The great Jim Carrey once said “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.”
That solemn idea apparently rang true for comedic actor Matthew Perry, who passed away back in October at the age of 54. It was originally reported that he died from drowning and cardiac arrest, and more information that was recently released revealed that the Friends star died from “acute effects of ketamine.”
All of the Friends costars have since put out individual statements about Perry’s passing, and originally shared a joint statement shortly after the world found out about his tragic death:
“We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family. There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss.
In time we will say more, as and when we are able. For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty’s family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world.”
Matthew Perry revealed plenty about his troubled life in his memoir Friends, Lovers, and The Big Terrible Thing, though it has been interesting to see others that were close to the star share some of the sad, unfortunate anecdotes of Perry’s alcoholism, addictions and substance abuse.
Two-time Academy Award winner George Clooney recently sat down with Deadline, and the esteemed actor and director shared a little bit about his interactions with Perry. While Clooney was filming ER in the 1990’s, Friends was filming on the same lot (NBC’s two hit shows in the 90’s), and the actors of the two shows crossed over plenty.
Perry’s passing came up in the interview, and Clooney shared some of his observations of and interactions with Matthew during their shared time together:
“He was a kid and all he would say to us, I mean me, Richard Kind and Grant Heslov, was, ‘I just want to get on a sitcom, man. I just want to get on a regular sitcom and I would be the happiest man on earth.’
And he got on probably one of the best ever. He wasn’t happy. It didn’t bring him joy or happiness or peace.”
What a sad story…
Clooney went on to say that he basically only got to know of Perry’s struggles on a surface level, and had no idea about the demons that Perry was truly facing behind the scenes:
“We just knew that he wasn’t happy and I had no idea he was doing 12 Vicodin a day and all the stuff he talked about (in his memoir), all that heartbreaking stuff.
And it also just tells you that success and money and all those things, it doesn’t just automatically bring you happiness. You have to be happy with yourself and your life.”
Towards the end of his life, he was reportedly doing much better with his personal struggles, and had even begun to gather together resources to form a foundation for other people struggling with substance abuse.
That project has since come to fruition posthumously, and a website for the organization has been launched.
