“Friends” star Mathew Perry, 54, was found dead Saturday in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home, law enforcement sources said.
Authorities responded about 4 p.m. to his home, where he was discovered unresponsive.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing, did not cite a cause of death. There was no sign of foul play, the sources added.
Los Angeles Police Department’s robbery-homicide detectives are investigating the death. The cause of death will be determined at a later date by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.
The Los Angeles Time reported Saturday night that a representative for Perry did not immediately respond to the Times’ request for comment.
“We are devastated by the passing of our dear friend Matthew Perry,” Warner Bros. Television Group, which produced “Friends,” said in a statement. “Matthew was an incredibly gifted actor and an indelible part of the Warner Bros. Television Group family. The impact of his comedic genius was felt around the world, and his legacy will live on in the hearts of so many. This is a heartbreaking day, and we send our love to his family, his loved ones, and all of his devoted fans.”
Perry, the son of actor John Bennett Perry and Suzanne Marie Langford, onetime press secretary of Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, was born in 1969 and grew up between Montreal and Los Angeles after his parents separated when Perry was 1.
He got his start as a child actor, landing guest spots “Charles in Charge” and “Beverly Hills 90210″ and playing opposite River Phoenix in the film “A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon” in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Credit: LYNNE SLADKY
Credit: LYNNE SLADKY
But his big break came when he was cast in “Friends” — originally titled “Friends Like Us” — a sitcom about six single New Yorkers navigating adulthood that premiered on NBC in 1994. It soon became a juggernaut, the anchor of the network’s vaunted Thursday-night “Must-See TV” lineup, and turned Perry and his cast mates, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt Leblanc and Matthew Schwimmer into mega-stars almost overnight.
The series, which ran from 1994 until 2004, was one of television’s biggest hits and has taken on a new life — and found surprising popularity with younger fans — in recent years on streaming services.
Perry received one Emmy nomination for his “Friends” role and two more for appearances as an associate White House counsel on “The West Wing.”
Perry also had several notable film roles, starring opposite Salma Hayek in the rom-com “Fools Rush In” and opposite Bruce Willis in the the crime comedy “The Whole Nine Yards.”
Also among his roles after “Friends” was the title role in “The Ron Clark Story” in 2006 about the Atlanta-based educator.
There was a dark side to instant fame, however. In his 2022 memoir “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” Perry reflected on his lifelong struggle with addiction to alcohol and opioids, which had led to multiple stints in rehab and serious health issues, including a 2018 gastrointestinal surgery that left him hospitalized for five months.
“Nobody wanted to be famous more than me,” Perry told The Los Angeles Times in April, discussing “Big Terrible Thing” at the Festival of Books. “I was convinced it was the answer. I was 25, it was the second year of ‘Friends,’ and eight months into it, I realized the American dream is not making me happy, not filling the holes in my life. I couldn’t get enough attention. … Fame does not do what you think it’s going to do. It was all a trick.”
— The Associated Press and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution contributed to this article.
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