Matthew Perry’s final social media post, made just five days before his reported death by apparent drowning, was an image of the actor in a Jacuzzi.
On Wednesday, October 23, Perry uploaded an Instagram photo of himself lounging in a hot tub with headphones on. “Oh, so warm water swirling around makes you feel good? I’m Mattman,” the Friends alum captioned his post.
News broke on Saturday, October 28, that Perry, 54, had been found dead in a jacuzzi at a Los Angeles-area home. According to TMZ, who first reported the news, police rushed to the scene after receiving a call of someone in cardiac arrest. Representatives for Perry did not immediately respond to Us Weekly‘s request for comment.
Perry rose to fame when he landed the role of the sarcastic Chandler Bing on NBC’s Friends. The sitcom premiered in 1994 and ran for 10 seasons. Friends also starred Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer.
Amid the success of Friends, Perry struggled with addiction behind the scenes. He went to rehab twice, in 1997 and again in 2001.
“I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in my life and a lot of wonderful accolades, but the best thing about me is that if an alcoholic comes up to me and says, ‘Will you help me stop drinking?’ I will say, ‘Yes. I know how to do that,’” he told The Hollywood Reporter in August 2015. “When I was in big trouble, it was so public because I was on a TV show that 30 million people were watching. The fact that I [am] on TV makes people listen a little bit more, so I take advantage of that from time to time.”
He continued: “When you’re having a bad day, the best thing you can do is call somebody and ask them how they’re doing and actually pay attention and listen to the answer to get out of your own head.”
Perry recounted his struggles in his 2022 autobiography, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir. According to the book, Perry’s Friends costars continuously encouraged him to seek help.
“In nature, when a penguin is injured, the other penguins group around it and prop it up until it’s better. This is what my costars on Friends did for me,” Perry wrote. “But still, the addiction ravaged me. One time, in a scene in the coffeehouse when I’m dressed in a suit, I fell asleep right there on the couch, and disaster was averted only when Matt LeBlanc nudged me awake right before my line; no one noticed, but I knew how close I’d come.”
If you or anyone you know is facing substance abuse issues, call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 for free and confidential information 24/7.
