1st Anniversary of Matthew Perry’s Death: Friends and Family Preserve His Legacy

On October 28, 2023, American-Canadian actor Matthew Perry (1969-2023), known for his role as Chandler Bing in the cult series “Friends,” was found dead in the hot tub of his home in Los Angeles. The inquest report was expected to conclude that his death was caused by the acute effects of the narcotic ketamine, which is often abused as a drug. Perry, who had struggled with alcohol and drug addiction since his youth, was only 54 years old.

Even a year after his death, the legal investigation into the prominent death is still far from complete. In mid-August 2024, the US Attorney’s Office made serious allegations in connection with Perry’s death against five people close to the actor, including several doctors, a dealer known throughout the city as the “Ketamine Queen” and an assistant. The accused unscrupulously exploited Perry’s addiction problems to enrich themselves. While the assistant and two of the accused doctors admitted their complicity in the death of the Hollywood star, the other defendants continue to deny the allegations, according to media reports.

The popular actor openly disclosed the extent of his drug problems about a year before his death in his memoirs “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing,” published in November 2022. Among other things, he stated that he had struggled with massive alcohol problems since he was 14, and that later almost the entire range of available drugs came into play.

“I have spent half my life in addiction clinics or institutions,” he wrote in the book. In total, he has spent “a good seven million dollars on getting sober” in his life so far. Unfortunately, addiction doesn’t make a difference between “the super rich and the guy who lives in a rent-controlled apartment.”

During the promotional tour for his book, Perry said he had finally been clean for about a year. But while this may have been true at the time, his drug-free life apparently didn’t last very long.

As the public prosecutor announced during the ongoing trials, Perry fell back into addiction in the fall of 2023 after previously undergoing regular ketamine therapy to treat his depression. He had his assistant obtain the highly potent, prescription-only anesthetic illegally. In the period before his death, the actor had the active ingredient injected six to eight times a day.

A few days before the first anniversary of Matthew Perry’s death, his younger sister Caitlin (43) and his stepfather Keith Morrison (77) reported back with a family update on the state of affairs. In it, the two spoke in detail about a newly launched project with which they want to constructively deal with the loss of their prominent family member and, above all, continue his legacy in a dignified and helpful way.

Together with Perry’s mother Suzanne Morrison (85) and other colleagues, the two founded the charitable foundation, which aims to support people on various levels on their way out of drug addiction.

As can be found on the foundation’s website, this not only includes concrete support for drug addicts in clearing obstacles on their path to recovery (in terms of housing, therapies and orderly working conditions), but also the financing of innovative research projects that are involved in the development of Cures for “substance use disorders” work. Another area of ​​work will ensure that the findings gained in this area of ​​research are taken up by pharmaceutical companies and possible remedies are brought onto the market.

Regarding her job as the organization’s executive director, Caitlin Morrison said: “The work I do now is very self-serving because it feels like I’m sitting right next to Matthew, working with him every day on something that was important to him .” Every day she feels like she “always has him very close to me.” Her father Keith added on behalf of the deceased: “He wants him to be remembered because he did something to help people suffering from addiction.”

Although Matthew Perry struggled with drug addiction throughout his life, the family was not prepared for his death. “When Matthew died suddenly, it was incredibly shocking,” said the stepfather. Even if this possibility was always kept in mind, it was a shocking loss. “We decided,” says Keith Morrison, “to hold on to this realization and try to do something meaningful.”