Discovering the Secret Life of Comedy Star Matthew Perry

Born on August 19th, 1969, in the state of Massachusetts, Matthew Langford Perry was the singular child of his famous parents, Suzanne Marie Morrison and John Bennett Perry. It’s not a surprise the spotlight shone on him early, considering his parents held their own in the world of fame. His mother, once a beauty queen, served as press secretary for Pierre Trudeau, while his father pursued a successful career as an actor and model.

Even though they both had careers that were meant to lead to a glamorous life of fame and fortune, Perry’s parents split up when he was just one year. Perry mainly lived with his mother and her new spouse after their separation. Unbeknownst to everyone, this was merely the beginning of Perry’s challenging and tumultuous childhood.

Perry’s mom had a job that required her to work long and intense hours. As an only child, Perry was often left to his own devices. One standout memory from his early years is when he was just five years old — he had to travel all by himself, flying from his mother’s home in Ottawa, Canada, all the way to his dad’s place in Los Angeles, California!

Spending a lot of time by himself, Perry began to struggle with feelings of loneliness and self-doubt. To combat these feelings, he discovered using humor made things easier. A joke or funny story, he found, could always brighten up his mother’s mood after a tiring day. While humor provided a temporary solution, Perry’s family life was on the brink of going through a big transformation.

When Perry was just the age of 10, his mom and his stepdad, named Keith Morrison, had their very first child together. A girl they named Caitlin Morrison. From the moment he met her, Perry felt an immediate bond and a wave of love for his new half-sister.

As Perry’s family started to grow bigger, it became harder for him to feel connected. He felt like a stranger in his own family, and that made him feel even more alone. Soon, Perry began showing signs of his loneliness by behaving badly. It’s common for kids to rebel at times, but Perry went above and beyond the usual trouble-making. It wasn’t just typical rebellion; Perry was acting out on a whole different level, trying to express the depth of his isolation.

Perry began to act out in unusual ways almost immediately after his little sister was born. He became a rather rebellious kid, slipping into habits such as stealing and smoking, behavior far too mature for his age. His school grades started taking a beating as well. Then, when Perry turned 14, he had his first sip of alcohol. It gave him a kind of comfort he’d never experienced before.

“In an interview with Diane Sawyer, he confided, ‘I thought to myself, this must be the way that normal people feel all the time.’ Despite appearing to struggle, he was driven by one powerful thing that kept him going”

Despite Perry’s occasional mischief, he still managed to concentrate heavily on polishing his abilities in tennis. The sport was something Perry put his heart and soul into, spending little less than half a day each day honing his skills. His skill set was so extraordinary that he secured a position in the list of promising young tennis players at a national level in Canada. This presented high chances of him carving a successful tennis career in the future.

On the other hand, Perry’s other pursuits, which were not exactly within the bounds of the law, were causing some domestic issues. He frequently found himself in disagreements with his mother because of these activities. When Perry turned 15 years old, everyone in the family realized that a big change was needed. With this in mind, Perry boarded a plane that was bound for Los Angeles, seeking something new.

Before this time, Perry only ever lived with his mom. “I saw his face more often on TV or in magazines than I did in reality,” is what Perry penned about his dad in his autobiography, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. Even so, Perry looked up to him, he was his idol, his role model. Now he was given the chance, the opportunity to share a home with his hero, his dad.

Shifting to LA resulted in not only a deeper bond with his dad but also sparked a significant change in Perry’s passions. “I was pretty great [at tennis] in Canada. Not so much in Los Angeles. It was insane. I realized I wouldn’t be playing tennis for a living, so I went for acting,” Perry shared, reflecting on his journey. The change was intense, but before he knew it, his ambition began morphing into reality, kick-starting a new chapter in his life.

Perry had made his acting debut with a small role when he was just 10. After relocating to Los Angeles, he found more chances to cast himself into acting roles. The year was 1984 when Perry became a student at The Buckley School, which was known for readying kids for college in Los Angeles. In this school, he pursued his interest in acting and even attended extra comedy improvisation classes during his leisure time.

Inspired by his father and equipped with the skills he obtained from his classes, Perry started trying out for parts in Los Angeles as soon as he arrived. It didn’t take long for Perry’s talent to start gaining attention in the city.

In 1985, Perry got a chance to appear as a guest on the show Charles in Charge. The following year, in 1986, he secured another guest stint on the series Silver Spoons. Once he finished his high school education, he was cast in a regular role on the TV show Second Chance.

In 1988, his first step into the film industry came with a role in A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon. His career gained constant momentum two years later in 1990 when he secured a regular spot on a sitcom called Sydney. Perry’s journey to success was gradual, yet relentless. “There was steam coming out of my ears, I wanted to be famous so badly,” he admitted in an interview with The New York Times. Unbeknownst to him, his significant career boost was just waiting in the wings.

Back in 1994, Perry was in a tough spot financially and felt quite desperate. He had next to no money and was eager for any work opportunity. He went on to tell his agent to hunt down any job accessible to him. Because of this, Perry wound up accepting an offer to participate in the pilot of a show named LAX2194.

Interestingly, right around the same time, a new show script, Friends Like Us, surfaced featuring a character that seemed quite similar to Matthew Perry himself. Unfortunately, he was tied up under a contract, preventing him from trying out for the show. But, after just a few weeks, whether due to luck or destiny, the show LAX2194 that the contract was for, got cancelled. Suddenly, Perry had no obstacles holding him back from auditioning for the character in the other show.

Eventually, the title of the show would simply be “Friends”, and the role he tried out for was that of Chandler Bing, one of six buddies on the program. Perry shares in his autobiography about how surreal it was to find a character he could strongly relate to.

“When I got the script for Friends Like Us, I couldn’t help but feel an uncanny resemblance. It felt like someone had shadowed me for a solid year, nicking my personal jokes, mimicking my quirks, duplicating my somewhat cynical yet amusing perspective on life. I wasn’t merely thinking I could portray Chandler. The truth was, I was Chandler,” he penned down. The realization wasn’t only his, the production team saw the resemblance too, and Perry was quickly brought on board. Little did he know, this move was set to completely transform his life.

Perry was the youngest and the last person to join the cast, having been hired at the mere age of 24. Right from the get-go, it was obvious that those who created the show had chosen their cast members wisely and excellently.

Perry was truly a natural on screen, instantly engaging the crowd and always loaded with witty jokes. Even more, he had an excellent memory for lines and was great at taking cues and instructions. However, it wasn’t long before Perry started to grasp the full reality of performing in front of a crowd of 25 million viewers every week. Suddenly, the immense pressure began to build.

Audience members kept laughing hysterically at Perry’s shows, completely unaware of the intense inner struggle Perry was dealing with. Perry confessed in 2021 on the special episode, “Friends: The Reunion”, about the immense pressure each show put on him, “I felt like I was going to die if the live audience didn’t laugh, and it’s not healthy for sure, but I could sometimes say a line and they wouldn’t laugh, and I would sweat and just go into convulsions.” He was often terrified when a joke he made didn’t get the response he expected; it would make him feel unwell and trigger intense panic.

In his autobiography, he penned down, “If I didn’t get the laugh I was supposed to get, I would freak out. I felt that every single night.” His nerves and self-doubts were slowly overpowering him, transforming the initial joy and thrill into a gloomy experience soon. The heavy burden he carried constantly pushed him into a not-so-great space.

Initially, Perry found the show’s success thrilling, equating it to the sensation one might feel at Disneyland, as mentioned in “The New York Times”. But, as the second season came around, the downside of being famous started to dawn on him.

“In Perry’s own words from his memoir, he writes about a time in his life that lasted around eight months. During this period, he felt like he had achieved everything he wanted. He was overjoyed, felt no issues, no problems in the world, as he believed he ‘made it.’ Then, as time passed, he noticed that this high away accomplishment wasn’t actually fulfilling any voids in his life, like he had imagined it would. Perry came to understand, this sense of achievement wasn’t satisfying or filling up the emptiness he perceived in his life. Consequently, he found himself drawn to a method he felt, at the time, was the solitary trusted approach to fill those voids.”

Since he was 14, Matthew Perry had a habit of drinking that didn’t fade away. When he started doubting his own worth and humor, he found support in alcohol. However, he was always mindful enough to prevent his drinking habit from affecting his work atmosphere.

“Perry had a peculiar rule of not drinking while on set, but he would show up at work while feeling the harsh aftermath of the previous night’s drinking. Feeling this bad and then being required to perform and make others laugh was a daunting task,” Perry admitted to The New York Times. Then, self-doubts began infesting not just his career, but every aspect of his life overall.

Julia Roberts, back in 1995, took a minor role in a single episode of the TV show, ‘Friends’. The interesting part is, she only went for it after being asked by Matthew Perry himself. You see, they had already met earlier, having shared a spark and even teased each other through faxes. However, actually being together on the same set was the flame that ignited their relationship. Perry and Roberts actually became a couple and dated for around a year. Strangely enough, it was Perry who decided to end things, because he was worried that Roberts might eventually break up with him.

“In his emotional memoir, Perry poured out his soul. He wrote, ‘Why wouldn’t she leave? I knew I wasn’t good enough; I would never be able to measure up. I was damaged, crooked, incapable of being loved. So rather than enduring the inevitable crushing pain of watching her leave, I, of my own accord, ended things with the marvelous and exceptionally intelligent Julia Roberts.'”

Even though Perry was juggling the filming of “Friends” and dealing with his personal issues, he still managed to score film parts during that period. In 1997, he snagged a role in “Fools Rush In,” where he shared the screen with Salma Hayek. But, the movie itself did not significantly impact Perry’s life. Instead, it was the experiences he encountered away from the camera that again brought about a remarkable shift in Perry’s life.

During a casual lunch break, Perry found himself occupied playing with a jet-ski. Unfortunately, this fun time led to an accident. As a result, he was whisked away to the hospital for recovery. At first, this seemed to be nothing more than a typical hospital visit, but soon enough, Perry discovered he was given an unexpected chance. He was able to fill those voids in his life with something new and unexplored.

When Perry was lying in the hospital bed, the doctor gave him a pain killer called Vicodin to help him with his injury. As soon as Perry swallowed the pill, he could feel the impact. It was like “warm honey in his veins,” Perry described it to Diane Sawyer.

The single tablet, in addition to the 40 others that had arrived at his home, was all it took for Perry to plunge into a dangerous descent. He hoped, as he shared with Sawyer, that maybe this pill could help to tame his alcohol misuse and personal insecurities. His dependency grew, beginning with a couple and at one time escalating to as many as 55 pills daily. But the question remained, how was he able to keep up with such vast consumption?

At the peak of Perry’s habit, he was totally sure that without his daily dose, he’d become incredibly sick. Because of this belief, he started visiting various doctors, pretending to have different kinds of ailments and severe headaches, and even went through MRIs, all in an attempt to secure the prescription he craved.

Sawyer learned from him that he had taken to visiting Open Houses every Sunday, searching through medicine cabinets to collect the abandoned pills. He eventually enrolled himself in a month-long program to help him quit using Vicodin. Despite quitting Vicodin, he was not successful in quitting everything else.

For a number of years, he succeeded in continuing his roles in the popular TV show “Friends”, and also branched out into other movie projects like “Three to Tango” in 1999 and “The Whole Nine Yards” in 2000, where he starred alongside Bruce Willis. However, he wasn’t completely engaged. He confessed in later discussions with BBC Radio 2 that his memories of seasons three to six of “Friends” were unclear – something that he found he could hardly recall.

In the year 2001, he got a part in the funny movie Serving Sara, although this time, things felt different. He managed to complete the initial few weeks of the shoot successfully, but surprisingly, when just 13 days of shooting were remaining, he went through a kind of a spiritual awakening.

One day, while standing on set, actor Matthew Perry had a moment of deep understanding that he hadn’t felt in some time. In one quick moment, everything was crystal clear. He realized, “I’ve got to go save myself.” When this revelation hit him, Perry immediately grabbed his phone and dialed the numbers of those people he knew were ready and willing to aid him. This was recounted by Perry in an interview with The New York Times.

On the very same day, he took a flight to Los Angeles where he decided to enroll himself in a program aimed at recovery from addiction. The production of Serving Sara had to be put on a temporary stop, but everyone who mattered to Perry was just glad to know that he was finally facing his addiction and was taking steps to better himself. After spending about two and a half months in recovery, he traveled back, ready and eager to begin a fresh chapter of his life.

After he came back, Perry completed his shooting for Serving Sara and stepped back into his usual role on the program Friends. It was during this period that he began to invest more time in self-discovery and understanding his struggle with addiction.

When he showed up back on the Friends set, Marta Kauffman, one of the creators, could hardly contain her joy at the condition in which he came back. She said to him during the first episode of the final season, ‘I’m so happy you’re back. I hadn’t realized how much he hadn’t been there,’ as she shared with The New York Times. It seemed as though things for Perry were beginning to turn around for the better.

Following his time in rehab, Perry started enjoying longer bouts of sobriety than he ever had before. It could’ve been pure chance or maybe even a blessed reward, but coincidentally, the popular TV show Friends was also at its peak of success. By the year 2002, each of the show’s stars, including Perry, was pocketing over a million bucks for every episode they filmed. Perry himself started to see the bright side of his life-changing decisions, as things were finally looking up for him. He was witnessing the beneficial outcomes that were emerging from his struggles and efforts.

“It was in its ninth season when I stayed sober the whole time. And guess what season led to me getting a best actor nomination? I was like, ‘That should tell me something,” Perry stated, as reported by People.”

Even though Perry initially stepped into the acting world with the intention of making people laugh, using his knack for humor as his survival tool, in a surprising turn of events, he started getting cast in parts that showed a wider range of his acting abilities.

After filming for the hit show Friends ended, Perry landed a guest role on the political drama The West Wing. Soon after, he was handed the lead role in Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Though other projects he worked on didn’t reach the same level of success as Friends, Perry was beginning to flex his versatile acting skills.

In the movie called The Triumph, Perry had a standout role, playing the character of Ron Clark, a teacher who courageously accepted a job at a hard-to-handle school in Harlem. In this tough environment, Perry’s impeccable acting shone through, and this was rewarded with his fourth Emmy nomination for this role. This performance was one of his most memorable, both for the strength of the character and for the depth of Perry’s interpretation.

While we all got used to Perry’s playful humor, the thing that made so many fans adore him was his natural humility. Perry was honest enough to admit, “I certainly wear my heart on my sleeve, and I think that comes out in the characters that I play,” in an interview with Men’s Health. Perry’s heartfelt sincerity often shined through in the roles he portrayed, just as his straightforwardness did in real life, which attracted and captivated his faithful audience.

Over the next few years, Perry appeared in a few films and TV shows, including titles like Numb and 17 Again. Despite this, Perry found himself wrapped up in an entirely different kind of entertainment.

In 2011, Perry became one among many famous faces who took a stand in the US Congress on behalf of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals. Their aim was to seek necessary funding for drug courts. These special type of courts have a mission to aid those struggling with drug addiction, to diminish their drug use, therefore lessening their chances to commit more crimes. Perry’s role didn’t just end with lobbying, but his contributions were further extended.

In 2012, Perry chose to use his past experiences with addiction for something positive. He converted his 10 million dollar Malibu beach home into a refuge for men battling the same troubles. He named it “Perry House.” It was more than just a house, with an introduction of meditation programs and 12-step workshops, it became a place for healing. Perry saw it as his way to give back and help those who were in a similar situation as he had been in the past.

Perry sold the mansion a little while later, moving its services to a place that didn’t cost as much. This act alone was so remarkable, the White House gave Perry a Champion of Recovery Reward. As the years went by, it appeared Perry was making a real change. Yet, all his past actions and circumstances eventually caught up with him, changing the lives of the actor going forward.

In 2018, Perry had to be quickly taken to the hospital as his colon ruptured due to the many years of using harmful substances. Deep unconsciousness, or coma, sealed his state for a lengthy two-week period. Once he finally regained consciousness, he still had to stay under hospital care for an extended duration of five more months.

Perry was one of five critical patients in the hospital that unsettling night, all connected to an ECMO machine, a device usually only brought out in dire emergencies. The doctors gave him a slim 2% chance of pulling through, as Perry revealed to People. Remarkably, he emerged as the sole survivor that day, his victory evident in the physical reminders; a colostomy bag and a handful of scars. Perry then found himself questioning his salvation. “Why was I spared when these four people passed away? There has to be a reason that I’m here,” he solemnly shared with Diane Sawyer. And this unexpected second shot at life gave Perry an opportunity to become more open-hearted.

Perry, over the years, had been in several relationships with well-known people such as Tricia Fischer, Lizzy Caplan, and Gwenyth Paltrow. Yet, despite these relationships, Perry found it hard to really let anyone into his personal space, his private world. He admitted, “I need love but I don’t trust it. If I drop my game like Chandler and show you who I really am you might notice me – but worse you might notice me and might leave me, and I can’t have that,” in an interview with BBC. Despite his charm and wit, his struggle with trust made it challenging for him to maintain long-term relationships.

Through therapy, Perry slowly started breaking down those old habits that plagued him. He finally accepted the truth: he didn’t need to keep people laughing constantly to earn their love. This acceptance led him to a significant discovery about himself. Subsequently, a new woman walked into his life, marking a fresh chapter.

In the year of 2018, a romantic journey began for Matthew Perry when he started dating Molly Hurwitz, who is a professional literary manager. Their relationship was rich and they formed a strong bond, leading them to get engaged in the year 2020. Even though they eventually ended their engagement, Hurwitz will always remember the deep impact Perry had on her heart.

“In an Instagram caption, she penned, ‘While my love for him was deeper than anything I could fathom, Matthew Langford Perry was complex, and he brought about a kind of discomfort I’d never felt before.’ You must understand, no one has left a more significant mark on my grown-up life than him.’ However, the pain from this heartache wasn’t the only struggle Perry was coping with during that period.”

During the year 2020, while being in a relationship with Hurwitz, Perry had to enter a rehab facility once more, this time located in Switzerland. He tried to deceive his medical team by complaining about intense stomach pain. His main goal was to get them to prescribe him hydrocodone, which is a strong painkiller.

Practically chilling, his heart went still for five minutes due to a reaction between hydrocodone he’d taken pre-surgery and the anesthetic used in the procedure. CPR was performed on him so forcefully that it led to the breaking of eight of his ribs. He then shelled out a whopping $175,000 to hire a private jet to Los Angeles with the hope of getting more painkillers, only to return to Switzerland empty-handed. Although this was the last time he brushed up with death so narrowly, it didn’t put an end to his medical troubles. There were still multiple surgeries in his future following this staggering ordeal.

Interestingly, Perry had to go through an unexpected dental operation in 2021, exactly when the filming of the special, Friends: The Reunion, was supposed to commence. Despite experiencing a burning sensation in his mouth, Perry chose not to miss the reunion and joined the rest of his treasured co-stars on set.

There, they all enjoyed reruns of classic episodes, bringing back joyful memories and ensuring their unwavering fans continued to bask in a splendid wave of nostalgia. Perry shared his story about how his younger self had struggled to cope with the weight of fame coupled with substance misuse. His co-stars, along with their global fanbase, were delighted to see him at a better place in his life. However, no one could have predicted then that this would be the final time Perry would appear on-screen.

In 2022, Perry finally felt ready to open his doors in Los Angeles to Diane Sawyer for a very special and deeply honest interview. It was then, with a newfound sense of certainty and self-understanding, that Perry chose to discuss the difficult elements of his life.

Perry revealed the rough times he’s gone through, the inner workings of his thoughts, and the ways he managed to keep up with his substance use for many, many years when he spoke to Sawyer. He also communicated just how much better he was starting to feel. “My health is good. I’m doing really well… [Each day is] not that hard. I have a lot of experience now,” Perry shared with Sawyer during their conversation on ABC News.

Perry chose to utilise his personal experiences in life, penning them down in a memoir he aptly named “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir”. In a chat with People magazine, he made it clear, “I didn’t leave anything out. Everything’s in there,” indicating that his book includes every bit of his journey.

“He told his story once he was sure he was out of the danger zone, no longer tumbling back into the gloomy side of things. Perry knew he had to stay solidly sober to pen his journey accurately,” he expressed more. Knowing that his role on Friends gave him a voice that few others possessed, Perry was determined to lend a hand to those in need whenever he could.

Even as Perry was battling his own addictions, he discovered a strong pull towards aiding others in overcoming their struggles with addiction. Each day, he made the conscious decision to be of more assistance to others rather than letting his own health deteriorate further. Despite how challenging it was to put it all in writing, Perry held onto the belief that his words could be a beacon of hope for someone facing a similar ordeal. In Perry’s eyes, the potential good he could do for others was of greater importance.

“I need to reach out and help as many folks as possible. This isn’t enjoyable… it’s not a pleasure to speak about these matters… But I realize it’ll be beneficial for others if we discuss it,” Perry stated in an interview with Diane Sawyer.

In Perry’s autobiography, he describes the high price he had to pay because of his addiction. He made an effort to quit in 2021 for the first time; however, Perry shared that he faltered and gave in to his addiction between 60 and 70 times following that initial attempt at sobriety.

Perry had poured out a substantial amount, falling between seven and nine million dollars. This money was spent on 14 surgical procedures for his stomach, made 15 trips to recovery facilities, and went for therapy twice weekly for more than 30 years. He was also a consistent attendee of AA meetings, marking his presence in over 6,000 of them throughout his lifespan. However, just as things started to look up for Perry, a heartbreaking event occurred.

On the unfortunate night of October 28, 2023, Matthew Perry was discovered lifeless inside his backyard jacuzzi by his assistant, as mentioned by the Today show. A call was made to 911 immediately, but help arrived too late. At the very spot, authorities pronounced Matthew Perry to be no longer living.

Just a few hours later, his mom and his stepdad got to his home, ready to meet their son. Very soon, people all over the world heard the news about the famous actor’s death. Since there wasn’t any sign of crime or drugs in his body, the death of Perry was completely unexpected and caught everyone by surprise.

As many fans across the globe grieved the passing of a well-loved actor, his family and nearest friends expressed their own sorrow. “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of our beloved son and brother,” was the touching statement shared by his family. This news was reported by People magazine, leaving everyone in deep sadness.

Other celebrities in Hollywood like Selma Blair, Gwenyth Paltrow, and Hank Azaria also expressed their grief and shared beautiful remembrances about the beloved actor who passed away prematurely. Azaria even used this moment to reveal a personal experience, crediting Perry for his first ever AA meeting attendance. The world grieved synchronously, sharing in the sadness of losing such a funny and thoughtful character too soon. However, amid the numerous comments, one particular statement touched hearts notably.

Matthew Perry was an integral member of the Friends crew. The ones who wrote and created the show expressed their profound sadness and a sense of loss. Next, the other five cast members collectively issued a joint announcement, as the magazine People reported. They were working closely with one another, like one big family, and their shared statement reflected this.

“We’re all so terribly shattered by Matthew’s passing. More than just colleagues in our roles, we’re a family. There’s a lot to express, but for now, we’re taking a pause to mourn and digest this unthinkable loss. As time passes, we’ll share more when we’re ready and able to do so. In the immediate, our minds and hearts are with Matty’s family, his buddies, and everyone out there who cared for him deeply.”

Matthew Perry has brought joy and laughter into many lives, causing giggles until people could hardly breathe, tears of joy streaming down their faces. Though battling his own demons in the form of addiction, he remained strong and put in tremendous effort to enrich the world around him. The legacy he left behind will be remembered and cherished every time we watch one of the episodes of ‘Friends’.

Before he passed away, Matthew shared with the Los Angeles Times that his wish was to be remembered as someone who loved deeply, lived fully, and was able to help others.” We promise to honor you, Matthew, just the way you wanted. We will remember you as someone who lived a vibrant life, loved profoundly, and generously assisted others when they needed it.