Matthew Perry: Friends TV comedy star dies at 54

[dutchman]

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.