"When I Die...": Matthew Perry Detailed How He Wanted To Be Remembered

Matthew Perry, known for his iconic character Chandler Bing in the superhit sitcom Friends, died at the age of 54 on October 28. The actor was found unresponsive in a hot tub. The first responders found Mr Perry unconscious and were unable to revive him. Mr Perry, in an interview last year, spoke about how he wanted to be remembered after his death. The actor stated that he wanted to be remembered for something other than the fan-favourite sitcom.

"I would like to be remembered as somebody who lived well, loved well, was a seeker. And his paramount thing is that he wants to help people. That's what I want," he said in the Q With Tom Power podcast in 2022. 

During the height of his success, Mr Perry battled for years with addiction to painkillers and alcohol and attended rehabilitation clinics on multiple occasions. He detailed his harrowing journey in his memoir 'Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing'. 

Following a jet ski mishap in 1997, he developed a Vicodin addiction and underwent 15 days of rehabilitation in 2001. Later, he converted his old Malibu house into the Perry House, a sober living facility. Mr Perry informed that he was clean in 2021 and claimed that he had spent $9 million on the same.

He added, "The best thing about me, bar none, is that if somebody comes to me and says, 'I can't stop drinking, can you help me?' I can say 'yes' and follow up and do it. When I die, I don't want Friends to be the first thing that's mentioned. I want that to be the first thing that's mentioned. And I'm gonna live the rest of my life proving that."

However, Mr Perry did acknowledge that he was aware that his legacy would probably not extend beyond the highly successful show. "When I die, I know people will talk about Friends, Friends, Friends. And I'm glad of that, happy I've done some solid work as an actor, as well as given people multiple chances to make fun of my struggles on the world wide web," he wrote. 

"But when I die, as far as my so-called accomplishments go, it would be nice if Friends were listed far behind the things I did to try to help other people. I know it won't happen but it would be nice," 'The Odd Couple' star concluded. 

Mr Perry dedicated his memoir to "all of the sufferers out there," and wrote in the prologue, "I should be dead". He added, "People would be surprised to know that I have mostly been sober since 2001. Save for about sixty or seventy little mishaps over the years."