Matthew Perry, who rose to fame as Chandler Bing on the NBC sitcom Friends, has died of a reported drowning. He was 54. The actor was found in a jacuzzi at a home in Los Angeles, and no drugs were found at the scene. Law enforcement sources told TMZ that first-responders rushed to the address with the call initially reported as a cardiac arrest.
Born on August 19, 1969 in Plymouth, Massachusetts, Matthew Perry moved from Ottawa, Canada to Los Angeles to pursue acting. His first credited role was in the TV drama 240-Robert in 1979. From there other bit parts came his way in shows including sitcoms Charles In Charge and Silver Spoons, and sketch comedy The Tracey Ullman Show. While still in high school, he performed improvisational comedy at the LA Connection in Sherman Oaks.
Following graduation, he was cast in the Fox sitcom Second Chance in 1987. After nine episodes, it was revamped to Boys Will Be Boys and ran in the new format for another 12 episodes in 1988.
In 1988, Perry appeared opposite River Phoenix on the big screen in A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon. And, in 1989, he had a three-episode arc on the ABC comedy Growing Pains as Carol Seaver’s (Tracey Gold) boyfriend Sandy, who dies in the hospital after a drunk-driving crash.
At the time, Perry also guest-starred in episodes of comedies Empty Nest and Just the Ten of Us before being cast as Valerie Bertinelli’s younger brother in the short-lived CBS sitcom Sydney 1990.
Three years later, in 1993, came his next regularly scheduled TV role, ABC comedy Home Free, which also failed to make it into a second season. But he struck gold, and a 10-season run, on Friends, which launched on September 22, 1994. At the time, Perry was the youngest of the six principal stars at age 24.
In 2002, Perry earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy, along with his Friends co-star Matt LeBlanc, but the two lost to Everybody Love Raymond’s Ray Romano. Four other Emmy nominations followed (including two for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for The West Wing).
During the run of Friends, Perry appeared in the films Fools Rush In (opposite his father John Bennett Perry), adventure comedy Almost Heroes, romantic comedy Three To Tango, The Whole Nine Yards opposite Bruce Willis and its sequel The Whole Ten Yards, and romantic comedy Serving Sara.
Following Friends, Perry made four attempts to find his next hit television series: drama Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip from Aaron Sorkin (2006-07), sitcoms Mr. Sunshine (2011), Go On (2012-13) and the remake of The Odd Couple on CBS. But only The Odd Couple, which aired from 2015-2017, survived past season one.
In 2017, Perry starred as Ted Kennedy in the miniseries The Kennedys: After Camelot. And, in 2022, he published a memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, which addressed his public struggle with addiction.
Perry’s final major credit was as himself, when he appeared as part of the highly publicized Friends: The Reunion in 2021 on the streaming service HBO Max.
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