Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt Le Blanc and David Schwimmer are said to be in early talks to honor their late Friends costar Matthew Perry at the upcoming Emmy Awards in January.
The actors are reportedly keen to share their ‘personal memories’ of Perry, who played the quick witted Chandler Bing in the seminal 90s sitcom, and give him the tribute he ‘rightfully deserves’.
The beloved actor was found dead in his hot tub on October 28, aged 54. His cause of death has been deferred, pending the results of a toxicology report.
‘When it comes to Matthew’s death, emotions are still running high and it is still a very touchy situation, which is totally understandable,’ a source told DailyMail.com exclusively.
Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer are said to be in talks to honor Matthew Perry at the upcoming Emmy Awards in January
Perry was found dead in his hot tub on October 28 by his assistant, who had briefly left his home to run errands. He was 54
‘But Jen, Lisa, and the rest of the cast want to honor him publicly at some point and give him the tribute he so rightfully deserves – and there have been rumblings to do it at next year’s Emmys.’
While Perry is likely to feature in the In Memorium segment, the insider claimed Lisa, 60, Courteney, 59, David, 57, Matt, 56, and Jennifer, 54, would also like to share their memories on stage.
‘They all would love to get together on stage to speak about him and also have their own unique moment sharing memories about him and telling the world about the man he was in real life,’ they continued.
‘If they can all agree on a worthy tribute and get the blessing of his family, they will absolutely get together to make that night a special moment for Matthew and all who loved him.’
The 75th Emmys are scheduled to take place on January 15 at the Peackcock Theatre in Los Angeles – three months after the original date was scrapped owing to the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes.
Perry was nominated for five Emmy awards in his lifetime, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2002 for his role in Friends.
He was also twice nominated for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his appearance in The West Wing in 2003 and 2004.
Reports of a public tribute come days after the cast shared their individual memories of Perry in a series of staggered posts on social media.
The Friends cast want to make the star-studded Emmys night a ‘special moment’ for the late actor ‘and all who loved him’
LeBlanc paid tribute to Perry earlier this week on Instagram. He wrote: ‘Matthew. It is with a heavy heart I say goodbye. The times we had together are honestly among the favorite times of my life’
Aniston also paid tribute to her late Friends costar with a post that included a text message he sent to her before his death
Perry had once texted Aniston saying: ‘Making you laugh just made my day’
Le Blanc published a throwback photo of him and Perry on the set of Friends, and wrote: ‘Matthew. It is with a heavy heart I say goodbye. The times we had together are honestly among the favorite times of my life.
‘It was an honor to share the stage with you and to call you my friend. I will always smile when I think of you and I’ll never forget you. Never.’
He finished: ‘Spread your wings and fly brother you’re finally free. Much love.’
Aniston shared a screenshot of a sweet message that she had received from Perry, in which he told her he relished in making her laugh.
‘Oh boy this one has cut deep…’ she started on Instagram.
‘Having to say goodbye to our Matty has been an insane wave of emotions that I’ve never experienced before. We all experience loss at some point in our lives. Loss of life or loss of love.’
She said the cast were a ‘chosen family’ who ‘loved him deeply,’ before declaring Perry was a part of their ‘DNA’.
Aniston also recalled Perry’s need to make everyone around him laugh.
‘For Matty, he KNEW he loved to make people laugh. As he said himself, if he didn’t hear the “laugh” he thought he was going to die. His life literally depended on it,’ she wrote. ‘And boy did he succeed in doing just that. He made all of us laugh. And laugh hard.’
Schwimmer paid a touching tribute to Perry around the same time as Aniston with a still from Friends of him and Perry dressed up like Miami Vice characters
Cox played Chandler’s true love Monica Geller in the show, reflected on the start of the their onscreen romance with a clip of the two in bed in London
Among Aniston’s post was a short personal message that Perry had sent her via text in the past, though she didn’t reveal when the exchange took place.
‘In the last couple weeks, I’ve been pouring over our texts to one another. Laughing and crying then laughing again,’ she admitted. ‘I’ll keep them forever and ever.
‘I found one text that he sent me out of nowhere one day. It says it all. (See the second slide…).’
Cox, who played Chandler’s true love Monica Geller, reflected on the start of their onscreen romance by sharing a clip of them in bed in London – when their first tryst was revealed – and a fun outtake.
She wrote: ‘I am so grateful for every moment I had with you Matty and I miss you every day.
‘When you work with someone as closely as I did with Matthew, there are thousands of moments I wish I could share. For now here’s one of my favorites.’
Schwimmer thanked Perry for ‘ten incredible years of laughter and creativity’, sharing a picture of the star in a white suit.
He wrote: ‘I imagine you up there, somewhere, in the same white suit, hands in your pockets, looking around— “Could there BE any more clouds?”‘
Kudrow – who was the fifth and final main castmember to pay tribute – thanked Perry for the numerous ways he had impacted her life.
‘Thank you for making me laugh so hard at something you said, that my muscles ached, and tears poured down my face EVERY DAY,’ she wrote alongside a picture of the pair.
