The comedic, talented actor, Matthew Perry, sadly passed away last week and fans across the globe are mourning this incredibly huge loss. Perry, known for his work on the hit sitcom, Friends, as Chandler Bing, definitely gave him a reputation as one of the most hilarious actors in Hollywood. As the world mourns the loss of such a talented individual, fans have honored the late actor by rewatching his best films and television shows to commemorate him. Perry truly shocked the entertainment world with his remarkable acting and will be deeply missed by all.
He was born on August 19, 1969, in Williamstown Massachusetts, to his parents John Bennett Perry and Suzanne Marie Morrison. Acting had run in the family due to his father being an actor as well. Perry’s early acting career began after landing several pilots to a lot of unsuccessful television shows just before he was able to land the show we all know and love. In 1988 he starred in his first-ever movie, A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon, and even before that in 1987, he starred in his first sitcom, Second Chance, but it later got off of the air because of lack of an audience.
Before he got the role of the sarcastic Bing, Perry also landed another show called LAX 2194, which almost cost him his role in Friends. Fortunately, the pilot fell through leaving Perry to make history in the sitcom universe with his genius role. The show Friends ran for 10 seasons and still is an incredibly popular show amongst adults as well as incoming younger generations. The show has had a record of being the number-one comedy for six consecutive years and averaged 25 million viewers a week. Not only did this show bring a lot of comfort and a lot of laughs, but this show also brought smiles to millions of people even after being off the air almost 30 years later.
With Perry’s rising popularity he went on to create more hilarious films such as Fools Rush In and The Whole Nine Yards. Fools Rush In, opposite Salma Hayek, truly was such an underrated rom-com of the 90s. His character, Alex Whitman, totally brought on his comedic charm while also diving into the dramatic side of his acting. Being released in 1997, the movie didn’t receive any outstanding success but still didn’t flop either. The Whole Nine Yards, out of all the movies Perry has done, was probably one of the most successful. An action-comedy, opposite Bruce Willis, this movie had amazing reviews and even continued to a sequel, The Whole Ten Yards.
While on-screen, Perry’s life seemed perfect but, behind closed doors, Perry was struggling with an ongoing battle of addiction. In his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, he writes openly about his struggles and wrote an incredibly raw memoir in the hopes of helping other people struggling as well. Perry dedicated his life to not only helping other people struggling with this disease to get the help they need and deserve but also to educate others about addiction and make others understand that they are not alone in this battle.
“When I die, I don’t want Friends to be the first thing mentioned,” Perry told ABC News.” I want [helping people] to be the first thing that is mentioned, and I’m going to live the rest of my life proving that,”
Perry was a phenomenal actor, bringing smiles to people’s faces every day with his comedic genius. While his life was short, and taken all too soon, he made his mark on the planet and just wanted to help people that were struggling. We send our condolences to his friends and family at this time and wish the best for them as they are grieving.
