Friends star Matthew Perry, 54, was found unresponsive at his home this afternoon (Saturday, October 28, 2023) on Bluesail Drive in the Los Angeles area. He'd played pickleball in the morning, then returned home and sometime after, sent his assistant out on an errand, according to TMZ.com.
The assistant returned two hours later and called 911 after finding the actor unresponsive in a hot tub. Law enforcement arrived at about 4 p.m., and declared the actor dead at the scene. He's believed to have drowned, although no official cause of death has been released. No foul play is believed to have been involved. There were no drugs found at the scene, although an autopsy will be done in order to find out if there was anything in his system.
Matthew, who was raised in Ottawa, was best known for his role as Chandler Bing on the 1990s sitcom Friends. He's starred in other series and movies, including The Whole Ten Yards (2004) and 17 Again (2009).
However, he was also known to have suffered from alcohol and drug addiction and had been to rehab numerous times. Matthew released his memoir, titled Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing in November 2022.
Matthew is the son of actor John Bennett Perry and Suzanne Marie Langford, a former press secretary to Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. He's also the stepson of Dateline host Keith Morrison, who arrived at the scene with his wife Suzanne at about 7 p.m. in the evening.
Matthew leaves behind no children and was never married. ~Alexandra Heilbron
The world is in shock over this. He was a friend to everyone. R.I.P. Matthew.
So freaking sad. Yet another "died suddenly" after physical exertion. So many these last coupla years. :~(
I somehow doubt playing pickleball had anything to do with his death, Emily. He was overweight for many years and did drugs/alcohol for most of his life. Even if you switch to a healthy lifestyle, those years of abuse have a toll on your body. He's lucky to have lived to his fifties. He almost died in 2018 when his colon burst due to opiate abuse.
I agree with Dean. Some people can bounce back after quitting all the bad things they did to their bodies when they were younger. Others cannot. But, I'm sure people will speculate until the cause of death is released. One thing is certain, I really do hope it was not a relapse of some sort. No drugs at the scene, does not mean there weren't any in his system. If it was a heart attack or similar, then it's still horrible.
I've read so many comments about the fact that Matthew's death could have been covid vaccine-related. Apparently many (especially young) people have died during physical excertion due to this vaccine. I don't know much about any of that but I was wondering if other people have heard of this?