Costars and Friends of Matthew Perry Remember Him as a ‘Lovely Man’ as Tributes Continue to Pour In for Star
Elizabeth Hurley, Kathleen Turner, Minnie Driver, Wendell Pierce, Shannen Doherty and more honored the late ‘Friends’ star, who died unexpectedly at 54 on Saturday
Matthew Perry is receiving tributes from Hollywood and beyond after his sudden death.
On Saturday, multiple outlets confirmed that the 54-year-old actor had died from an apparent drowning. As news of the Friends star’s death circulated, many both within and outside of the entertainment community shared memories of the five-time Emmy nominee.
Michelle and Robert King, co-creators of The Good Wife and The Good Fight, reminisced about the opportunities they had to work with the late actor.
“So many people have talked about Matthew Perry’s struggles, and, yes, that’s probably true; but can we just go on for a minute about how much fun it was to collaborate with him?” they wrote in a statement shared with PEOPLE. “Not just on THE GOOD WIFE and GOOD FIGHT, but also on a limited series we tried to develop with each other. Everyone knows that Matthew was funny — and he was plenty funny — but he was also deadly serious about his craft.”
The Kings continued, “He wanted to play a villain because he wanted to stretch himself as an actor. He took his work, but not himself, very seriously. But off the set, he was anything but villainous. Kind, menschy, honest about his issues. We’ll miss him a lot.”
In a post shared to Instagram, his Serving Sara costar Elizabeth Hurley captioned a carousel of photos and videos of the two filming the movie and posing for promotional content.
“RIP Matthew Perry,” she wrote. “So sad to hear the news of his passing. He was an incredibly talented comedian and a lovely man.”
Morgan Fairchild, Perry’s on-screen mother in Friends, expressed her devastation at the news, writing on X (formerly known as Twitter): “I’m heartbroken about the untimely death of my ‘son’, Matthew Perry. The loss of such a brilliant young actor is a shock. I’m sending love & condolences to his friends & family, especially his dad, John Bennett Perry, who I worked with on Flamingo Road & Falcon Crest. #RIPMatthew”
Another Friends costar, Paget Brewster, who played Chandler’s love interest, Kathy, on the show, also paid tribute to Perry in a heartfelt post on X, where she shared her deep sadness at learning of the actor’s death and remembered the kindness he had shown her during their years working together, and beyond.
“I’m so very sad to hear about @MatthewPerry,” she wrote. “He was lovely to me on Friends and every time I saw him in the decades after. Please read his book. It was his legacy to help. He won’t rest in peace though.. He’s already too busy making everyone laugh up there.”
riends co-creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane, and EP Kevin Bright issued a joint statement, saying that Perry’s death “still seems impossible.”
“We are shocked and deeply, deeply saddened by our beloved friend Matthew’s passing. 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. It’s a cliche to say that an actor makes a role their own, but in Matthew’s case, there are no truer words. From the day we first heard him embody the role of Chandler Bing, there was no one else for us,” they said.
“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. More than that, he was the sweetest, with a giving and selfless heart. We send all of our love to his family and friends.” Playing off the show’s tradition episode title format, the trio concluded, “This truly is ‘The One Where Our Hearts Are Broken.’ ”
Kaley Cuoco posted an Entertainment Tonight clip of Perry talking about the “magic” of Friends, with him saying, “I knew it was going to be the happiest time of my life and it was.”
“Thank you for the laugh Matt Perry,” Cuoco captioned the clip in an Instagram story. “You were a joy to watch for so many years and a constant lesson in comedic timing. We loved you!! So sad to hear this.”
Brooke Shields, who played Joey’s psycho super fan on Friends, said in an Instagram post that she was “really struggling to find the words. You were so loved, Matthew. I loved you dearly. Thank you for the belly laughs. You brought joy to so many. We already miss you… sending all of my love to your family & friends 💔”
