“What a tragic piece of news to read,” Star Trek actor George Takei wrote. “My heart goes out to his loved ones and long-time cast mates.”
Matthew Perry (centre) with his Friends cast-mates.
The Daily Mail quoted a longtime friend of Perry’s, who went through rehab with him, as saying that “everyone is in a total state of shock. People are crying on the phone and struggling to accept this news.”
The friend reportedly said Perry was in a “good place” the last time they spoke.
“He’d been to rehab 17 times and nearly died from opioid abuse but he was someone who was sincere about taking his life, and his sobriety, one day at a time.
“It’s such tragic news. Everyone is praying he didn’t relapse.”
Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing (Photo by NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
British broadcaster Piers Morgan said that Perry “was a great actor, but by his own admission, a very tormented guy.”
Morgan said Perry’s recent autobiography “was one of the most powerful, honest and revealing I’ve ever read” and said his death was “such sad news”.
The Hills star Stephanie Pratt wrote that she hoped the troubled star was at peace. “As the biggest Friends SuperFan - the news of Mathew Perry passing feels like the loss of an actual friend. I am devastated. He had such a horrible battle I hope his soul is finally at peace,” she wrote on X.
“Oh no!!! Matthew Perry!! You sweet, troubled soul!!” wrote Mira Sorvino, who starred with Perry in the 1994 TV movie Parallel Lives, on X.“May you find peace and happiness in Heaven, making everyone laugh with your singular wit!!!”
Selma Blair wrote on Instagram: “My oldest boy friend. All of us loved Matthew Perry, and I did especially. Every day. I loved him unconditionally. And he me. And I’m broken. Broken hearted. Sweet dreams Matty. Sweet dreams.”
“I’m so very sad to hear about @MatthewPerry. He was lovely to me on Friends and every time I saw him in the decades after,” wrote Paget Brewster, who had a six-episode arc on Friends. “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.”
In Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir, Perry detailed his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction, we well as his evident weight fluctuations in the public eye.
During his press tour for the book, Perry did a number of interviews where he got incredibly emotional about his public battle.
Perry was reportedly found in a spa pool at an LA residence on Saturday, with sources adding that there were no drugs found at the scene. It has also been revealed that no foul play was involved.
Sources say that first responders had received a call to the property for a person suffering cardiac arrest.
