Matthew Perry: Friends TV comedy star dies at 54

Matthew Perry: Friends TV comedy star dies at 54

Postby dutchman » Sun Oct 29, 2023 5:16 am

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US actor Matthew Perry, best known for playing Chandler Bing in the hit '90s TV sitcom Friends, has died at the age of 54, US media report.

The actor was found dead at his home in his Los Angeles, law enforcement sources told US media.

Friends, which followed the fortunes of six young friends living in New York City, aired from 1994 until 2004.

Its final episode was watched by 52.5 million in the US, making it the most watched TV episode of the 2000s.

The LA Times and TMZ, which first reported that Perry had died, said the actor was found unresponsive in a hot tub at his house.

A Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson told the BBC that first responders went to an address in the Pacific Palisades area, regarding a "water emergency" of an unknown type, but did not name Perry.

Warner Bros TV, which produced Friends, said "we are devastated by the passing of our dear friend Matthew Perry".

"Matthew was an incredibly gifted actor and an indelible part of the Warner Bros. Television Group family," the statement read.

"The impact of his comedic genius was felt around the world, and his legacy will live on in the hearts of so many. This is a heartbreaking day, and we send our love to his family, his loved ones, and all of his devoted fans."

Perry battled for years with addiction to painkillers and alcohol, and attended rehabilitation clinics on multiple occasions.

In 2016, he told BBC Radio 2 that he could not remember three years of filming during Friends, because of drink and drugs.

In an interview last year, he spoke about how he did not watch the show.

"I didn't watch the show, and haven't watched the show, because I could go, 'Drinking, opiates, drinking, cocaine,'" he said. "I could tell season by season, by how I looked. That's why I don't wanna watch it, because that's what I see.

"But I think I'm going to start to watch it because it's been an incredible thing to watch it touch the hearts of different generations."

Perry also appeared in several films, including Fools Rush In, Almost Heroes and the Whole Nine Yards.

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Re: Matthew Perry: Friends TV comedy star dies at 54

Postby dutchman » Thu Aug 15, 2024 9:48 pm

Five charged over Matthew Perry's death

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Five people have been charged in the drug-related death of Matthew Perry last year, police say, including two doctors and the actor's personal assistant.

Police said on Thursday that their investigation, launched in May, uncovered a "broad underground criminal network" of drug suppliers who distributed large quantities of ketamine.

Perry, 54, died at his Los Angeles home in October. A post-mortem examination found a high concentration of ketamine in his blood and determined the "acute effects" of the controlled substance had killed him.

"These defendants took advantage of Mr Perry's addiction issues to enrich themselves," US Attorney Martin Estrada said on Thursday. "They knew what they were doing was risking great danger to Mr Perry, but they did it anyway."

Three of the defendants - including Perry's assistant - have already pleaded guilty to drug charges, while two others - a doctor and a woman known as "The Ketamine Queen" - were arrested on Thursday, according to the justice department.

Ketamine - a powerful anaesthetic - is used as a treatment for depression, anxiety and pain. People close to Perry, who starred as one of the lead characters on the NBC television show Friends, told a coroner's investigation after his death that he was undergoing ketamine infusion therapy.

But his last session had taken place more than a week before his death. The medical examiner said the ketamine in Perry's system could not have been from the infusion therapy because of the drug's short half-life.

The levels of ketamine in his body were as high as the amount given during general anaesthesia, according to the medical examiner.

An indictment filed in federal court detailed the elaborate drug purchasing scheme that prosecutors say ultimately led to Perry's death.

Prosecutors said Perry's assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, worked with two doctors to provide the actor with over $50,000 (£38,000) of ketamine in the weeks before his death.

Officials argued those involved in the scheme tried to profit from Perry's well-known substance abuse issues. One of the doctors, Salvador Plasencia, is alleged to have written in a text message: "I wonder how much this moron will pay."

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