'Friends' co-creators reflect on Matthew Perry's legacy amid new charges related to his death
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Marta Kauffman and David Crane, the co-creators of 'Friends', are addressing Matthew Perry's enduring legacy as new developments unfold following his death.
Notably, Matthew Perry was found unresponsive at his Los Angeles home on October 28, 2023.
As the co-creators reflect on their close relationship with the actor who portrayed Chandler Bing, they emphasize celebrating his humor and kindness.
Meanwhile, a recent legal update brings new charges related to Perry’s death, adding another layer to the ongoing story surrounding the beloved star.
'Friends' co-creators celebrate Matthew Perry's positive aspects
Marta Kauffman emphasized celebrating the positive aspects of Matthew Perry's legacy. The 'Friends' co-creator recently reflected on her relationship with the late actor, who portrayed "Chandler Bing" on the iconic sitcom.
"He is the one I had the most contact with," Kauffman revealed in a recent 30th-anniversary article for The Times in the UK. "About two weeks before [he died], he and I were FaceTiming, and he seemed really good."
Kauffman also discussed how Perry should be remembered. "Two things come to mind [about how to celebrate him]: One of them is to donate to drug treatment centers — let's fight the disease," she suggested. "And the second way is to watch Friends and remember him not as a man who died like that but as a man who was hilariously funny and brought joy to everybody."
Further, David Crane, the series' other co-creator, reflected on discovering Perry’s struggles with addiction, as per EW.
"By the time we became aware of it, we were already a family on a lot of levels," Crane said. "There was a point where we said to him: 'Do you want to stop [being in the show]?' And he was adamantly like: 'No, this is really important to me.'"
'Friends' creators remember Matthew Perry amid new charges
Following Matthew Perry's death from acute ketamine effects last year, Kauffman, Crane, and executive producer Kevin Bright issued a joint statement.
"It still seems impossible," they said about his death. "All we can say is that we feel blessed to have had him as part of our lives."
They continued, "He was a brilliant talent. 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."
The statement further praised Perry, "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. We send all of our love to his family and friends."
In a posthumous interview, Kauffman expressed concern for Perry during the filming of the 2021 Friends reunion special.
"Knowing that he'd been through everything he'd been through, and every time he had surgery, they're giving him opioids for pain and the cycle starts over again. I was concerned about what point in the cycle he was [in] in that moment," she said.
On Thursday, the Department of Justice announced charges against five individuals related to Perry's death: doctors Salvador Plasencia and Mark Chavez, Perry’s personal assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, the actor’s acquaintance Erik Fleming, and Jasveen Sangha, known as "the Ketamine Queen," according to prosecutors.
