Death of Matthew Perry, the family’s first words: “We are heartbroken”

The sudden death of Matthew Perry, who was Chandler in the show Friends, it was a bolt from the blue for the family of the actor, found lifeless in the hot tub of his home in Los Angeles on Saturday 28 October. “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of our beloved son and brother.”the relatives announced in a note shared with the magazine People, “Matthew brought so much joy to the world, both as an actor and as a friend,” adding the great appreciation for all the demonstrations of affection and closeness received in the last hours.

Matthew Perry was not married nor did he have a partner (at least officially) even though over the years he had dated many women, including famous ones, from Julia Roberts to Lizzy Caplan, actress of Mean Girls to whom he was linked from 2006 to 2012. He did not have children, although he wanted them. In 2021, speaking with People, he said he would have liked the role very much. In real life, of course. «I think I would be fantastic. Really. I grew up with a lot of kids around me, and that’s probably why, but I can’t wait.”

Today it is his parents who mourn him, John Bennett Perry, also an actor, and his mother Suzanne Morrison. The couple separated when he was very young and in 1981 both parents remarried, the father with Debbie Boyle and the mother with Keith Morrison, correspondent of Dateline NBC. The actor’s mother and stepfather were the first to arrive at the Pacific Palisades home where Perry died. The actor also had three sisters, born from his parents’ subsequent marriages: Mia Perry, Madeleine, Emily and Caitlin Morrison.

An extended and close-knit family, today united in pain, still everything to understand. The causes of death of Perry, in fact, only hypotheses remain for the moment, given that no traces of drugs or other suspicious substances were found in the house, which could be linked to an alleged illness in the tub or to a suicide. What is certain is that the actor has fought against addictions all his life, even if in recent years he seemed to have overcome his darkest moments.

Meanwhile, they continue tributes from friends and colleagues, still incredulous, as well as those of the fans, who in New York, in front of the house where it was filmed Friends, they leave flowers, thoughts and stuffed animals. The last farewell to “their” myth, who hated being called Chandler and identified with the character who had given him popularity. He responded only to those who called him by his name. He would have liked only a “Goodbye, Matthew.” His fans know it.