The past weekend was met with devastating news when it was revealed that Friends star Matthew Perry had died of an apparent drowning.
With so many tributes going out to Perry for the past few days, his castmates from the show Friends—Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courtney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer—have all released a joint statement regarding Perry’s passing. They write (via Entertainment Tonight):
“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 cliché 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. 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.”
It was no mystery that the cast of Friends was very tight-knit. It was even said that they managed to make history back in the latter days of the show when the cast managed to negotiate a $1 million per episode salary for each of them. Schwimmer and Aniston, being the central couple, were said to have lost more money negotiating together, but it was well worth it to have everyone on equal ground as the show went on.
At age 54, the loss of Perry was definitely a shock for everyone, considering how popular Chandler Bing was of a character on Friends. If it’s any consolation he still managed to star in the reunion with the rest of the original cast back in 2021.
