Matthew Perry, who portrayed Chandler Bing on the acclaimed sitcom “Friends,” has died. He was 54.
The death was confirmed by Captain Scot Williams of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery and Homicide Division. He said the cause of death would likely take some time to determine, but there was no evidence of foul play.
Mr. Perry was well known to American television audiences and appeared in over 200 episodes across all ten seasons of “Friends,” the hit NBC show that followed a group of young professionals living in Manhattan. Mr. Perry starred alongside prominent actors such as Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer and Lisa Kudrow.
Mr. Perry’s character, Chandler Bing, was notable for his sardonic wit.
“Friends” has spanned decades since it first aired in 1994 and has grown in popularity among young viewers in recent years.
Although he is best known for “Friends,” Mr. Perry’s television career spanned nearly four decades, according to IMDb. His first appearance began in 1979 when he appeared as a small child in an episode of the police show “240-Robert”. At 24 he got the role of Chandler Bing.
In the 2010s, he had roles in various television shows including “Mr. Sunshine,” a 2011 ABC comedy in which he played Ben Donovan, the general manager of the Sunshine Center, a sports and entertainment arena in San Diego. In this show he played a dark, selfish loner who just turned 40. Mr. Perry also played Oscar Madison alongside actor Thomas Lennon, who portrayed Felix Unger, in all three seasons of a remake of “The Odd Couple.” which ran on CBS from 2015 to 2017.
“I was a guy who wanted to be famous,” Mr. Perry said in a 2002 interview with The New York Times. “I had steam coming out of my ears, I really wanted to be famous. You want the attention, you want the money and you want the best seat in the restaurant. I didn’t realize the impact it would have.”
Mr. Perry had a history of addiction and related medical problems that, according to his record, resulted in him spending more than half of his life in alcohol treatment centers or facilities.
In his memoir “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing,” published last year, he described his decades of alcohol and drug use.
Mr. Perry first entered rehab in 1997 because of what he described in news reports as an addiction to painkillers. In 2000, he was hospitalized for pancreatitis, an inflammation that can be caused by alcohol and drug abuse.
His addiction led to a series of complications in 2018, including pneumonia, an exploded colon, a short time on life support, two weeks in a coma, nine months with a colostomy bag and more than a dozen stomach surgeries.
Two years ago, Mr. Perry, who said he was newly sober at the time, appeared at a televised reunion of the “Friends” cast in which the stars revisited some of the show’s most iconic sets, such as the Central Perk cafe to chat about old episodes and revel in the nostalgia.
News of Mr Perry’s death prompted fans around the world to post tributes on social media.
“Matthew Perry led a complicated life, but his effortless ability to make people laugh was a remarkable gift,” said Brandon Lewis, a writer in New York. said in a post on X.
Dr. John Leeds, a British gastroenterologist, wrote in one post: “I listened to his book over the summer where he so eloquently describes his struggles with drugs and alcohol.”
And RM of boy band BTS, who said he watched “Friends” to learn English, posted a picture of a youthful, smiling Mr. Perry without comment on his Instagram Story.
Jin Yu Young contributed reporting.