Nov 3 (Portal) – Actor Matthew Perry, who died on Saturday at age 54, was buried at a Los Angeles cemetery on Friday at a service attended by relatives and castmates from the hit television sitcom “Friends.” in the 1990s, show business media reports, citing photos.
Mourners gathered at Forest Lawn Cemetery in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, less than a mile from the Warner Brothers studio where the show was filmed. It is also the final resting place of numerous Hollywood stars, including Michael Jackson, Lucille Ball and Elizabeth Taylor.
Perry, who played wisecracking Chandler Bing on “Friends” from 1994 to 2004, was found dead in his Los Angeles home, sparking widespread sadness from fans and other celebrities.
The show’s five surviving co-stars paid tribute to their late castmate in a joint message on Monday, lamenting his death as an “unbelievable loss.”
Media outlets such as TMZ and the New York Post’s Page Six covered the event on Friday and published long-distance and aerial photos of people in attendance.
All five “Friends” co-stars — Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer — were there, TMZ said.
Page Six said Perry’s father, John Bennett Perry, and his stepfather, Keith Morrison, were also there.
According to TMZ, a total of about 20 people dressed in black were present and gathered around a gravesite.
Forest Hills did not respond to a Portal request for confirmation.
The “Friends” co-stars issued a joint statement on Tuesday saying they were “completely devastated by the loss,” adding that they would have more to say as time goes on.
The cause and manner of Perry’s death will be determined by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office after an autopsy and toxicology tests are completed.
Perry’s death came a year after the publication of his memoir “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” in which he detailed his decades-long battle with addiction to prescription painkillers and alcohol. At the time, Perry said he had been sober for about 18 months.
Also Friday, a foundation was launched in Perry’s name to support people struggling with addiction. The Matthew Perry Foundation “will honor his legacy and be guided by his own words and experiences and driven by his passion to make a difference in as many lives as possible,” the website says.
The website begins with a quote from Perry that says, “When I die, I don’t want ‘friends’ to be the first thing mentioned – I want ‘helping others’ to be the first thing mentioned.”
Reporting by Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, Calif., and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Jamie Freed
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