‘Friends’ creators reveal final Matthew Perry conversation 2 weeks before his death
Matthew Perry was in a good place before his death — according to “Friends” creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane.
Kauffman and Crane spoke with the late actor just two weeks before he was found underwater in his hot tub at his California home on Saturday. He was 54.
“It was great,” Kauffman told the Today show’s Hoda Kotb in a pre-taped interview, which aired on Wednesday. “He was happy and chipper. He didn’t seem weighed down by anything.”
“He was in a really good place, which is why this seems so unfair,” she continued.”
“I was just in utter shock,” she said of when he heard he died. “My first impulse was to text him, honestly. And then deep sadness. It’s hard to grasp. You know, one minute he’s here and happy, and then poof. And doing good in the world. Really doing good in the world.”
Kaufman, who co-created the beloved NBC sitcom with David Crane. The pair and executive producer Kevin Bright broke their silence on the tragedy on Sunday.
“We are shocked and deeply, deeply saddened by our beloved friend Matthew’s passing,” they said in a joint statement to People. “It still seems impossible. All we can say is that we feel blessed to have had him as part of our lives. He was a brilliant talent.”
Kauffman, Crane and Bright said they knew that Perry was right for the role of Chandler when they first met him.
“It’s a cliche to say that an actor makes a role their own, but in Matthew’s case, there are no truer words,” they said. “From the day we first heard him embody the role of Chandler Bing, there was no one else for us.”
“We will always cherish the joy, the light, the blinding intelligence he brought to every moment — not just to his work, but in life as well. He was always the funniest person in the room,” they continued. “More than that, he was the sweetest, with a giving and selfless heart.”
Perry’s co-stars — Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer — would go on to release their own joint statement on Monday.
“We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family,” read their statement, obtained by People. “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,” the statement continued. “For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty’s family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world.”
Perry struggled with drug and alcohol addiction for years, including during the height of his fame on “Friends.” Aniston, who he said confronted him on set about his drinking, even cried during a 2004 Diane Sawyer interview when asked what she hoped Perry knew about himself.
The sit-down was done shortly before the Season 10 series finale aired.
“That he’s alright,” she said. “He struggled. We didn’t know. We weren’t equipped to deal with it. Nobody had ever dealt with that. And the idea of even losing him … he’s having a road. But he’s alright.”
As The Post previously reported, an autopsy has been complete on Perry, but more tests — including toxicology — were ordered. His cause of death has been “deferred.”
At the time of his death, prescription medications were found in his home. However, no drugs were found at the scene and no foul play is suspected. On Wednesday, TMZ reported that initial tests show that his death was not the result of a fentanyl or meth overdose.
