MATTHEW PERRY: TRAGIC TRAIN WRECK
Fears Friends legend has 6 MONTHS TO LIVE
TROUBLED Matthew Perry’s repeated battles with booze and drugs have taken a savage toll on the health of the Friends star — and now friends fear he’ll kick the bucket by the end of the year!
The 49-year-old former TV legend, who has struggled with prescription pill and alcohol demons for years, looked bloated, shabby and dazed while wandering the streets in the Big Apple late last month.
The actor’s hands appeared swollen and his fingernails were long and jagged during his June 20 jaunt, which was captured on camera.
Now, Hollywood insiders worry Matthew’s tumbled off the wagon yet again!
“Matt has packed on over 50 pounds,” snitches an insider. “He’s overweight, out of shape and not taking care of his personal hygiene. He looks like a bum.
“His pants are stained with God knows what, and his hair is a tousled mess. People are really concerned he’s abusing pills and drinking again, and that’s a virtual death sentence for someone who’s had as many health issues as he’s had.”
Matthew’s former costars Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox are so alarmed, they reportedly tried to stage an intervention, but “he’s shunned them and won’t return their calls,” says the insider.
Meanwhile, a friend tells GLOBE: “It appears that Matt’s lost the will to go on. Matt has virtually killed himself with all of his vices and health issues over the years and doesn’t seem to be getting better.
“At this rate, if there isn’t any drastic change, he’ll be dead within six months!”
But Perry seems feisty and gets snippy over comments about his shocking appearance, tweeting: “I’m getting a manicure this morning. That’s OK right? I mean it says man right in the word” after images of his shocking appearance went viral on the internet.
Dr. Gabe Mirkin, who hasn’t treated the actor, believes Matt’s symptoms indicate he’s “a diabetic and may have a weak heart.”
The lifespan expert grimly predicts “he will die soon if he doesn’t avoid alcohol and everything that can damage
Sitcom pals tried intervention but he blew them off
the liver.
“He has to get to rehab immediately — otherwise, the progression is liver damage, diabetes and heart attack!”
Sources believe Matthew’s fizzling career is what’s driving him to eat and drink himself into an early grave.
His last sitcom, The Odd Couple, got axed after only two years, and critics savaged his play, The End of Longing.
And ironically, he’s been the lone holdout for a Friends reunion because of all his problems, notes the source.
“Matt’s struggled with sobriety and depression over his failing career, and he’s eating himself into oblivion,” says the insider.
The actor has already been to rehab twice. What’s more, in February, he admitted he had been “kicked out of therapy.”
In 2000, Matt was hospitalized for pancreatitis, partly caused by his abuse of alcohol and prescription drugs.
Then, the day he got out, the star crashed his Porsche and nearly died.
At the time, he confessed: “In my case, it was hard living and drinking and eating poorly. You play, you pay.”
Last August, Matt’s digestive tract exploded, blowing open a hole that required emergency surgery.
He also needed a tracheostomy, where docs carved an opening in his throat so he could breathe.
“He was left fighting for his life in a hospital bed for three weeks,” spills the insider. “His long history of pillpopping and drinking were almost certainly to blame.”
Now, Dr. Mirkin warns if Matt “doesn’t avoid exposure to alcohol and people who drink around him, he can expect his damaged liver to send him into heart failure.
“He needs to avoid alcohol and foods that contribute to diabetes, or he will die.”