Matthew Perry: Courteney Cox pays tribute to Friends co-star a year on from his death
Courteney Cox has paid tribute to Matthew Perry, a year on from his death.
The 60-year-old actress wrote on Instagram: “Missing you today and always.” She followed the message with a heart emoji, and tagged the addiction charity set up in his honour.
Perry was found dead at his home on 28 October 2023, aged 54. A medical examiner later ruled that ketamine was the primary cause of death.
Both household names thanks to their roles in hit sitcom Friends, Perry’s Chandler Bing married Cox’s Monica in the seventh season of the US show, in a two-part episode titled The One With Monica And Chandler’s Wedding.
Cox also shared a black and white photo of her with Perry, and another of them with the rest of the Friends cast – Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer, Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow.
Aniston, 55, who played Rachel Green in the show, also shared a selection of photos of Perry to her Instagram account on Monday, captioned “1 year” with a bandaged heart and dove emoji.
During his life, Perry was open about his battle with substance abuse and addiction – and set up a sober living facility for men with similar issues.
In a 2022 interview with podcaster Tom Power, Perry said: “When I die, I don’t want Friends to be the first thing that’s mentioned. I want [helping others] to be the first thing that’s mentioned.”
Following his death, the Friends cast said in a joint statement to US publication People that they were “utterly devastated”.
The cast of Friends: Pic: Rex
Five people were charged over his death earlier this year after an investigation unearthed a “broad underground criminal network” of people who “took advantage” of the US actor when he fell back into addiction.
Perry had been seeking treatment for depression and anxiety when he became addicted to intravenous ketamine, turning to allegedly “unscrupulous doctors who saw Perry as a way to make quick money”, US attorney Martin Estrada said.
Ketamine is a sedative that can be used as a recreational drug, as well as to treat depression and pain management.
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Speaking to NBC last week, Perry’s mother, Suzanne Morrison, said he appeared to have a “premonition” about his death on one of the last times they spoke.
She said: “He came up to me and he said ‘I love you so much and I’m so happy to be with you now’.
“It was almost as though it was a premonition or something. I didn’t think about it at the time, but I thought ‘How long has it been since we’ve had a conversation like that? It’s been years’.”
