Matthew Perry, most famous for his role as Chandler Bing on the 1990s NBC sitcom "Friends," has died at the age of 54.
No foul play is suspected, and it was first reported as a water rescue, law enforcement sources told NBC News.
Millions of people across the country and the world welcomed Perry into their homes via the TV screen, as he played the funny and lovable character Chandler Bing, one of the six main characters on “Friends.”
“Friends” ran for ten seasons in the 1990s into the early 2000s and has become one of the most popular and iconic shows of all-time, still playing in syndication across the globe.
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The show centered around a group of six friends living in New York City. Perry's character Chandler was roommates with Joey (played by Matt LeBlanc) and, at times, Ross (played by David Schwimmer). The guys lived across the hall from Rachel (played by Jennifer Aniston) and Monica (played by Courteney Cox), who eventually became Chandler's wife.
Alongside Lisa Kudrow, who played their eccentric friend Phoebe, the six leading actors made up a cast with one of the strongest connections in television history.
Perry spoke about the core cast's closeness during the show's 2021 reunion special.
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"After the show was over at a party or any kind of social gathering, if one of us bumped into each other, that was it, that was the end of the night. You just sat with the person all night long," said Perry, according to TODAY.
The official "Friends" Instagram account posted a message mourning his death shortly after its announcement.
During its run, “Friends” was nominated for 62 Primetime Emmy Awards and was at one point the most watched show on television at a time when Nielson ratings were king.
Perry himself was nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his role on the show in 2002. In total, Perry received five Emmy nominations over his career, including for his guest role on “The West Wing” and for his leading role in the television movie “The Ron Clark Story.”
His last Emmy nomination came in 2021 for his role in “Friends: The Reunion,” which streamed on HBO Max, and featured Perry alongside his co-stars as the reminisced on the series that has become beloved by so many.
The reunion special was in part a recognition of the series’ continued success and popularity more than 15 years after its initial television run, primarily from its presence on streaming services such as Netflix and HBO Max.
In 2022, Perry wrote a memoir detailing his past struggle with addiction and substance abuse issues.
Titled "Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing,” Perry detailed his lifelong battle with alcohol and drug addiction.
Perry wrote that his struggle with sobriety began while he was on the cast of “Friends,” where he struggled with alcohol addiction and was at one point taking 55 Vicodin a day.
During his time on "Friends," he wrote in his memoir, "there were years" where he was sober. "Season nine was the year that I was sober the whole way through," he reflected. "And guess which season I got nominated for best actor? I was like, 'That should tell me something.'"
But the star’s most troubled times came in 2018, when Perry wrote he was given a 2% chance of living by doctors after his colon burst from opioid overuse and he ended up spending two weeks in a coma and five months in a hospital.
Perry was born in Massachusetts and spent his childhood between Montreal and Los Angeles, with his father working as an actor and mother working in Canada, where she at one point served as press secretary for Canadian Prime Minister Piere Trudeau, according to the L.A. Times.
In his later years in acting, Perry took on leading roles in a number of TV sitcoms, including a reboot of “The Odd Couple,” which ran for three seasons on CBS.
For his role, Perry was nominated twice for the People’s Choice Award for “Favorite Comedic TV Actor.”
