Morgan Fairchild, who played Chandler's mom on 'Friends,' talks Matthew Perry's 'lasting legacy'

Morgan Fairchild has her own sweet memories of working with Matthew Perry.

Fairchild had a recurring role as the mother of Perry’s Chandler Bing on “Friends,” beginning in the first season and lasting through the show’s eighth season. She said taking the part marked a shift in her own career.

“I just always remember Matthew, when I first met him, because when they offered me the part, I had only played mothers of teenagers. Suddenly they’re offering me to play the mother of a grown guy,” she told TODAY on Nov. 22 while appearing with Nicollette Sheridan and Donna Mills, her co-stars in the upcoming Lifetime movie “Ladies of the ‘80s: A Divas Christmas.”

“I remember Cicely Tyson saying to me, ‘You’re too young to play that guy’s mom.’ I thought the show had potential. It wasn’t a big hit yet. And I was right.”

Fairchild said her first encounter with Perry on the show took her on a trip down memory lane, since she had appeared on the ‘80s primetime soap opera “Falcon Crest,” alongside his father, actor John Bennett Perry. She said Matthew Perry told her that he used to spend time on that set, as well as the set of an earlier series she was on called “Flamingo Road.”

“So I took the part and then the first day on the set (of 'Friends'), Matthew comes bounding over to me, the big puppy dog energy that he always had and said, ‘You won’t remember me, but I used to hang out on the “Flamingo Road” and “Falcon Crest” set with you,’” she recalled.

“I said, 'You did?’ (He said) 'John Bennett Perry’s my father,'" Fairchild said.

"And I said, ‘That little kid was you? I guess I am old enough to play your mom,'" she said.

Fairchild said Perry did a great job connecting with audiences by playing the sarcastic Chandler, while she also reached many fans.

“He was just so lovely and I was so touched because a lot of the world thought of me as Chandler’s mom,” she said.

“And so I was receiving a lot of the condolences, too, and it was very touching to see how many lives that he touched that people felt he was their friend and identified with him and the stories about ‘He got me, that character got me through rough times in my life.’ He left a lasting legacy.”

Perry died last month at 54 from an apparent drowning. His death spurred tributes from fans and co-stars alike. His “Friends” castmates initially issued a joint statement in the days after his death before releasing their own individual posts on Instagram last week.

While Fairchild said people commented that Chandler helped them through dark patches of their own lives, Perry was open about how his castmates on "Friends" were so good to him, as he dealt with addiction issues.

“They were understanding, and they were patient. It could be said that (doing the show) saved me,” he told People in 2022 while promoting his memoir, “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com