Matthew Perry, age 54, was found unresponsive in his Los Angeles property hot tub on October 28. The news of Perry’s death sparked an overwhelming response of celebrity and fan condolences worldwide.
Matthew Perry dedicated ten years of his life to the making of Friends, a TV series that depicted the work and home lives of young adults who live together. Perfectly cast, Perry was committed to conveying the humor and wit of his character, Chandler Bing. Thirty years later, Friends is still a staple of the entertainment network, with a massive and growing fanbase, even among younger generations.
Although most prominently recognized as playing a role in Friends, the late Matthew Perry leaves a lasting impact on the substance abuse community.
Many recalled Perry’s devotion to helping those battling addictions. In a 2022 interview with podcast host Tom Power, “When I die, I don’t want Friends to be the first thing that’s mentioned. I want [my influence on the substance abuse community] to be the first thing that’s mentioned. And I’m gonna live the rest of my life proving that,” Perry said. Perry wasn’t able to fulfill this wish, as he is most mourned today as Chandler Bing. However, his impacts as a rehabilitator and advocate are still significant.
In his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and The Big Terrible Thing, published in 2022, Perry shared that his addiction was rooted in his parents’ poor drinking behavior. At the age of fourteen, he had his first drink and fell into a downward spiral of abusing substances. While on the set of Friends, Perry mentioned that by the end of the third season, he attempted to take over fifty doses of the depressants prescribed for his anxiety and depression. Perry wrote that he hit rock bottom in 2000 when he was rushed to the hospital for pancreatitis; it was only then, after he had battled with addiction for over thirty years and had been admitted into fifteen rehabilitation centers, that he finally began his sobriety journey.
Perry dedicated himself to sharing his experiences and wisdom with people struggling with addiction. He hoped to make these essential conversations less taboo and, in turn, make people with substance use disorder attempt to turn their lives around.
Upon publishing Friends, Lovers, and The Big Terrible Thing, Perry toured the United States and Canada. On this tour, Perry would talk with his guests about how he began abusing substances, how he struggled with multiple relapses, and what he found to be most helpful in dealing with his addiction. As he has pointed out in several interviews, Perry’s primary goal of this tour was not only to promote his book but to help others. “Sometimes I think I went through the addiction, alcoholism, and fame all to be doing what I’m doing right now, which is helping people,” Perry explained in an interview for The Washington Post.
Not only has Perry reassured substance abusers through his tour, but he has also participated in over 6,000 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Furthermore, Perry opened a sober living facility out of his personal Malibu home in 2015 named The Perry House. Perry’s contributions helped some abusers change their lifestyles entirely after being aided by him. Even though it is a tragedy to lose a caring man like Matthew Perry so early, we can reminisce on what he has left behind: Friends, and a legacy of the support he generously doled out.
