The co-creator of Friends, Martha Kauffmantalked with Matthew Perry two weeks before his death, and recalled that the actor, who played the beloved Chandler Bing for 10 seasons on the hit NBC comedy, seemed happy during the talk.
“It was great,” Kauffman said of the conversation during a joint virtual interview with the Friends co-creator, David Cranewhich aired on the Today show on Wednesday. “I was happy and joyful. He didn’t seem burdened by anything. He was in a really good place, which is why this seems so unfair.”.
Kauffman says she was “completely shocked” to hear the news of his passing. “Honestly, my first instinct was to text him,” she said. “And then a deep sadness. So much sadness. Is hard to understand. One minute he’s here and happy and then poof. And do good in the world. Truly doing good in the world.”
She continued: “He looked better than I’ve seen in a long time. I was very excited to see that. I was in a good place emotionally. He looked good. She stopped 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 that gave him a purpose.”
During the interview co-host Hoda Kotb asked Crane about Perry’s earlier quote that people would be “shocked by his passing, but not surprised.” Crane responded: “Given the journey she had undertaken, and we were all aware of it, There was always a part that prepared us for something like this. It’s still hard to believe, because he was such a lively person, it’s hard to believe he’s not here.”.
Crane feels that Perry would understand the impact he had on people, “but at the same time I wonder… to what extent he was able to internalize it and find comfort in it.”
Kauffman said that over the years, she was very aware of her addiction journey: “[Hablé] with him about it right after the meeting [que se emitió en 2021] . Once he entered treatment, he was open about it. Unless he was using.
Crane added that when it came to Perry among the cast and crew who were together for 10 years, “we were all very aware that our priority was supporting him.”
She added that she was worried about him during the reunion, “knowing that he had been through everything he had been through and every time he had surgery they were giving him opioids for the pain and the cycle started again. So yeah, I was worried about where he was in the cycle at that point.”
Reflecting on his passing, he closed the interview by saying: “I lost a friend in multiple ways, and what is surprising is the outpouring of fans who also lost a friend of theirs. And I hope that wherever he is, he feels it”.
The death of Matthew Perry
Perry died Saturday at age 54; He was found unconscious in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home, the Los Angeles Police Department said. The cause of his death remains under investigation. The Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office said the autopsy has been completed, but they are awaiting toxicology results. The case was listed as “postponed” on its website and was removed from the site later Monday.
The Emmy-nominated actor rose to stardom for his role as Chandler on the iconic series, which ran from 1994 to 2004. He went on to star in films such as the franchise Whole Nine Yards, Fools Rush In and 17 Again; and on television, The West Wing, The Good Wife, Go On and, more recently, The Odd Couple. In his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, and subsequent press tour, the actor spoke in detail about his decades-long struggle with substance abuse, including his years starring on Friends.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
