Matthew Perry: A Life of Laughter and Pain

 

Matthew Perry, who died on Saturday at the age of 54, was one of the most beloved and successful comedy actors of his generation. 

He rose to fame as the sarcastic and witty Chandler Bing on Friends, the hit sitcom that ran for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004. He also starred in movies like The Whole Nine Yards, 17 Again, and Fools Rush In, and TV shows like Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, The Good Wife, and The Odd Couple.

But behind his charming smile and hilarious jokes, Perry was battling his own personal demons. He struggled with addiction, depression, and health issues for most of his adult life. 

He was candid about his problems and tried to use his experience to help others. He once said: "I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in my life and a lot of wonderful accolades. 

But the best thing about me is that if an alcoholic comes up to me and says, ‘Will you help me stop drinking?’ I will say, ‘Yes. I know how to do that.’"

A Troubled Childhood

Perry was born in Williamstown, Massachusetts, on August 19, 1969. His parents divorced when he was a baby, and he moved to Ottawa, Canada, with his mother Suzanne Morrison, a former beauty queen and journalist who became the press secretary to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. 

His father John Bennett Perry was an actor who appeared in commercials for Old Spice aftershave.

Perry said he felt abandoned by both of his parents and developed a sense of insecurity and loneliness. He started misbehaving at school, stealing money, smoking cigarettes, and drinking alcohol. 

He also had a violent streak, once beating up his classmate Justin Trudeau, who later became Canada’s prime minister.

He found solace in sports and comedy. He was a talented tennis player who ranked among the top junior players in Canada. He also learned to be funny to cope with his emotions and to make his mother happy. 

He said: "I learned to be funny - pratfalls, quick one-liners, you know the drill - because I had to be."

When he was 15, he moved to Los Angeles to live with his father and pursue an acting career. He enrolled in a private school where he met future Friends co-star Jennifer Aniston. He also landed some roles in TV shows like Charles in Charge and Growing Pains.

The Rise of Friends

In 1994, Perry auditioned for a new sitcom called Friends Like Us, which later became Friends. He immediately identified with the character of Chandler Bing, a sarcastic and insecure office worker who used humor as a defense mechanism. 

He said: "When I read the script for Friends Like Us, it was as if someone had followed me around for a year, stealing my jokes, copying my mannerisms, photocopying my world-weary yet witty view of life."

He got the part and joined the cast of five other unknown actors: Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer. 

The show became an instant hit and turned them into global stars. Perry’s chemistry with Cox as Chandler and Monica was one of the highlights of the show. He also had a crush on Aniston in real life, but she showed a “deafening lack of interest”.

Friends made Perry rich and famous, but it also brought him more pressure and stress. He started abusing drugs and alcohol to cope with his anxiety and depression. 

He said: "I was never high at work. I was painfully hungover. Then eventually things got so bad I couldn’t hide it and everybody knew."

He checked into rehab twice during the show’s run, once in 1997 for an addiction to Vicodin after a jet ski accident, and once in 2001 for an addiction to opioids, amphetamines, and alcohol. He also suffered from pancreatitis and lost a lot of weight.

He said he felt guilty for letting down his co-stars and fans. He said: “I felt like I was ruining their lives by being such a mess.” He also said he had no memory of filming three seasons of Friends because of his substance abuse.

After Friends

After Friends ended in 2004, Perry tried to find new roles that would showcase his range as an actor. He starred in movies like The Ron Clark Story (2006), which earned him an Emmy nomination for playing a teacher who inspired inner-city students; Numb (2007), which featured him as a writer who suffered from depersonalization disorder; Birds of America (2008), which cast him as a professor who had to deal with his dysfunctional siblings; and Mr. Sunshine (2011), which he co-created and starred in as a manager of a sports arena.

He also appeared in TV shows like Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006-2007), which was created by Aaron Sorkin and followed the behind-the-scenes drama of a sketch comedy show; The Good Wife (2012-2013), which saw him as a ruthless lawyer who ran for governor; and The Odd Couple (2015-2017), which he co-created and starred in as a messy and carefree sports writer who shared an apartment with a neat and uptight photographer.

However, none of these projects matched the success or popularity of Friends. Perry also continued to struggle with his addiction and health issues. 

He checked into rehab again in 2011 as a precautionary measure. He said: “I’m making plans to go away for a month to focus on my sobriety and to continue my life in recovery. Please enjoy making fun of me on the World Wide Web.”

He also underwent surgery in 2018 for a gastrointestinal perforation, which kept him hospitalized for three months. He said: “Three months in a hospital bed. Check.”

A Legacy of Laughter and Hope

Despite his personal troubles, Perry never lost his sense of humor or his desire to help others. He became an advocate for drug addiction recovery and opened his own sober living facility called Perry House in Malibu, California, in 2013. 

He said: “The thing that I’m most proud of in my life is that if a stranger came up to me and said, ‘I can’t stop drinking. I can’t stop drinking. Can you help me?’ I can say, ‘Yes, I can help you.’”

He also received several awards for his humanitarian work, including the Champion of Recovery Award from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy in 2013, and the Phoenix Rising Award from the Phoenix House Foundation in 2015.

He remained close friends with his Friends co-stars, who supported him through his ups and downs. He reunited with them for a special episode that aired on HBO Max in May 2021, where he opened up about his insecurities and fears while filming the show. 

He said: “I felt like I was going to die if they didn’t laugh. And it’s not healthy, for sure.”

He also revealed that he was still in love with Cox, who played his on-screen wife. He said: “I loved her. I think she’s fantastic.”

Perry died on Saturday at his home in Los Angeles, surrounded by his family and friends. The cause of death was not disclosed, but it was reported that he had been ill for some time.

He is survived by his parents, his stepfather Keith Morrison, his half-siblings Caitlin, Emily, Willy, Madeleine, and Marie Perry, and his fiancée Molly Hurwitz, to whom he proposed in November 2020.

He will be remembered as one of the most talented and beloved comedy actors of all time, who made millions of people laugh with his witty and charming persona. 

He will also be remembered as a brave and generous man who overcame his own demons and tried to make a difference in the world.

As he wrote in his memoir: “I’ve had some good times and some bad times. But I wouldn’t change anything about my life. Because everything that happened to me made me who I am today. And I like who I am today.”

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