Matthew Perry obituary: Friends brought fame but couldn't quell personal demons
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While entertaining millions on the biggest TV show, Matthew Perry was struggling with addiction and facing inner demons due to a traumatic childhood.
Matthew Perry thought that moving to Los Angeles and becoming famous in 1986 would solve all his problems.
He expressed in his honest autobiography published the previous year that he desired it more than anyone else in the world.
I required it. That was the sole remedy for me. I had no doubt about it.
In due course, Perry's desire would come true, as he would join the esteemed group of six leading actors who starred in the sitcom that has captured the hearts of audiences in the last three decades.
Matthew Perry: The Most Hilarious Chandler Bing Scenes in Friends (Only in the UK)
Matthew Perry's role as the clever and humorous Chandler Bing in the hit TV series Friends not only earned him a large sum of $1.1 million for each episode but also a series of attractive romantic partners.
However, privately, Perry's challenges with maintaining his personal life and well-being appeared to escalate.
Perry explored his self-doubts and comedic abilities through his life story. He reveals that his upbringing, which was split between his separated parents, contributed to his feelings of abandonment from both of them.
The mother of this person was once a beauty queen from Canada, but later on became a journalist and worked as the press secretary for Pierre Trudeau, who was the Prime Minister at the time. On the other hand, their father was an actor from the US who was famous for his roles in advertisements for Old Spice aftershave.
Perry spent most of his childhood in Ottawa, Canada. However, he describes himself as a "latchkey kid" because his mom's job meant that he had to spend a lot of time on his own.
He stated that he had to learn to be humorous, using slapstick, witty remarks, and so on, to make amends.
His mum had a job that made her feel stressed, but his sense of humour had a way of making her feel better. Whenever he made her laugh, she would be able to relax enough to cook some food for them to eat together at the table. They would both share their thoughts and feelings with each other.
Regarding his father, he expressed that he would catch glimpses of him more frequently through television or magazines than in person. Despite this, he held his father in high regard as his idol.
When Perry was 10 years old, he began acting out by engaging in negative behaviors like taking other people's money, smoking, neglecting his studies, and even physically attacking one of his classmates who happened to be Justin Trudeau, the current Prime Minister of Canada.
At the young age of 13, he took his first sip of alcohol. From that point on, he made a conscious decision to keep his feelings of being abandoned to himself and push others away.
The above picture was taken by Vinnie Zuffante. --- The photo presented above was captured by Vinnie Zuffante.
Perry achieved success on American television during the latter part of the 1980s.
At the age of 15, he relocated to Los Angeles to reside with his father. He was on track to become a professional tennis player, as he had earned a youth player ranking in Canada.
However, he encountered stiffer competition when he moved to California and decided to pursue a career in acting instead. He secured roles in popular sitcoms such as Charles in Charge and Growing Pains during the 1980s and later landed leading roles in the 1990 film Sydney and the 1993 film Home Free.
As soon as Perry came across a screenplay for a fresh sitcom titled Friends Like Us, he promptly identified with its content.
He expressed that when he perused the play for Friends Like Us, it felt like someone had been observing him for a whole year and taking his jokes, imitating his behavior, and reproducing his cynical yet comical outlook on life.
There was a specific character that caught my attention. It wasn't just a matter of thinking I could portray Chandler. I was genuinely able to relate to him on a personal level.
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Perry confessed to having strong feelings for Jennifer Aniston, but unfortunately, she exhibited a total disinterest that was impossible to ignore.
There was one minor condition, and that is that he had previously agreed to participate in a film categorized as a "science fiction comedy." The plot revolved around individuals who manage luggage at the Los Angeles airport in the year 2194.
However, things didn't work out well for that plan and it failed, just like the initial actor who was selected to perform as Chandler in the television series that is now known as Friends.
Perry was the final performer to be selected for the lead role, and also the most youthful.
As soon as he met the creator, Marta Kauffman, he was positive that it would be a hit. He confidently stated, "I was certain of how immensely successful it would be right from the beginning."
His prediction came true. The show achieved great success and he finally gained the recognition he'd been seeking. However, this didn't solve all of his issues.
According to him, creating the shows was a distressing experience. He expressed that if the audience didn't respond with laughter, he would feel terrible and almost like he was about to pass away. It's definitely not a healthy way to feel, but there were instances where he would say something, and the audience wouldn't chuckle, causing him to perspire and go into convulsions.
Whenever I didn't receive the expected laughter, it would cause me to become extremely agitated. This sensation engulfed me every evening, leading me to a state of distress.
He started consuming more vodka with the expectation that it would rectify the issues that fame couldn't solve.
There was a moment when Jennifer Aniston decided to talk to him about something unpleasant. According to his words, she stated: "'We can detect the odor,' in a manner that was odd but filled with affection, and hearing the word 'we' struck me hard, like the impact of a sledgehammer."
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Perry received five Emmy nominations. One nomination was for the TV show Friends, another for the 2021 reunion of Friends, another for The Ron Clark Story, and two nominations for The West Wing.
Perry mentioned that his fellow actors came together to offer him support, and he received the assistance of a sober companion while working to get better.
Despite making efforts to recover, his journey was not smooth and he constantly found himself going in and out of rehabilitation centers. He developed a severe addiction to pain relievers after a jet-ski accident in 1997, specifically to Vicodin. His addiction to alcohol, methadone, and amphetamines also caused concerns. He was hospitalized in 2000 due to pancreatitis.
During an interview with BBC Radio 2, he admitted to having no recollection of shooting Friends for three years. "I was quite groggy between the third and sixth seasons."
In his memoir, he stated that he had made several efforts to get treated and has been able to remain sober since 2001. However, he did admit to experiencing approximately 60 or 70 relapses.
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According to Perry, he ended his relationship with Julia Roberts before she could end it with him.
After three years of the show Friends, the last episode left the cast, crew, and audience emotional. Perry, on the other hand, didn't feel the same. He wasn't sure if it was because of the painkillers he was taking, or if he was emotionally numb.
Following such a massive success, reproducing that achievement was challenging for every member of the cast.
Perry acted as a producer in the TV series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip created by Aaron Sorkin, and delivered unforgettable performances in The West Wing and Ally McBeal.
There were additional comedy series that were produced and ended. He acted as a radio presenter who discussed sports in Go On. In Mr Sunshine, he portrayed someone who managed a sports arena, and in The Odd Couple, he played the role of an untidy roommate.
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Back in 1997, the movie Fools Rush In featured Perry and Salma Hayek as the lead actors.
Some of his movies were The Whole Nine Yards and its follow-up The Whole Ten Yards, both of which were crime comedies that he made alongside his pal Bruce Willis. He also starred in Fools Rush In, which was a romantic comedy that featured Salma Hayek, and played an older version of Zac Efron's character in 17 Again.
In the year of 2016, he crafted a theatrical performance entitled The End of Longing. Commented by the Times as a theme that delves into the exploration of his characters' quest for affection and loyalty, as well as the harmful consequences that occur when those aspects are missing in one's life.
Perry was not able to discover a love that stayed with him for a long time and he abstained from making any commitments.
'Love Needed, Trust Eludes'
Initially, on the show Friends, he had a big romantic crush on Aniston, but eventually those emotions faded away due to her noticeable disinterest.
After that, Julia Roberts joined the cast of the show and she started a relationship with Perry. However, Perry was not confident and he always had doubts that Roberts would end things with him.
Why wouldn't she leave me? I was always lacking and flawed, I couldn't satisfy her needs. My self-esteem was low, and I thought I was impossible to love. To avoid the inevitable pain of losing her, I decided to end things with the amazing and clever Julia Roberts.
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Perry starred in The Whole Nine Yards, a movie from 2000, and its sequel in 2004, where he acted with Bruce Willis.
He had been romantically involved with other people such as Tricia, who happens to be the half-sister of Carrie Fisher, actresses Lizzy Caplan and Yasmine Bleeth, and also talent manager Molly Hurwitz.
He mentioned that he struggles to allow others to get close to him. "I crave love, but I have difficulty relying on it. If I discard my facade like Chandler and reveal my true self, you could take an interest in me - but it's possible that you may lose interest and abandon me, and I can't bear that possibility."
In the meantime, his health issues worsened significantly to a critical point in the year 2018.
The addiction to opiate caused his colon to burst, resulting in a seven-hour operation and a mere 2% chance of survival for the initial night. Even though he managed to pull through, he remained comatose for the following fortnight.
In the future, he expressed, "I was practically destroying myself." "I wasn't into the party scene - using such a large amount of drugs, and boy was it a large amount, was only an ineffective way to try to improve my mood."
In his personal account, he shared that he had spent a grand total of $7 million attempting to achieve sobriety. He also disclosed that he had participated in 6,000 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, been to rehab on 15 separate occasions, and engaged in therapy twice per week for 30 whole years.
Take a look: In the year 2013, Matthew Perry was a guest on Newsnight where he discussed his struggles with addiction.
The cost was steep for those long-standing feelings of inadequacy that weren't cured by immense celebrity status, yet he utilized his personal encounters to push for assistance for those struggling with addiction.
In 2012, he transformed his Malibu beach property, valued at $10 million, into a place called Perry House. Perry House is a facility for men who are living sober lives. After a year, the project gained recognition from the White House by receiving an award.
After two years, he made the sale. However, he stated that he still dedicates himself to offering assistance to individuals who are in the process of overcoming addiction.
After his passing, the work he accomplished is being recognized and praised in addition to his remarkable acting skills.
Fans of Friends will always have affectionate memories of him, as he openly displayed both his imperfections and innate comedic talent on the show.
