Actor Matthew Perry was found dead at his home in Los Angeles on Saturday. He was 54. First responders found Perry unconscious in a hot tub at his house and were unable to revive him.
His family in an exclusive interview with People spoke about the star's death. "We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of our beloved son and brother," the family says. "Matthew brought so much joy to the world, both as an actor and a friend."
They add, "You all meant so much to him and we appreciate the tremendous outpouring of love."
Mr Perry was best known for his portrayal of the wise-cracking Chandler Bing on the wildly popular "Friends," which ran for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004. "Friends" followed the lives of six New Yorkers navigating adult life, dating and careers. It was a mainstay of NBC's much-vaunted 1990s and early 2000s television lineup and drew a massive global following.
During the height of his success, Perry battled for years with addiction to painkillers and alcohol, and attended rehabilitation clinics on multiple occasions, AFP reported.
Perry experienced health problems including a burst colon in 2018 due to his drug usage, which required multiple surgeries and the use of a colostomy bag for months after.
In his memoir "Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing," published last year, Perry described going through detox dozens of times and spending millions of dollars in repeated attempts to get sober.
In the book, which he dedicated to "all of the sufferers out there", the 'Friends' star talked about drug abuse and alcoholism and described going through detox dozens of times and spending millions of dollars in repeated attempts to get sober.
The prologue talks about his time living in a sober living house in Southern California.
