‘Friends’ Star Matthew Perry Died from “Acute Effects of Ketamine”

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Latest News: Matthew Perry Died from “Acute Effects of Ketamine”

Nearly seven weeks after Matthew Perry’s unexpected death, we finally know how the Friends star died. His cause of death was “the acute effects of ketamine,” according to a December 15 press release from the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner. Officials determined the actor’s death was an accident and cited drowning, coronary artery disease, and the effects of buprenorphine, a drug used to treat opioid addiction, as contributing factors.

The 54-year-old was found dead in the pool at his Los Angeles home on October 28, according to the release. Perry had struggled with addiction for decades but was believed to be sober at the time of his death. “He was healthy. He had quit smoking. He was getting in shape,” Friends co-star Jennifer Aniston recently told Variety. “I was literally texting with him that morning, funny Matty. He was not in pain. He wasn’t struggling. He was happy.”

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Who Was Matthew Perry?

Matthew Perry began acting as a teenager. Following an early career marked by bit parts and failed pilots, Perry rocketed to fame in the mid-1990s with the Emmy-nominated role of Chandler Bing on the smash sitcom Friends. He went on to star in movies like Fools Rush In and The Whole Nine Yards. Off-screen, the actor struggled with addiction for many years. Perry later attempted to replicate his sitcom success with Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and Go On, eventually finding a ratings hit with a revival of The Odd Couple. Never married nor a father, he died at age 54 in October 2023.

Quick Facts

FULL NAME: Matthew Langford Perry
BORN: August 19, 1969
DIED: October 28, 2023
BIRTHPLACE: Williamstown, Massachusetts
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Leo

Childhood and Parents

Matthew Langford Perry was born on August 19, 1969, in Williamstown, Massachusetts. His actor father, John Bennett Perry, split up with his mother, Suzanne Langford, while Matthew was still an infant. He went to live with his mother in Ottawa, Canada. Suzanne served as press secretary to Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Truedeau and later remarried. Matthew’s stepfather was Keith Morrison, a correspondent for NBC’s Dateline program.

Matthew attended Rockcliffe Park Public School and became friends with fellow student Justin Trudeau, the current prime minister of Canada. After moving to Los Angeles around the age of 15 to live with his father, Matthew enrolled at Buckley School. He graduated from the private school in 1987.

Growing up, Matthew developed two passions: playing tennis and acting. “Giving up tennis wasn’t really a decision I had to make,” he told Men’s Health in 2012. “I was a very good tennis player in Ottawa, Canada—nationally ranked when I was, like, 13. Then I moved to Los Angeles when I was 15, and everyone in L.A. just killed me. I was pretty great in Canada. Not so much in Los Angeles.” Unlike his tennis prospects, a career in acting would be a different story.

Early Roles

Perry landed his first movie part while still in high school, a supporting role opposite star River Phoenix in A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon (1988). Unfortunately, the film came and went without much notice.

In September 1987, Perry starred in his first sitcom, Second Chance. The show had a fantastical premise with Kiel Martin starring as a man who dies and gets a chance to go back to mentor a younger version of himself (played by Perry). The show was later retooled, dropping Martin and focusing on the teenage misadventures of Perry’s character. Despite its new direction and new title, Boys Will Be Boys, the sitcom failed to attract enough of an audience to stay on the air.

After the series ended, Perry landed a series of small parts and guest appearances on such programs as Empty Nest and Growing Pains. He also had a supporting role on the short-lived Valerie Bertinelli comedic vehicle Sydney in 1990. This same year, Perry gave a strong performance as Desi Arnaz Jr. in the television biopic Call Me Anna, about the life of actor Patty Duke.

Three years later, Perry tried again for sitcom success with Home Free. He starred as a young reporter who lives at home with his mother, his sister, and her two kids. After a few months, the series was cancelled. Perry was then cast in the pilot for LAX 2194, a futuristic look at an airport which never aired.

Friends Fame

Perry soon found the perfect project with a leading role in a new sitcom about a group of young men and women in New York City. Debuting in September 1994, Friends became one of the most popular television sitcoms of all time.

Perry played the witty and sarcastic Chandler Bing, who shared an apartment with an aspiring actor named Joey, played by Matt LeBlanc, and was a longtime friend of Ross, played by David Schwimmer. Completing the cast, Courteney Cox played Monica, Ross’ sister; Jennifer Aniston played Rachel, Monica’s roommate; and Lisa Kudrow played Phoebe, the kooky, offbeat friend to all.

The six actors proved to be a tight group both on- and off-screen. They banded together to renegotiate their contracts after Friends became a huge hit—a must-watch show for many Americans on Thursday nights. Each eventually earned $1 million per episode. Critics loved the show, too. Friends notched 62 Emmy Award nominations in its run, including Perry’s 2002 nod for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.

During the later seasons of Friends, Chandler developed a romantic relationship with Monica. The characters eventually married, adopted twins, and planned a move to the suburbs as the series came to an end in May 2004 after a decade on the air.

Addiction

As he enjoyed the immense popularity of Friends, Perry battled addictions to alcohol and prescription medications. “I was a guy who wanted to become famous,” he told The New York Times in 2002. “There was steam coming out of my ears, I wanted to be famous so badly. You want the attention, you want the bucks, and you want the best seat in the restaurant. I didn’t think what the repercussions would be.”

Perry entered rehab for his addiction to the painkiller Vicodin in 1997 and completed a second rehab stint in 2001. Years later, Perry told People he “couldn’t stop” using alcohol and pills during that period.

His addiction relapsed and the star went to rehab several more times throughout his life. In his 2022 book Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, Perry wrote he spent more than $7 million attempting to get sober and visited rehab at least 15 times.

Even as he continued to struggle, he tried to support other addicts, too. He advocated for drug court reform and, for a time, turned his old Malibu, California, home into a men’s sober-living facility called Perry House.

Movies

During his years on Friends, Perry tackled several movies. He starred in several comedies, including Fools Rush In (1997), with Salma Hayek; Almost Heroes (1998), with Chris Farley; and Three to Tango (1999), with Neve Campbell. While none of these films struck a chord with audiences or critics, Perry found some commercial success with The Whole Nine Yards (2000), with Bruce Willis and Amanda Peet. The movie earned more than $57 million and spawned the 2004 sequel The Whole Ten Yards.

Perry went on to star in the 2006 TV movie The Ron Clark Story, about a Southern teacher who moves to New York City to work with disadvantaged students. The performance earned him Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.

In 2007, he played a screenwriter who tries to cure his depression to win over the woman he loves in the independent film Numb. Perry then played the lead in another independent feature, Birds of America, which was shown at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. The following year, he had a role in the comedy 17 Again, with Zac Efron and Leslie Mann.

Later TV Shows: Studio 60 and The Odd Couple

In 2006, Perry returned to series television for Aaron Sorkin’s behind-the-scenes drama Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. He played Matt Albie, a talented writer who returns to the comedy show that made him famous. Bradley Whitford played his friend, collaborator, and the show’s producer. Although it earned many positive reviews, the show was cancelled the next year because of low ratings.

Taking another crack at sitcom success in 2011, Perry starred in the short-lived Mr. Sunshine. In 2012, he returned to the small screen in Go On as a sports talk show host who joins an oddball support group following the death of his wife. The show survived a full season before being canceled.

Perry finally found another winner with the 2015 revival of The Odd Couple, playing the messy Oscar Madison to Thomas Lennon’s fastidious Felix Unger. Despite mixed reviews, audiences took to the comedic repartee of the two stars through its three-season run.

During these years, Perry also enjoyed a recurring role on the legal drama The Good Wife and reappeared for its spinoff, The Good Fight. One of Perry’s final roles was as Ted Kennedy on the 2017 limited series The Kennedys After Camelot, also starring Katie Holmes as Jackie Kennedy.

Girlfriends

Perry never married, though he came close once. In November 2020, the actor got engaged to his girlfriend Molly Hurwitz. However, the pair announced their split in May 2021.

Perry previously dated actors Lizzy Caplan and, briefly, Julia Roberts. He was also in relationships with TV executive Jamie Tarses, then–fashion student Rachel Dunn, and TV producer Gabrielle Allan.

Health Problems and Death

The actor’s addiction sparked a string of related health problems. In 2000, Perry was hospitalized for pancreatitis.

Then, in the summer of 2018, the 49-year-old actor was rushed to the hospital with a gastrointestinal perforation. He later revealed in his book Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing that his exploded colon, caused by his opioid abuse, left him fighting for his life. His five-month hospital stay included a stint on life support and two weeks in a coma. “The doctors told my family that I had a 2 percent chance to live,” Perry wrote of his early days at the hospital. His recovery included using a colostomy bag for nine months and at least 14 surgeries.

Perry died on October 28, 2023, at age 54. Authorities found him unresponsive in a pool at his Los Angeles home around 4 p.m. His cause of death was “the acute effects of ketamine,” and the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner listed drowning, coronary artery disease, and the effects of buprenorphine as contributing factors. Buprenorphine is used to treat opioid addiction.

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