‘Friends’ Co-Stars Remember Matthew Perry, Family in Service

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By Danica Daniel and Eric Hegedus

Published November 3, 2023, 6:43 p.m. ET

The one where they said goodbye.

Matthew Perry’s “Friends” co-stars and some of his family members were spotted at Forest Lawn Church of the Hills in Los Angeles on Friday – in exclusive photos obtained by The Post – at what is believed to be a gathering Funeral service for the deceased “Friends”. Friends” actor.

Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox and David Schwimmer – all dressed in black – were seen outside as a group. “Friends” actor Matt LeBlanc was not immediately captured in photos.

Perry’s father John Bennett Perry and stepfather Keith Morrison were also spotted outdoors.

Aniston’s bodyguards were seen driving away from her LA home before the gathering and arriving at the venue.

The cemetery is across the street from the Warner Bros. studios, where Perry filmed the popular sitcom for ten years.

The critically acclaimed actor, who played Chandler Bing on the long-running NBC series, died of apparent drowning at his home on October 28 at the age of 54.

“We are all deeply devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family,” the cast said in a joint statement on Monday. “There is so much to say, but for now we will take a moment to grieve and process this incredible loss.”

Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer and Lisa Kudrow are seen outside the venue.Shutterstock / SplashNews.com Four of Perry’s cast members arrive at the gathering.Shutterstock / SplashNews.com Matthew Perry’s father, John Bennett Perry, arrives at the Forest Lawn Church of the Hills in Hollywood, California, where a service for Matthew Perry is believed to have taken place. KAOS for NY Post Keith Morrison (wearing a tie) appears outside a service believed to be for his stepson Matthew Perry. KAOS for NY Post Guests were dressed all in black as it appeared to be paying respect to the late actor KAOS for NY Post

“Over time we will say more as we are able,” they continued. “Right now our thoughts and love are with Matty’s family, his friends and everyone who loved him around the world.”

A day before the meeting, director Jim Burrows, who directed more than a dozen episodes of “Friends,” said he immediately texted Aniston, Cox and Kudrow after learning of Perry’s death.

“I was texting the girls the day we found out,” he told “Today” on Thursday. “They were destroyed. It is a brother who dies.”

“Friends” co-creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane as well as director Kevin Bright also released their own statement following the tragic news.

“We are shocked and deeply saddened by the death of our beloved friend Matthew,” they said. “It still seems impossible. All we can say is that we feel blessed to have had him in our lives.”

A gathering for Matthew Perry was held at Forest Lawn Church of the Hills in Hollywood.KAOS for NY Post Matthew Perry’s mother Suzanne and stepfather Keith Morrison were seen arranging the late actor’s funeral earlier this week.KAOS for NY Post Matthew Perry’s sisters were seen with their mother earlier this week to discuss details of the agreement. KAOS for NY Post Family members met Tuesday to work on preparations. KAOS for NY Post

“He was a brilliant talent,” the trio continued.

“It’s a cliché to say that an actor makes a role their own, but in Matthew’s case there are no truer words.” From the day we first heard him portray the role of Chandler Bing, there was there is no one for us anymore. We will always cherish the joy, light and dazzling intelligence he brought to every moment – not just in his work but in life. He was always the funniest person in the room. Furthermore, he was the sweetest, with a generous and selfless heart. This is truly where our hearts are broken.”

The Post confirmed that the popular “Fools Rush In” star was found underwater after officials received a call saying the late actor was in his hot tub and not breathing.

Matthew Perry in July 2011. Getty Images Perry at the 28th annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at the University of Southern California on April 22, 2023. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

In a statement, Los Angeles police told the Post: “We responded to the 1800 block of Blue Sail Rd at 4:10 this afternoon for a death investigation involving a man. “He was in his 50s.”

The caller’s identity was not revealed by authorities, although TMZ reported that it was Perry’s assistant who made the call after returning from an errand.

“An adult male patient was deceased prior to the arrival of first aid,” the LAFD said in a statement obtained by the Post. “The patient was found by a passerby who had positioned the victim so that his head was no longer in the water.”

The “Friends” cast in 2005. ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

Read more about Matthew Perry’s life and struggles:

Perry, who had been playing pickleball at Riviera Country Club earlier in the day, wasn’t in his hot tub long before he was found dead, according to TMZ.

The Emmy-nominated actor had a long history of drug and alcohol abuse and spoke openly about his decades-long opioid and alcohol addiction in his 2022 memoir “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing.”

In his book, Perry revealed that he attended 6,000 AA meetings, went to rehab 15 times, had surgery 14 times to mitigate the damage of his addiction, and detoxed 65 times.

Matthew Perry (center) starred as Chandler Bing alongside Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay, Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani, Courteney Cox as Monica Geller, Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green and David Schwimmer as Ross Geller in Friends from 1994 to 2004 . NBCUniversal via Getty Images Matthew Perry’s shocking death was featured on the front page of the New York Post on Monday.

“The doctors told my family I had a 2% chance of survival,” Perry said in a promotional interview for his book last year, after claiming he almost died from a gastrointestinal perforation in 2018. “I was put on something called an ECMO machine, which does all the breathing for your heart and lungs. And that’s called Hail Mary. Nobody survives this.”

The actor, whose net worth was an estimated $120 million at the time of his death according to Parade, once spent about $9 million trying to get sober.

Amid speculation, Perry’s girlfriend Athenna Crosby, 25, who saw Perry 24 hours before his death, insisted the actor is now “100 percent sober.”

“In the interaction I had with him he was extremely positive, sober, behaved normally, spoke very well and did not give me the impression that he was under pressure [the influence of] Drugs or alcohol of any kind,” she told Fox News Digital.

“I think people are speculating that this was a throwback situation. I just want to defend him and say that wasn’t the case.”

“I can’t know exactly what he was thinking or feeling,” she continued. “And of course he was his own person, things he may have said or done or thought of the day he died that I may never know. Not only is it hard to hear that someone you greatly admire has died, it is also scary to hear that someone you just spoke to has died.”

Perry was never married and had no children at the time of his death.

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