Lisa Kudrow penned a touching forward for Matthew Perry’s memoir one year before the actor’s sudden death.
“Over those years I didn’t really try to intervene or confront him, because the little I knew about addiction was that his sobriety was out of my hands,” Kudrow, 60, wrote in Perry’s book, Friends, Lovers & The Big Terrible Thing, which was published in November 2022. “And yet, I would have periods of wondering if I was wrong for not doing more, doing something. But I did come to understand that this disease relentlessly fed itself and was determined to keep going.”
In the book, Perry shared new details of how he battled addiction while filming Friends, writing that his costars including Kudrow, Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox attempted to help him.
“So, I just focused on Matthew, who could make me laugh so hard every day, and once a week, laugh so hard I cried and couldn’t breathe,” Kudrow wrote at the time. “He was there, Matthew Perry, who is whip smart … charming, sweet, sensitive, very reasonable and rational. That guy, with everything he was battling, was still there. The same Matthew who, from the beginning, could lift us all up during a grueling night shoot for the opening titles inside that fountain.”
Kudrow wrote that it wasn’t until she read her friend’s book that she understood what challenges he faced.
“He has survived impossible odds, but I had no idea how many times he almost didn’t make it,” she wrote. “I’m glad you’re here, Matty. Good for you. I love you.”
Perry died on Saturday, October 28, at his home in Los Angeles at age 54. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner, the results of Perry’s cause of death have been deferred after the initial results were inconclusive.
While the main Friends cast have yet to comment on Perry’s passing, several other guest stars on the show shared touching tributes in his honor — including Maggie Wheeler, who played Chandler’s on-off girlfriend Janice.
“What a loss. The world will miss you, Matthew Perry,” Wheeler, 62, wrote via Instagram on Saturday. “The joy you brought to so many in your too-short lifetime will live on. I feel so very blessed by every creative moment we shared.”
His family subsequently released a statement on Sunday, October 29: “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of our beloved son and brother. Matthew brought so much joy to the world, both as an actor and a friend. You all meant so much to him and we appreciate the tremendous outpouring of love.”
