“Friends” star Matthew Perry apparently drowned in his hot tub after suffering a heart attack on Saturday, Oct. 28. He was 54.
Emergency medics responding to a “water emergency” 911 call at Perry’s Los Angeles area residence found him unresponsive in a hot tub at his home around 4 p.m. local time.
Police sources told NBC News and CNN that first responders initially believed they were responding to a possible “water rescue” at the actor’s home.
Perry was pronounced dead at the scene and he was not transported to a hospital. A coroner’s van was seen leaving the residence hours later.
Perry was short of breath and leaned heavily on a brick wall after leaving an office building in Beverly Hills in June 2023. He reportedly played Pickleball for two hours on Saturday, before returning home and sending his assistant on an errand.
His assistant returned to the house and found Perry unresponsive in the hot tub, according to DailyMail.com. Police are investigating the death as an accidental drowning.
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Perry (far right) was best known for his role as sarcastic Chandler Bing on the NBC sitcom “Friends” which aired for 10 seasons and ended in 2004.
Perry’s distraught mother Suzanne Perry and her husband Keith Morrison were seen arriving at Perry’s home before his body was transported to the coroner’s office late Saturday.
Perry’s visibly shaken father John Bennett Perry is seen arriving at his son’s house after news broke of his death on Saturday. John was later comforted by Matthew’s stepfather, Keith Morrison.
Perry had a history of drugs and alcohol addiction. The LAPD said prescription drugs were found in his home but no illegal drugs.
He went to rehab in 1997 for an opioid addiction after a jet skiing accident. He was also hooked on opioids after undergoing colon surgery when he was 49.
Matthew Perry is pictured jogging after a stint in drug rehab in 1997. He was candid about his problems with drugs and alcohol. He detailed his struggles with addiction in his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers And The Big Terrible Thing.
Perry established the Perry House, a sober living facility in Malibu, CA., to help other recovering addicts. He also wrote the play “The End of Longing,” which he described as “A personal message to the world, an exaggerated form of me as a drunk.”
Perry once said he wanted to be remembered for trying to help others.
“When I die, I know people will talk about Friends, Friends, Friends. And I’m glad of that, happy I’ve done solid work as an actor, as well as given people multiple chances to make fun of my struggles on the world wide web… But when I die, as far as my so-called accomplishments go, it would be nice if Friends were listed far behind the things I did to try to help other people. I know it won’t happen, but it would be nice.”
In his final post on Instagram 5 days before he died, Perry shared an image that showed him in his hot tub. He captioned the image: “Oh, so warm water swirling around makes you feel good? I’m Mattman.”
Perry purchased his hilltop home for $6 million in late 2020. The 4-bedroom, 4-bath property underwent extensive renovations, including installation of an infinity pool and Jacuzzi as seen in this aerial photo by Backgrid.com. He moved into the home a few months ago.
Courteney Cox, who played Chandler Bing’s wife, Monica, on “Friends”, revealed she and Perry are distant cousins during the “Friends” reunion earlier this year. She said she was “in love” with Perry and he had “deep feelings” for her, but they remained platonic friends off the set.
Matthew Perry and Julia Roberts are seen strolling hand-in-hand when they dated in 1996. Perry never married. “Friends” co-stars Maggie Wheeler and Morgan Fairchild remembered him for the joy he “brought to so many.”
“We are all struggling to come to terms with this terrible news,” a longtime friend who was in rehab with Perry told The Mail.
