New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
Matthew Perry, originally a MA native who gained stardom as Chandler Bing in the hit series “Friends,” has died. He was 54.
The Emmy-nominated actor was found dead of an apparent drowning at his home Saturday, This, according to the Los Angeles Times and celebrity website TMZ, which was the first to report the news. Both of these outlets cited unnamed sources confirming Perry’s death. Perry had previously detailed extensive drug and alcohol abuse during the peak of his career that followed him for years. Last year he opened up publicly about his struggles in his memoir.
Asked by AP to confirm police response to what was listed as Perry’s home address LAPD Officer Drake Madison told The Associated Press that officers had gone there “for a death investigation of a male in his 50s.”
The popular series Friends ran from 1994 through 2004. Recently, a reunion special in 2021 was hosted by James Corden and fed into huge interest in seeing the cast together again. No follow up or sequel to the show was ever seriously discussed.
Perry received one Emmy nomination for his “Friends” role and two more for appearances as an associate White House counsel on “The West Wing.”
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Perry was born in Williamstown, Massachusetts, on August 19, 1969. His mother, Suzanne Marie Morrison (née Langford, born 1948), is a Canadian journalist who served as press secretary to former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. His father, John Bennett Perry (born 1941), is an American actor and former model.
