television Group, which produced “Friends,” said in a statement to The Times. “Matthew was an incredibly gifted actor and an indelible part of the Warner Bros. Television Group family. The impact of his comedic genius was felt around the world, and his legacy will live on in the hearts of so many. This is a heartbreaking day, and we send our love to his family, his loved ones, and all of his devoted fans.”

“We are incredibly saddened by the too soon passing of Matthew Perry,” NBC, which aired the series for all 10 seasons, said in its own statement to The Times. “He brought so much joy to hundreds of millions of people around the world with his pitch perfect comedic timing and wry wit. His legacy will live on through countless generations.”

Saturday evening yellow-and-black LAPD crime scene tape blocked off the entrance to Blue Sail Drive, a tony street just off the Pacific Coast Highway at the crest of a hill with sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean.

Shortly after 7 p.m., as multiple helicopters whirred overhead, Perry’s mother, Suzanne, and her husband, broadcaster Keith Morrison, joined the journalists and LAPD officers on the scene. Morrison declined to comment. An LAPD officer at the scene said he had no information and that he did not know when any would be forthcoming.

Peter, a neighbor of Perry’s on Bluesail Drive who declined to give his last name Saturday evening, said he only spoke to the actor once, for five minutes, and that he was “very pleasant” and a “nice guy.”

“It’s shocking,” Peter said as he waited for the LAPD, who had barred journalists from passing the police tape, to approve him for entry. “He’s been redoing this house forever and he seemed fine. It’s very sad.”

Leo, another neighbor who declined to give his full name, said he was home when an ambulance arrived at Perry’s house Saturday afternoon. He declined to say whether paramedics tried to revive Perry or if a body was removed from the premises.

“I was shocked,” he said. “It was very disturbing and sad after all these years.”

Perry was one of his favorite actors, Leo said, and the funniest member of the “Friends” cast.

“I encountered him once and he was very, very friendly. More so than I thought,” Leo said. “It’s definitely a tragedy, especially at such a young age,” he added. “I was very heartbroken to see what happened.”

Perry’s stepfather, Canadian broadcaster Keith Morrison, crosses under the police tape near Perry’s house in Los Angeles Saturday night.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Perry, the son of actor John Bennett Perry and Suzanne Marie Langford, onetime press secretary of Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, was born in 1969 and grew up between Montreal and Los Angeles after his parents separated when Perry was 1.

He got his start as a child actor, landing guest spots on “Charles in Charge” and “Beverly Hills 90210” and playing opposite River Phoenix in the film “A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon” in the 1980s and early 1990s.

But his big break came when he was cast in “Friends” — originally titled “Friends Like Us” — a sitcom about six single New Yorkers navigating adulthood that premiered on NBC in 1994.

The series soon became a juggernaut, the anchor of the network’s vaunted Thursday-night “Must-See TV” lineup, and turned Perry and his castmates Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer into mega-stars almost overnight. At its high-water mark — for a 1996 Super Bowl episode and the 2004 series finale — the series could notch more than 50 million live viewers; by its end, cast members were earning more than $1 million an episode.

As Chandler Bing, the handsome, wisecracking roommate of LeBlanc’s Joey Tribbiani and, later, love interest of Cox’s fastidious Monica Geller, Perry distinguished himself in a crackling ensemble cast. With his dry delivery he created a catchphrase with a mere turn of inflection, based on banter he’d shared with childhood friends: Could he be any more Chandler?

Soon, he was attached to major stars like Julia Roberts and appearing in prominent films such as 1997 rom-com “Fools Rush In,” opposite Salma Hayek, and 2000 ensemble mob comedy “The Whole Nine Yards” with Bruce Willis.

There was a dark side to the life of one of television’s most beloved funnymen, however. In his 2022 memoir, “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” Perry recounted his lifelong struggle with addiction to alcohol and opioids. He wrote that he had his first drink at 14, but didn’t recognize the signs of alcoholism until 21. Since then, he estimated, he’d spent more than $7 million on efforts to get sober, including multiple stints in rehab. His substance abuse also led to a number of serious health issues, including a five-month hospitalization in 2018 following a colon rupture that left him, he wrote, with a 2% chance to live through the night.

And it was fueled, he acknowledged during a “Friends” reunion special in 2021, by the pressure to land the joke in front of a live studio audience night after night.

The cast of “Friends,” clockwise from bottom left: Courteney Cox as Monica Geller, Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani, Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay, David Schwimmer as Ross Geller, Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing and Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green.
(NBC / NBCUniversal via Getty Images)

“Nobody wanted to be famous more than me,” Perry told The Times in April, discussing “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing” at the Festival of Books. “I was convinced it was the answer. I was 25, it was the second year of ‘Friends,’ and eight months into it, I realized the American dream is not making me happy, not filling the holes in my life. I couldn’t get enough attention. … Fame does not do what you think it’s going to do. It was all a trick.”

Perry was remembered on Saturday by friends and collaborators such as Selma Blair, Paget Brewster, Morgan Fairchild and Mira Sorvino as a singular comic talent and kind soul.

Perry’s “Friends” co-star Maggie Wheeler, who played his on-again, off-again girlfriend Janice on the hit show, shared a sweet tribute on Instagram.

“What a loss. The world will miss you Mathew Perry,” she wrote. “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.”

He was also memorialized by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Pierre’s son and one of Perry’s childhood friends.

“Matthew Perry’s passing is shocking and saddening,” Trudeau wrote on X. “I’ll never forget the schoolyard games we used to play, and I know people around the world are never going to forget the joy he brought them. Thanks for all the laughs, Matthew. You were loved — and you will be missed.”

Though Perry estimated he had relapsed “60 or 70 times” since first getting sober in 2001, he maintained a steady presence on American television, playing key parts in backstage dramedy “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” and therapy sitcom “Go On,” and making a steady stream of guest appearances on acclaimed shows such as “The West Wing” and “The Good Wife.”

Since his near-death experience in 2018, Perry had found solace in friends, frequent games of pickleball and, especially, writing. Though producing “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing” had forced him to relive his darkest moments, it also connected him to “all the sufferers out there”: “I had a story to tell, a story that could really help people,” he wrote. “And helping others had become the answer for me.”

Indeed, for all his success as an actor and, more recently, as a bestselling memoirist, Perry told The Times in April that his work was not the center of what he hoped would be his legacy.

Pressed to name how he’d like to be remembered, he said: “As a guy who lived life, loved well, lived well and helped people. That running into me was a good thing, and not something bad.”

Family Leaves Their Dog At A Parking Lot, He Spends Weeks Waiting For Them

Family Leaves Their Dog At A Parking Lot, He Spends Weeks Waiting For Them

A heartbreaking story comes from Southern California, where a tiny gray-and-white dog was spotted lying in a school parking lot next to the school’s shrubs.

She was waiting for her family who abandoned her to come back, refusing to leave that very spot, and hiding from anyone who wanted to help her.

Weeks went by, but no one claimed this dog, nor did anyone come back for her. She was all alone in this world, still not realizing that her previous owners are no longer her family…

Little Doggo Girl Was Inclined To Wait For Her Hoomans To Come Back

the dog sits on the street and waits

Despite the fact that no one came back for her for fifteen days, this little dog girl refused to budge from the parking lot shrubs. She was inclined to wait for as much as she needed to for her family to come back.

a dog sits by the sidewalk and waits for its owner

Many people tried to help her, sharing her photos online in hopes of finding her family, but no one ever claimed her. And, even when someone would try to approach her directly, she’d always hide, until one day, a woman named Suzette Hall came by.

Suzette Made Sure The Dog Got A Fresh Start

the dog is waiting for his family
Source: @logans_legacy29 Suzette is the founder of the Logan’s Legacy animal rescue in Irvine, California. When she came across the dog’s story, she had no doubts about helping her. Suzette drove herself to the school and searched for this doggo.“For 15 days, there she was in the morning, afternoon, and then the night. Neighbors tried to help her, but she was too scared. I know she believed if she stayed there, they would come back for her. Loyal little girl,” she wrote.As she was extremely fearful and shy, Suzette decided to set a humane trap with a hot dog in it. Even though this pup wasn’t exactly starved as she was fed by kibble, Suzette chose the right food to lure her in!When she finally got her, the doggo girl was frightened and panicky, but she eventually calmed down and fell asleep in Suzette’s car. She decided to name the dog “Scarlet”.the dog sits in the cage with a sad looksource: @logans_legacy29She drove her to Camino Pet Hospital, in Irvine, California, for a checkup. Scarlet got all the care she needed, and got cleared up for a new foster home. Soon after she was picked up by Suzette, this little dog got a foster family with a bunch of other siblings to play with.Little Scarlet Is Seeking A Furever Homecute shaggy dogSource: The Dodo Even though she’s now happy in a new foster home, Scarlet’s still seeking for her furever family. This lovable dog is easy-going, affectionate, and she pretty much gets along with everyone she meets.Adapting to a new family is definitely not going to be a problem for Scarlet, as she’s naturally a sweet doggo with great social skills!Suzette has one condition for the future family who decides to adopt Scarlet, though – it has to be someone who will never, ever leave her again!Scarlet being abandoned once again under some tree is simply inadmissible, and Suzette hopes she will finally learn what true love looks like. We wish for little Scarlet to find her pawfect home as soon as possible!

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