Matthew Perry’s stepfather and sister speak out nearly a year after his death

The Friends actor shot to fame playing Chandler Bing on NBC sitcom from 1994 to 2004 and died October 28, 2023, aged 54 from the “acute effects” of anaesthetic ketamine. Photo / Getty Images

Matthew Perry’s stepfather and younger sister have spoken out about their grief nearly a year after his death.

The Friends star, who shot to fame playing Chandler Bing on the NBC sitcom from 1994 to 2004, died aged 54 on October 28, 2023 from the “acute effects” of anaesthetic ketamine after receiving three injections of the drug, causing him to lose consciousness and drown in his hot tub, according to an autopsy report.

Five people have been charged as part of an investigation into his death.

Now, in a joint interview with Hello! Canada, Perry’s stepfather, Keith Morrison, and his daughter Caitlin - Perry’s half-sister - have spoken candidly of their grief following his death.

Morrison, 77 - who married Perry’s mother in 1981 - reiterated that Perry wanted to be remembered “for doing something to help people suffering from addiction”.

“Anybody who has lost a child will tell you that, even if you are in some way prepared for the possibility, it’s shattering,” Morrison said, describing his passing as “incredibly shocking”.

“What we have decided to do is hang on to that determination and try to do something useful.”

Caitlin, 43 - the executive director of the Matthew Perry Foundation of Canada - told Hello! that her work helps keep Perry’s memory alive.

“[It’s like] I’m sitting right next to Matthew, working with him every day on something that was important to him,” she said.

“I have this treasure of getting to keep him very, very close to my life all the time, which is wonderful.”

The organisation is separate from the US Matthew Perry Foundation, which was launched shortly after his death.

Caitlin said her half-sibling had the ability to “fill up a room with light”, adding: “When people were in a room with (him), there was this magnetic energy.

“Everybody just had a smile on their face and they clung to everything that he said.”

Friends aired from 1994 to 2004. Back, from left: Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani, Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay, David Schwimmer as Ross Geller, Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing; Front, from left: Courteney Cox as Monica Geller, Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green. Photo / Getty Images

The actor had long acknowledged his decades of substance abuse, including during the years he starred on the hit 1990s television sitcom.

In late August, one of two doctors who were among the five to be charged for Perry’s fatal ketamine overdose was legally barred from practising medicine.

Earlier this month, California doctor Mark Chavez pleaded guilty to illegally distributing ketamine to the actor and is facing up to a decade in prison. He will be sentenced on April 2 next year.

It’s not the first time Morrison has publicly addressed his stepson’s death.

In August, Morrison said he hoped “unscrupulous suppliers of dangerous drugs will get the message” following the spate of arrests in connection with Perry’s overdose.

In a statement issued to Entertainment Weekly, he said: “We were and still are heartbroken by Matthew’s death, but it has helped to know law enforcement has taken his case very seriously.

“We look forward to justice taking its course and we’re grateful for the exceptional work of the multiple agencies whose agents investigated Matthew’s death.

“We’re hoping unscrupulous suppliers of dangerous drugs will get the message.”

- Additional reporting by NZ Herald.