'Friends' Star Matthew Perry Dead At 54 After Apparent Drowning

Frank Underwood

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Matthew Perry -- one of the stars of 'Friends' -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us the actor was found Saturday at an L.A.-area home ... where we're told he appears to have drowned. Our sources say first-responders rushed over on a call for cardiac arrest. It's unclear where exactly on the grounds this happened.

Our sources say he was found in a jacuzzi at the home ... and we're told there were no drugs found at the scene. We're also told there is no foul play involved.

Perry is most famous for his role as Chandler Bing on the hit '90s sitcom, which ran for 10 seasons ... and with him in all 234 episodes. His character was a fan fave, as was performance -- mannerisms and lines of which have gone on to be recreated and spoofed by fans all over the world. One comes to mind, in particular ... "Could (blank) BE more .."

While 'Friends' was his biggest claim to fame ... MP had starred/guest starred in countless other TV shows over the years -- such as 'Boys Will Be Boys,' 'Growing Pains,' 'Silver Spoons,' 'Charles in Charge,' 'Sydney,' 'Beverly Hills, 90210,' 'Home Free,' 'Ally McBeal,' 'The West Wing,' 'Scrubs,' 'Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,' 'Go On,' 'The Odd Couple' and more.

He had also acted in a handful of memorable films (mostly comedy) ... like 'Fools Rush In,' 'The Whole Nine Yards,' 'Three to Tango,' 'The Kid,' '17 Again,' 'Getting In,' and many others. He's been off the scene more recently ... not having acted since a TV mini series in 2017.

While his onscreen persona was affable and upbeat, Matthew suffered mightily behind the scenes -- notably, from his addiction to drugs and alcohol ... pain killers, specifically. He was hooked on Vicodin for years -- even while on 'Friends' -- and had been in and out of rehab.

Matthew opened up about this painful chapter of his life in a memoir he put out last year -- where he detailed the struggles he had ... including his clear weight-loss/gain on the show.

During his press run for his book ... Matthew did a number of interviews where he got incredibly emotional -- including one with Diane Sawyer, where he detailed his story.

While Perry appeared to be clean and sober a year ago, the year prior -- when he and the other cast members were plugging the 'Friends' reunion show -- drew concern from fans ... as they felt he appeared unwell, at times slurring his words and looking a bit out of it.

On top of his substance use ... Matthew also dealt with health issues, some of which were serious and required hospitalizations. One such incident stemmed from a gastrointestinal perforation -- which forced him to undergo emergency surgery ... but he luckily recovered.

Matthew never married, but he was briefly engaged to Molly Hurwitz a couple years ago ... which came to an end after only 6 months. Before that, he'd been linked to Lizzy Caplan.

He was 54 years old.

RIP

Source: https://www.tmz.com/2023/10/28/friends-star-matthew-perry-dead-dies-drowning/
 

Angela Channing

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Truly shocking news. I sometimes think I'm the only person who has never watched a single episode of Friends but I'm still really saddened by him dying.
 

Snarky Oracle!

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In his interviews last year, he looked so bad it was hard to fathom. In a way, it's not a surprise really -- some people just have more chain than they can carry, regardless of fame or fortune.
 

RandallAdams

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You could tell he wouldn't reach old age just looking at him in recent years. That's what super fame does to some people. He's just lucky he didn't get that exposure in the social media age because people scrutinize every little detail now.
 

Payton Cross

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This is very sad news, I just read it by chance on the internet and I was shocked when I read it, at 54 years old it is still a very young age.
I wish his family and friends a lot of strength in these sad times. I really loved Matthew Perry in the series "F.R.I.E.N.D.S", i'm a huge fan of the show.

You will be missed Matthew Perry. "The One Who Made Me Laugh". :rip:

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Luke_Krebbs_Ewing

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Courtney Cox said at the Friends reunion a year or two ago, words to the effect of, ‘this will be the last time we do this’. It is so good they did that reunion for the fans as it really was the last time they were all together

It's always very sad when you see the actors of your favourite TV shows pass away.

Although I never watched Friends, I still know the pain the viewers go through when a core cast member of the cast passes away.

I've went through it myself when we lost Larry Hagman back in 2012 and more recently with Ken Kercheval a few years ago.

It never gets any easier. :(
 

DallasFanForever

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54 is just too short a life. I hope he is finally at peace.

He will always be known for Friends first and foremost but one of my favorite roles of his was in the movie 17 Again.

My condolences to his family and friends, especially his parents. No one should ever have to know the pain of outliving their children. It’s very unfair.

R.I.P.
 

Emelee

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I was surprised that I wasn't very surprised by his death. I didn't react much other than I found it sad, of course.

Rest in peace.
 
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