Close friends of late star Matthew Perry have announced the formation of a foundation in his name, devoted to help those struggling with addiction.
The actor, who shot to fame as Chandler Bing in ‘Friends’, was found dead at his house in Los Angeles on Saturday after apparently drowning.
Perry, who died at the age of 54, had talked openly for years about his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction, estimating that his rehab costs had totaled $9 million.
In announcing the foundation, a statement from the organization said: ‘The Matthew Perry Foundation is the realization of Matthew’s enduring commitment to helping others struggling with the disease of addiction.
‘It will honor his legacy and be guided by his own words and experiences and driven by his passion for making a difference in as many lives as possible,’ the statement announcing the foundation declared.’
The actor, who shot to fame as Chandler Bing in ‘Friends’, was found dead at his house in Los Angeles on Saturday
The new foundation shared a quote from Perry on their website talking of how he hoped to be remembered for helping those battling addiction
The organization also cited a quote from Perry on their website, in his hope that he would be remembered for helping others struggling with addiction.
The quote reads: ‘When I die, I don’t want ‘Friends’ to be the first thing that’s mentioned – I want helping others to be the first thing that’s mentioned.
‘And I’m going to live the rest of my life proving that. Addiction is far too powerful for anyone to defeat alone. But together, one day at a time, we can beat it down.’
Investigations into Perry’s death are still ongoing, however officials have said there are no indications foul play was a factor.
He is believed to have drowned, although an official cause of death has not been announced.
First responders on the scene revealed that when Perry was found by his assistant, he was found underwater before she lifted his head up in a desperate attempt to get him some air.
By the time the Los Angeles Fire Department arrived at his Pacific Palisades home, the actor was already dead, it was later determined.
A 15-second dispatch call emerged earlier this week revealing the moment his assistant called 911 to report a possible cardiac arrest.
Perry is pictured earlier last week, the last time he was seen in public before being found dead at his LA home
Perry had been open about his past struggles with alcohol and substance abuse, but said in recent interviews he was clean and sober.
He wrote in his memoir that he had spent $9 million trying to get sober, had been to 6,000 AA meetings, rehab 15 times, and been in detox 65 times.
He said he overcame addiction in 2021 and was believed to be leading a healthier lifestyle.
Perry had taken up pickle ball – a game similar to tennis and table tennis – and usually played it twice a day, friends said.
It was when he was first cast in Friends aged 24 that his alcohol addiction began to surface.
When sharing about his substance abuse and the toll it began to take on his body, he confessed he was taking as many as 55 Vicodin pills a day, which contributed to his weight dropping to just 128 pounds.
By the end of the 10th series of the hit show, he became ‘entrenched in a lot of trouble’, Perry revealed years later.
He told an interviewer in 2016 that he doesn’t remember filming three seasons of Friends.
‘I had this odd rule that I would never drink on a set,’ Perry said. ‘But I went to work in extreme cases of hangover. It’s so horrible to feel that way and have to work and be funny on top of that.’
People gather at a memorial of flowers and notes left in memory of late actor Matthew Perry in front of the building used as an exterior in the sitcom ‘Friends’ in New York
Matthew Perry ‘s father, John Bennett Perry, 82, was seen arriving at his son’s LA home looking stricken just hours after the Friends star’s death
He even revealed he would go to real estate open houses – not because he was interested in buying property but to see if he could steal drugs from medicine cabinets.
‘I didn’t know how to stop,’ Perry admitted in an interview with People last year, before sharing an analogy that explains the power the drugs and alcohol had over him at the height of his TV career.
‘If the police came over to my house and said, ‘If you drink tonight, we’re going to take you to jail,’ I’d start packing.
‘I couldn’t stop because the disease and the addiction is progressive. So it gets worse and worse as you grow older,’ he explained.
Perry is seen here as Chandler Bing, alongside Courteney Cox as Monica Geller, Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green, David Schwimmer as Ross Geller, Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani, and Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay in the hit sitcom
Perry published a memoir last year titled ‘Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing’ in which he openly talked about his battles with addiction
Along the way suffered through a number of serious health issues, including a five-month hospitalization in 2018 after his colon ruptured due to opioid overuse.
He was given just a two percent chance to live at one point while in the hospital, Perry confessed in the memoir, but in the end he would survive.
Perry required 14 surgeries to help repair all of the abdominal damage from the incident, which also put him in a coma.
‘I’m an extremely grateful guy. I’m grateful to be alive, that’s for sure. And that gives me the possibility to do anything,’ he shared with obvious emotion during a People interview in 2022.
Perry had also revealed that part of his inspiration for writing an open and honest memoir was the hope that his stories could serve as kind of lifeline for others.
Perry never married and ended his engagement to Molly Hurwitz, a talent manager, in 2021.
To support the work of the Foundation, please go to matthewperryfoundation.org.
