A time when everybody cries
SINCE his untimely death, I have done a little reading into the tragic life of Matthew Perry.
The “Friends” star died last weekend. He was found submerged in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home.
The actual cause of death, at the moment, remains unknown. There has been talk of a possible heart attack, and the Los Angeles Police Department is still waiting for results of a toxicology report and a post-mortem
The news caught the film industry by surprise as the star, who rose to fame featuring as the sarcastic but loveable Chandler M Bing in the 90s sitcom “Friends”, was on the road to recovery from substance abuse.
He was said to be 18 months sober when Warner Brothers shot “Friends Reunion” back in 2021.
Since his death, many of the actor’s former co-stars have come out with touching tributes for both the actor and the character he portrayed during the show.
Morgan Fairchild, who played the mother of Chandler Bing in the sitcom, wrote on X: “I am heartbroken about the untimely death of my ‘son’ Matthew Perry.
“The loss of such a brilliant young actor is a shock. I am sending love and condolences to his friends and family, especially his dad, John Bennett Perry, who I worked with on ‘Flamingo Road’ and ‘Falcon Crest’. #RIPMatthew.”
Brooke Shields, who appeared in a 1996 episode of “Friends”, wrote: “Thank you for the belly laughs. You brought joy to so many. We already miss you . . . sending all of my love to your family and friends.”
However, the most telling of the tributes came from Maggie Wheeler, who played one of Matthew’s most famous love interests on the show “Janice”.
She shared a sweet photo of the pair on Instagram and wrote: “What a loss. The world will miss you Matthew Perry. 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.”
Of course, the remaining five of the main cast — Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow and Matt LeBlanc — have remained mum on social media as they mourn their dear and close friend (pun intended).
It goes without saying that the show left an indelible mark on the industry as it led to the meteoric rise of its stars Aniston, Schwimmer and Cox, who were all thrust into the A-list category by the time the show wrapped up its 10th and final season in 2004.
I am of the opinion that “Friends” is by far the greatest sitcom of all time and certainly among the top 10 best television shows.
And Perry is one of the main reasons for this.
Chandler Bing is the quintessential everyman, a shy, loyal and deeply flawed character who masks his pain through humour and sarcasm.
One needs only to search for any of the show’s blooper reels, readily available on YouTube, to catch a glimpse of the talent that was Perry.
Bing was a true underdog, who did not take well to his parents’ divorce as a kid and hid his pain through humour.
Haunted by feelings of inadequacy, he marries his best friend’s sister Monica (Cox) and the two end the show having adopted a pair of twins.
Perry was quoted as saying his character was a reflection of his true self as the two had more than a few common traits.
The parents’ divorce, using humour and sarcasm as a defence mechanism and the overall feeling of inadequacy are just a few of the many common traits between Perry and the character he portrayed.
It makes his death all the more tragic. The actor even detailed all his demons in his memoirs “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing”, which was released last year.
In it, he chronicles everything — his time and fame from the hit television show, failed romances with famous actresses Julia Roberts and Lizzy Caplan, and substance addiction.
I am yet to get my hands on the full book, but it is definitely on my to-do list.
Perry’s life and subsequent death must act as a cautionary tale about the pain that lies behind every smile.
We should all draw a lesson from the actor, reach out to a friend or stranger, and never be afraid of asking for help.
One cannot predict what could have happened had someone noticed the pain the actor was going through during the show’s run and the time after.
There is no guarantee that asking for help could have changed his later years or prevented his death, but I doubt if it could have done any more harm.