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Matthew Perry's Famous Friends React To His Death
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Matthew Perry's Famous Friends React To His Death

By Emily Richardson | Celebrity | October 30, 2023

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Header Image Source: Getty

Since Matthew Perry's sudden death on Saturday, there's been an outpouring of grief across social media. My Instagram feed is filled with Chandler Bing memes, Friends scenes, and quotes from Matthew about sobriety. People felt like they knew Matthew through Chandler, and his death has hit them hard. But not as hard as it's hit his real-life friends, loved ones, and co-stars.

Here are some famous faces who have shared Matthew tributes on social media:

Maggie Wheeler

Maggie Wheeler played Janice, Chandler's on-again, off-again girlfriend, in 19 episodes of Friends. On Instagram, she wrote that she felt "blessed" by every creative moment they shared together:

Ione Skye

Ione and Matthew co-starred in 1988's A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon (it was his film debut). Less than two weeks before he died, Matthew texted Ione to tell her he thought of her when he heard the song In Your Eyes (see: Ione's 1989 movie, Say Anything). Ione posted screenshots of her texts with Matthew and wrote that she was "very very sad":

Hank Azaria

Hank Azaria posted a video about his friendship with Matthew, whom he met when he moved to LA in the mid-eighties. The pair shot a pilot together called Morning Maggie (it went nowhere) and became close friends, like "brothers." Hank calls Matthew a "genius" and the "funniest man ever." He says they spent many nights drinking and laughing together.

Hank says, "A lot of us who were close to him felt like we lost him to drugs and alcohol a long time ago because, as he documented in his autobiography, there was so much suffering." Hank reveals that he's been sober for 17 years, and, the whole first year he did AA, Matthew took him to meetings: "As a sober person, he was so caring and giving and wise and he totally helped me get sober." Here's Hank's post:

Gwyneth Paltrow

Back in 1993, Gwyneth and Matthew had a summer fling while working together at the Williamstown Theater Festival. Gwyneth writes that Matthew was "so funny, so sweet, and so much fun to be with":

Morgan Fairchild

Morgan Fairchild played Chandler's mom on Friends. Over the weekend, she took to Twitter to pay tribute to Matthew. This morning, she made an appearance on CNN:

Yvette Nicole Brown

Yvette Nicole Brown worked with Matthew on The Odd Couple reboot. In an Instagram post, Yvette writes that Matthew was a "sweetheart who deserved more peace in life":

Selma Blair

In an Instagram post, Selma Blair calls Matthew "her oldest boy friend." She writes that she's "broken" over his passing:

Justin Trudeau

Even though Matthew was technically born in Massachusetts, his mom is Canadian and raised him in Ottawa until he was 15. Ipso facto, we Canucks claim him as one of our own. Hell, he went to school with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Could Chandler be any more Canadian?:

Paget Brewster

I loved Paget Brewster's arc on Friends. The actress took to Twitter to share that Matthew was "lovely" to her during filming and encouraged everyone to read his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing:

Marta Kauffman, David Crane, and Kevin Bright

Friends co-creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane and executive producer Kevin Bright issued this statement to People:

"We are shocked and deeply, deeply saddened by our beloved friend Matthew's passing," they wrote. "It still seems impossible. All we can say is that we feel blessed to have had him as part of our lives. He was a brilliant talent."

The three reflected on Perry's breakout role as Chandler Bing in the '90s sitcom, a character known for providing unending laughs on the show. "It's a cliche to say that an actor makes a role their own, but in Matthew's case, there are no truer words. From the day we first heard him embody the role of Chandler Bing, there was no one else for us."

"We will always cherish the joy, the light, the blinding intelligence he brought to every moment -- not just to his work, but in life as well. He was always the funniest person in the room. More than that, he was the sweetest, with a giving and selfless heart."

The statement ended with condolences for others grieving Perry, as well as a sweet reference to the Friends title tradition. "We send all of our love to his family and friends. This truly is The One Where Our Hearts Are Broken."

So far, none of the five remaining Friends stars have publicly commented on Matthew's death.