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"Friends" Actor Matthew Perry Dead At 54. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired October 28, 2023 - 23:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[23:01:50]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

LAURA COATES, CNN HOST: We are back with breaking news, just in to CNN. Actor Matthew Perry has died at the age of 54. Law enforcement sources reporting that the "Friends" star was found at 4:00 in the afternoon in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home.

"The L.A. Times" reports that sources, and, of course, we also reporting here at CNN, we do not know yet the cause of his death and the investigation is ongoing. There appears to be no sign of foul play but robbery homicide detectives from the L.A. Police Department are also investigating and looking into this issue.

Perry appeared in countless other TV shows in addition to "Friends". But, of course, he is perhaps best known for the role of Chandler Bing in "Friends". The sitcom ran for 10 seasons, 10 seasons, and he appeared in every single episode. You know him so well it's hard to even separate Chandler Bing from Matthew Perry.

But he wrote a great deal about the distinction between the two. He battled with alcohol and drugs and painkillers, and that was very well-known. He wrote about his addiction in his memoir that he titled "Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing," including that he went to rehab more than 60 times to try to get the help he needed.

CNN's Camila Bernal is in Los Angeles.

Camila, what more do we know about the loss of what feels like a friend to everyone, Matthew Perry?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Laura, really a lot of shock and sadness coming from Hollywood and from his fans after learning the news. Now, we know some of the details according to "The L.A. Times" because what they're saying is this was an apparent drowning accident. They're also saying that there is no foul play at the moment. They're citing law enforcement sources.

Now, we did get confirmation from L.A. Fire that a 911 call was made at 4:07 p.m. And they said that this call was for a water rescue emergency. Then, LAPD also saying they did respond to a home matching Perry's address. That was for a death investigation.

So, again, all of this is still fast moving and developing. We are waiting for authorities to give us more details and confirmation. Now, I do want to go back to the beginning. Matthew Perry was born in

Massachusetts. His father was an actor, his mother a journalist. When the two split up, he moved with his mother to Canada. He spent a while in Canada.

And it was there that he sort of developed this love for tennis. He was actually a top ranked tennis player while he was in Canada. And then he moved back to the U.S. as a teenager, and that's when he started this acting career following his father's footsteps. He started with small roles and got bigger roles and led him to "Friends", which was, of course, the one role that truly made him famous and it was just something people loved to watch and still do over and over again as they watch the replays.

[23:05:08]

It was the jokes, mannerisms, the way he just made everyone laugh and made himself relatable. These were friends onscreen and off screen. They're famously known for negotiating their contracts together and making some of the -- or having sort of the highest salary in a TV series together as a group. So they're a tight-knit group of friends on and off the camera.

Also important to point out he specifically said that he shared his struggles with addiction because he wanted to help other people. So, I think that's part of the reason why a lot of people were also able to relate to him. He said one of the things that was shocking to him was his own resilience and said that he was just able to bounce back on what he said was torture and awfulness. He was open about it, he was candid, he was emotional during the interviews when he was promoting his book as he spoke about these struggles with addiction.

And so, again, this is something he put out in the open for the public to learn about and relate to. That's also part of the reason why so many people today are mourning his loss and honoring his memory, his legacy and what he left us on TV, because, again, people are still watching it today, Laura.

COATES: Camila Bernal, it's so true what you say, and I'm even looking across social media and remembering myself about all the funny lines he delivered. I mean, who can forget, every time you try to move a couch up some stairs, the pivot, pivot discussion, everything, and there's so many points, and you just can't help but smile when you think about how quintessential as he would say, can he be any more, Chandler.

Camila Bernal, stay with us please.

Perry was one of the stars of the hit sitcom, "Friends," which was produced by Warner Bros. We want to share that statement we just got from the Warner Bros. Television Group. It says: We are devastated by the passing of our dear friend, Matthew Perry. Matthew was an incredibly gifted actor and an indelible part of the Warner Bros. Television Group family. The impact of his comedic genius was felt around the world and his legacy will live on in the hearts of so many. This is a heart-breaking day. We send our love to his family, his loved ones and all of his devoted fans.

And tonight, there is reaction from the official "Friends" social media account, quote: We are devastated to learn of Matthew Perry's passing. He was a true gift to us all. Our heart goes out to his family, loved ones and all of his fans.

There is reaction from Hollywood as well. Melissa Rivers, actress and TV host, posting on X, a high school classmate died today, so sad, gone too soon, RIP.

Actress Mira Sorvino wrote on X tonight: Oh, no! Matthew Perry, you sweet troubled soul. May you find peace and happiness in heaven, making everyone laugh with your singular wit. She followed that with three broken hearts.

There are tributes that are coming in to Matthew Perry with some of the regulars who also appeared on "Friends". That includes Maggie Wheeler who played Chandler's on again, off again girlfriend, Janice, who could forget that relationship? Wheeler writing on Instagram: What a loss. The world will miss you, Matthew Perry, the joy you brought to so many in your too short lifetime will live on. I feel so very blessed by every creative moment we shared.

I want to bring in entertainment reporter, Elizabeth Wagmeister, as well.

Elizabeth, when you're looking at this, what is your reaction here to what you are seeing and the enormous support and memories that are flowing in?

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: You really get a sense of who Matthew Perry was. All of these messages that you are reading and I've been looking at them as well, you really see how good of a friend he truly was to everyone. He feels like a friend to you and me, and everyone at home.

But to the people in Hollywood who knew him he was an unbelievable person. I was just texting right now with the publicist on NBC who told me they would tweet back and forth about the Kings, I guess he was a fan of the L.A. Kings and one day just invited him over to his home and said, come watch with me.

And you put that into perspective, this is one of the biggest stars in television history just inviting someone over who he doesn't really know that well.

[23:10:07]

It seems like that was the type of guy that he was. I can share a bit of a story with you. I never interviewed Matthew Perry, but I do remember when I was an assistant at "TV Guide" magazine at the beginning of my career, he had a show that was on NBC called "Go On," not many people may remember because it lasted just one season, it was such a big deal that Matthew Perry, the star of "Friends" was coming back to NBC we wanted a cover with him. That was going to be a big get. And I have to tell you, he didn't want to do it. He wasn't someone who

liked to do press. And that say as lot about who Matthew Perry was as a person. It's rare in Hollywood who can find a star who doesn't want to be on a magazine cover. This shows he was in it for the love of his craft, acting, making people laugh. He wasn't in it for the attention.

I think we can see that by who he was. He wasn't at a ton of Hollywood events and wasn't always out. You don't know much about his private life other than what he shared so deeply in his memoir.

So, I think that says a lot about him, one of the most successful television stars of all time but really not such a Hollywood star.

COATES: That's an important. I'm reading that he had asked out Jennifer Aniston three years before "Friends" happened, she declined and then said, they want to be friends, and, of course, how prescient with that, that they, of course, not only were they the friends, they were friends going forward.

I myself had a chance to meet him just almost a year to the day last year I had the privilege of doing a show with Bill Maher and he came to promote his book and he was giving it back to Bill Maher as much as Bill Maher was giving it to him. He was self-deprecating. He was kind. He actually introduced himself to me and said, hi, I'm Matt.

After he was interviewed and talked all the different things, he was so humble and I remember him turning and saying, is that okay? And I remember, yeah, Matt, it was great, you done well, kid. And it was just a moment, I thought, how many people you've been watching 30 years of our lives, would you look at him and think that he still he was kind enough to introduce himself, wasn't into all the Hollywood, you know, aura around him, just seemed like the kind of person you could sit down maybe at a central perk coffee shop and just talk, you know?

WAGMEISTER: Absolutely. I have to tell you, I have interviewed just about everybody in this business and that isn't typical. You would think to introduce yourself would just happen but it really doesn't all the time. When these stars are on these press junkets as we call them, when they're doing 30 interviews in a day, a lot of it is very cut and dry.

I think from your experience what I would take away from that how human he was. He never got too big. He always thought of himself as a normal person who happened to be on television.

You bring up some of his dating history, I think it's fun to bring up some of these memories he has spoken about. I was going back and reading some of his book, in his memoir, by the way, Laura, so eerie just about one year ago to the day, it's October 28th right now. His memoir came out November 1st, so tragic he is gone now just a year after he wrote that.

But I was going back and he spoke about how he dated Julia Roberts for a bit. There is a quote in there I want to read to you, if that's all right, something that Matthew Perry wrote, he spoke about he broke up with her, nothing was wrong but he basically preemptively broke up with Julia Roberts.

This is what he wrote. Quote: I was not enough, I can never be enough. I was broken, bent, unlovable. So, instead of facing the inevitable agony of losing her, I broke up with the brilliant and beautiful Julia Roberts, end quote.

That shows you also the demons that he was facing. This is the height of his fame. He's starring on "Friends". He's dating Julia Roberts but he himself felt so broken inside, had issues with his confidence.

And the fact he came out to say this in his memoir I think shows he was just a human being. Again, rich and famous, sure, but I think a lot of people can relate to him he didn't always feel all that.

COATES: I mean, as you say, could he be any more Chandler? I was going through and looking at the lines friends and I are texting back and forth about the moments of Chandler and Ross saying, I went to that tanning place your wife suggested and Chandler, was that place the sun? I mean, just the way he delivered a line, kind of abiding.

[23:15:01]

It kind of reminded you of the way Bea Arthur, I'm telling my age here, used to deliver a line in response to Rose Nylund on my favorite show, "Golden Girls", who was always sort of he would have a witty moment when he would have a rhetorical question in response to demonstrate the person talking to him was not the sharpest tool in the shed and yet it came across not as cruel but as you make yourself laugh at yourself in that moment.

And you make a great point about the memoirs in particular because he goes into extraordinary detail about the battle with addiction. He talks about what was going on physiologically. He even talks about at times he would go to open houses in Los Angeles and Hollywood just to be able to raid the medicine cabinets in a hope of finding any sort of drugs you could actually use and people would never suspect a thing because, Chandler Bing would not have done this.

So, he knew about how he was perceived in spite of that addiction. And, you know, Elizabeth, you think about so many -- you've interviewed so many stars and actors and artists across the globe, some really resent being attached to a particular project, they feel pigeonholed. They don't want to always be associated with what made them as famous as they are. They want to be seen more broadly.

It seemed he always embraced the fact he was Chandler Bing to you.

WAGMEISTER: Absolutely. And that's such a great point that you bring up, Laura, because you do hear people talk about being typecast or how they felt stuck in this role and nobody could ever see them any other way. You never really heard him say that. In fact, if you look at the entire cast of "Friends" they really embraced that show. They know what this means to viewers around the world. They know what it means to them and their careers.

We just saw them get together for that major reunion, seeing them come together was such a big deal, something that every entertainment reporter including myself, had been reporting on for years and years. When is there going to be a reboot? When is there going to be a reunion?

And when you saw them get together, you could really tell. It jumped off the screen. This camaraderie, they were a family, not just on- screen, but off screen, too. And Matthew Perry, he was grateful for this role. He wrote in his book the reason why he was coming forward with all of his struggles was really to help people. He knows how much he and the charts of Chandler Bing that he played reached people, came into their homes. We're talking multiple generations have watched this show.

Kids today are discovering the show on streaming. This is a series that will go on forever. His legacy will continue forever, people will continue to discover his talent around the world. That is not something you can say for really any star or any television show. Matthew Perry is in a different category and different stratosphere when it comes to television icons, really.

COATES: You're so right. And I'm wondering just how his costars across not only television, film, "Fools Rush In" with Selma Hayek to name one. We got others like "The Good Wife" he was on, he made an appearance on "West Wing" and other shows as well, we remember him, of course, from "Friends." it must be such a shock, especially with the brave, just unbelievable candor that he displayed and really demonstrating how relatable he was, even to what is afflicting so many people across this country, in the battle of addiction.

Elizabeth Wagmeister, thank you so much.

WAGMEISTER: Thank you.

COATES: The reaction is coming in to the breaking news, the death of Matthew Perry, the popular actor from the '90s sitcom, "Friends".

We'll be back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:22:47]

COATES: We're back now with the breaking news tonight from Hollywood. Actor Matthew Perry dead at 54 years old. "The L.A. Times" says that Perry was found at a hot tub in his home in Los Angeles, though a cause of death has not been released.

You know,Perry actually released a memoir just last year titled "Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing," that terrible thing being his years of addiction to drugs and alcohol.

Perry last year told ABC's Diane Sawyer that he was very open in his struggles in the hope he could help others.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MATTHEW PERRY, ACTOR: Your disease is just outside, just doing one arm push-ups is just waiting for you, just waiting for you, waiting to get you alone, because alone you lose to the disease. And now I finally feel okay, I feel like I have some strength.

DIANE SAWYER, ABC HOST: What does it mean to feel okay?

PERRY: It means I've developed some safety nets around this, you know? For some reason, it's obviously because I was on "Friends" more people will listen to me. So I've got to take advantage of that. I've got to help as many people as I can.

(END VIDEO CLI)

COATES: Using the platform for what would help people.

As we continue to share reaction to the death of Matthew Perry, we're getting more from Melissa Rivers in an exclusive statement to CNN. Rivers says: I lost a dear friend from high school today. We were in high school plays together and even then, he was the most talented guy in the room. Of my very few happy memories from high school, Matthew was always a part of them. So sad, he will be missed. Rest in peace.

I want to bring in senior TV features editor for "Variety", Emily Longeretta.

Emily, thank you so much for being here.

You know, what are you hearing about what happened?

EMILY LONGERETTA, TV FEATURES EDITOR, VARIETY: You know, unfortunately the details are still really, really lacking, and I think that that's out of respect for his friends and family who we hear are gathering at his house now. So, of course, there are police on the scene and they're still trying to figure out what the cause of death was. But, of course, he was found unresponsive this afternoon in his hot tub according to LAPD sources.

[23:25:06]

So, right now, that's all we know and we're kind of just monitoring social media, monitoring, you know, everyone that knew him and wants to share these beautiful tributes like you just read from Melissa Rivers. I mean, there's a few people from "Friends" who've spoken out, some of the supporting characters, including Maggie Wheeler, who, of course, you can't say the words Chandler Bing without hearing Janice's voice.

And, you know, she shared, what a loss. The world will miss you, Matthew Perry, the joy you brought to so many in your short lifetime will live on. And I think that is so front to note that that voice, that joy that he brought will definitely live on. And that's really, really nice to see things like that on such a tragic night.

COATES: I mean, you're so right. You think of all of the shows, all of the shows, and the entire universe of shows that people will watch, that people will reference, that we got pop culture references, too, all the time, and just in the last five years alone, let alone the last 20 or 30 years, and "Friends" is quoted as quickly as anything else. The friends he's referenced, the relationships there people are familiar with, it's still very popular even for people who are unplugged, still popular in streaming, his legacy as an actor and artist is really something people can't take for granted.

LONGERETTA: That is so, so true. It's a great way to look at it. He has had such an impact as an actor and a comedian. I mean, of course, "Friends" is mentioned and no one could be Chandler Bing, "Friends" wouldn't have been "Friends" without that group of cast, but that really includes him and that's really hard to think of a world that exists now.

TV is very different today. The sitcom world is very different today. It doesn't exist where people are tuning in every single week to watch, a single group of friends gathered together and 20 million people turning on their TVs and welcome him into their living room. It's an important thing to act, to note as well, he was, of course, on film. He was a really, really big TV actor.

And a thing that comes along with being a TV star you really are welcomed into people's homes. So, people fell in love with him. Of course, they fell in love with Chandler Bing, but they also fell in love with his character, Joe, on "The West Wing". They fell in love with him on "Go On", a short-lived series he was on, the many, many things that he popped up in, "The Odd Couple" revival, the list goes on and on.

And that really goes back to what an incredible actor he was with such amazing comedic timing. I mean, it's really -- it goes to show that the most famous lines of "Friends" were a lot of his, and that's because of his line, the way his cadence in delivering those lines of, could I be more excited? That is what, you know, what Matthew Perry brought to Chandler. That wasn't written in. He created that, and that's something that is really, really nice thing to think about.

COATES: I mean, Emily, could you be more right when it comes to describing Matthew Perry. And as you mentioned, I mean, first of all, there's a whole generation of people right now who are thinking of themselves, what do you mean you have to wait a week for it to come on? It was just binge watching and streaming?

No. We actually had to wait and you were willing to wait, whoever was the Thursday night, Friday night lineup. You were waiting to watch it, and it's because of the cast and crew they were talking about there. And he used that. You heard him talking to Diane Sawyer. He used the fact he knew how much his role and platform was really understood and, of course, relatable and used it to open up about addiction. And his struggle with addiction because he believed it would one day help people. It came out almost a year to the date ago.

LONGERETTA: Yeah. I looked through the book a little bit. I got them sitting right here in front of me. I picked up a copy immediately when it came out. One of the things he writes in the beginning, you may know me as another name, although my name is Matthew, but I should be dead.

And then he says in it, I don't write this to get petty, I don't write this for anybody to feel bad or be, but I want to let everyone know that if you're confused and if you're struggling, and if you have a hard time stopping using drugs or drinking alcohol, that you're not alone, and that you can stop because I did. He goes on to share how hard it was for him and how much he suffered time and time again for many, many years.

Yet he still was able to go to work and make niece amazing shows and films and was really, really able to do that because of his friends and family, including the "Friends" cast. So, I think the way that, the power that he had, he used that in a way to help other people. And that's very rare to see that in Hollywood.

COATES: Important to note, too, he wrote about this, and he talked about, although he struggled with addiction, he says he was never under the influence when doing his craft, when he was on "Friends", when he was on set, when he was actually acting. In fact, season nine was the only season out of all the 10 where he was substance-free and happened to be the one he was most proud of, his best work, and I think the one that he was nominated for an Emmy as well.

[23:30:05]

So, just thinking about what that struggle was like in front of our eyes.

Emily Longeretta, thank you so much.

LONGERETTA: Thank you.

COATES: The big news from Hollywood tonight, actor Matthew Perry from the '90s sitcom "Friends", he's dead tonight at the age of 54 years old, after years of battling addiction. We heard his memoir, I read it last year. It touched so many lives, as his artistry and craft.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COATES: We're back with the breaking news tonight. Matthew Perry, dead at the age of 54. He, of course, starred in the '90s sitcom so many people still watch today as Chandler Bing. And there's so much support coming in for his artistry, for his work, for his friendship, all across Hollywood, all across social media, all across people like you and I who grew up watching him, still have watched it and reference all the lives and remember him as Chandler Bing. And can he be any more Chandler?

Actress Octavius Spencer wrote tonight, quote: I'm incredibly saddened to hear of Matthew Perry's passing today. His gift to the world will remain forever. Sending love to Matthew's family, friends, and costars and millions of fans around the world.

Actress Selma Blair posted a photo of herself with Perry, writing, quote, my oldest boyfriend. All of us loved Matthew Perry and I did especially everyday. I loved him unconditionally and he me. And I'm broken, brokenhearted. Sweet dreams, Mattie.

[23:35:04]

Sweet dreams.

And this came in from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He writes, quote: Matthew Perry's passing is shocking and sad. I will never forget the school yard games we used to play and I know people around the world are never going to forget the joy he brought them. Thanks for all the laughs, Matthew. You were loved and will be missed.

You know, Perry joked about the reports he once beat up Justin Trudeau when they were in elementary show together. In fact, late night host Stephen Colbert even pressed Matthew Perry for the truth on what really happened there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN COLBERT, TV HOST: Now, who gets recognized more in Canada? You or Trudeau?

PERRY: I would say Trudeau. But, you know, there was a big rumor about us.

COLBERT: What?

PERRY: That we had -- that I beat him up in grade school.

COLBERT: Did you?

PERRY: I don't think so, no.

COLBERT: But you're not entirely sure?

PERRY: No. My friends Bryan Murray and Chris Murray, who were the guys and myself who invented that weird way of talking, could it be colder in here? Could it be colder in here?

COLBERT: No, it could not.

PERRY: It's really cold. Okay.

So, they told me that we beat up Justin Trudeau and I just believe them and somehow he got the story and he tweeted me and he wanted to like have a fight. And I said -- I said, you have your own army. No thanks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Every time he talks, you think to yourself and remember him and why it was so fun to watch and you waited to watch week after week what was going on.

With me now is Karen Heller. She's a national features writer for "The Washington Post".

So, you know, Karen, it almost feels odd. I'm sitting here thinking about a life that's lost. And so many people are remembering him with a smile. We're seeing him on the screen, the photographs with his costars. We're seeing that, you know, closed mouth, witty, yet mischievous, yet smug and fun smile he, of course, had and characterized him.

And there is something about someone like him who was on air for as long as he was, such an iconic role, that people can't help but reminiscence what he meant to their childhood, their teenagers, their young adulthood, their adulthood and what his role meant to them.

KAREN HELLER, NATIONAL FEATURES WRITER, THE WASHINGTON POST: Right. I mean, this show was really pure joy. And what I'm thinking about "Friends"," for many years not a lot happened on "Friends," you think about it.

And remember what a shock it was when they finally put Chandler and Monica together, because, you know, you love these sort of routines and little -- they got themselves into fixes, they get themselves out of fixes. You know, we depended on them to have certain kinds of reactions.

I just remember how stunning it was, look at that, when they put the two together and how mortified and what are they going to tell the group and would it change the dynamics of it. So, you know, that was the biggest thing on that show the writers and producers trying to look at the two of them together.

COATES: It's true. You know, you think about, we joked about shows like "Seinfeld," being a show about nothing, right? How often you have situational comedies between friends. And for so many people, they created a sense of what they thought it was like to live in New York, to create a family out of friendships, to have the give-and-take, some who are child and high school friends like Ross, I believe early on, or Monica and, of course, Rachel, and then growing into the friendship with Joey Tribbiani and, of course, Phoebe and her guitar in Central Perk, and all the different aspects of it.

And you had a sense that you were -- you know, you were kind of one of -- one of them. Instead of all we were seeing behind the scenes, he was really struggling, he was struggling with trying to land those jokes night after night.

HELLER: Right. You know, the clip you showed earlier of him on Larry King. I looked that up. That is the one year he was sober. When he was talking to Larry King, according to his book, that was the only time he was not drinking and taking massive amounts of drugs. And I think that's also -- what's so moving about the loss is on the one hand there is all this joy, "Friends," and his talent even though it was known on the cast about his using, he kept working, "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip", "Mr. Sunshine", "Go On", "The West Wing," "The Good Wife", he was in demand.

And he didn't just do comedy. I mean, he was really talented at that, but he did straight roles, too, on "The West Wing".

[23:40:03]

And yet there was -- he was in this elite group of six yet he was separate, because he was the one -- he was the one that struggled so. It's epic to read about this.

And the book I think was as much therapy for him, going on this tour he talked so openly about the pain and the damage. He talked, you know, I didn't spend that much time with him, but it was like a therapy session. He said he could have married five or six women but he couldn't commit and he wasn't worthy of them. He had to pay someone to live with him because he was worried about using.

And he said he's scared to be alone and telling me this, a stranger. He said, I'm absolute -- I have a never ending need for attention. It's never the right kind of attention. It didn't work. It didn't fix the hole in me.

That is also rare for somebody to be that honest. I think the book -- he really saw the book as a way to fix him and relaunch himself. He was hoping possibly that the memoir would be made into a television movie. He hoped that he would get more work from it. He wanted to sort of -- he wanted to share his experience and help people. I also think it was extremely therapeutic for him.

COATES: Helen Keller, thank you soy much. We -- that book came out a year ago this week. It's unbelievable to think how prescient it was really.

We want to take a moment --

KELLER: I mean, a year ago.

COATES: Yeah. We want to take a moment to remember Matthew Perry for the laughs he brought to see many.

Take a look from this moment, the moment from "Friends" that showed that special relationship between Chandler and Joey.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT LEBLANC AS JOEY TRIBBIANI: Where's my underwear?

DAVID SCHWIMMER AS ROSS GELLER: Whoa, whoa, come on, you took his underwear?

PERRY: He took my essence.

SCHWIMMER: OK, hold on.

Joey, why can't you wear the underwear you're wearing now?

LEBLANC: Because I'm not wearing any underwear now.

SCHWIMMER: Okay. Then why do you have to wear underwear tonight? LEBLANC: It's a rented tux, OK? I'm not going commando in another

man's fatigues.

PERRY: Well, it looks like somebody has to give somebody back his cushions.

LEBLANCK: OK. You had my clothes, I will do the exact opposite to you.

PERRY: What, are you going to show me my clothes?

LEBLANC: Hey, opposite is opposite.

PERRY: He's got nothing!

LEBLANC: Okay, buddy boy, here it is. You hide my clothes. I'm wearing everything you own.

PERRY: Oh, my God! That is so not the opposite of taking somebody's underwear.

LEBLANC: Look at me, I'm Chandler. Could I be wearing any more clothes?

Maybe if I wasn't going commando --

PERRY: Ooh.

LEBLANC: Yeah. I will tell you, it's hot with all this stuff on. I better not do any I don't know, lunges.

SCHWIMMER: Okay, okay, enough. Enough with the lunging. No, I'm sick of this, okay? I have had it up to here with you two. Neither of you can come to the party.

PERRY: Jeez, what a baby.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:46:42]

COATES: We're back now with our breaking news tonight. Matthew Perry who played the beloved Chandler Bing on the sitcom, "Friends," has died at the age of 54.

He was just 54 years old. As you remember his life and legacy, we also remember how own he was about his struggles with addiction and alcohol, especially in his recent memoir, "Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing".

Here he is on "The View" just last November promoting that memoir and talking about his past struggles.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PERRY: The highs and lows for me were unbelievable. I'm really grateful for the good things that happened to me, but a lot of bad things happened to me, too. And no matter how far down the scale you've gone, that means you can help more people, you know?

When I went to the first -- I'm just adding this in, when I went to the first treatment center, I had no idea what was going on. A doctor -- I had a meeting with a doctor and as I was walking out, he went -- just remember this isn't your fault. I went, what? Say that again.

And he explained that it was a disease and I had no idea. And that took so much of -- it made me feel better, because it wasn't really my fault. I had this disease and I had to fight it. And I've been fighting it for so long that I now -- I mean, that's -- that's the evidence that things are going well is I put out this book.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Unbelievably poignant and resonating with so many people.

It's really clear that despite going through such painful experience, is that he really still wanted people to feel help who are going through similar experiences.

CNN's Camila Bernal is in Los Angeles.

Camila, what more do we know about Matthew Perry's death tonight?

BERNAL: Hey, Laura.

So, we are learning that Los Angeles Police Department officers are investigating his death right now. They did respond to his home at 4:10 p.m. local time here in Los Angeles. The L.A. Fire Department also confirming that the 911 call came in at 4:07 p.m. and what they said was that they responded to a water rescue emergency.

Now, the details are limited. But "The L.A. Times" is reporting that this was an apparent drowning accident. "The L.A. Times" also citing a law enforcement source and saying that no foul play is suspected in his death. But, of course, it is shocking and sad for many here in Hollywood and for his fans after learning of his death at just 54 years old.

He started his acting career as a teenager and started with the small roles, eventually landed bigger, more prominent roles and later on landed that "Friends" role as Chandler and, of course, is what made him truly famous in this country as people still to this day are watching replays and enjoying Chandler and really the way he makes you laugh with his jokes, his one-liners, his facial expressions, overall making the show better.

And these are friends on and off screen. These guys negotiated their TV salaries together, and at the time really were some of the highest paid TV actors.

[23:50:08]

So, they were known for famously negotiating their contracts together. It was the members, the cast that also helped him through his struggles with addiction. He was very open about this as we've mentioned. He wrote about it in his book but said he wanted to help people, Laura.

COATES: Camila Bernal reporting from Los Angeles tonight. Thank you so much.

We can't imagine what those who are closest to him must be feeling as really so many of us are reeling, thinking about somebody we believe to be the sort of quintessential friend in our head, and certainly the friend of the screen, Chandler Bing, but to those who knew and loved him, Matthew Perry.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COATES: Tragic news from Hollywood tonight. "Friends" star Matthew Perry found dead this afternoon. "The L.A. Times" reports that he was found in a hot tub at the home in Los Angeles. "The Times" did not cite a cause of death and sources said no drugs were found at the scene and foul play was not suspected.

[23:55:00]

And before we go tonight, we remember Perry for what he did best -- make us laugh, make us smile.

Here's a clip from where "Friends" where Chandler and Rachel have to help Ross in, well, a rather tight squeeze.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHWIMMER: Chandler, you brought Chandler. The next best thing would be Monica.

PERRY: You know, I would be offended but Monica is freakishly strong. So --

SCHWIMMER: Well, I drew a sketch of how we're going to do it okay, Rach? That's you. That's the couch.

JENNIFER ANISTON AS RACHEL GREEN: Ooh, what's that?

SCHWIMMER: That's me.

ANISTON: Wow. Certainly think a lot of yourself.

SCHWIMMER: No, that's -- that's my arm.

PERRY: Oh, I see. I thought you just really, really liked your new couch.

SCHWIMMER: You know, just -- just follow my lead.

ANISTON: Okay.

SCHWIMMER: Come on, Chandler.

Here we go.

PERRY: All right, ready? Turn.

SCHWIMMER: Okay.

PERRY: Turn, turn, turn.

I don't think we can turn anymore.

ANISTON: I just don't think it's going to fit.

PERRY: Come on up. Up, up, up.

Yes, here we go.

Tip it. Tip it.

Tip back. Tip back. Tip back.

Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.

SCHWIMMER: Okay, I don't think it's going to pivot anymore.

PERRY: You think?

ANISTON: You think?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: I want to leave you tonight with the last words he wrote in his memoir. They're very poignant. He said, I never gave up. I never raised my hands and said that's enough, I can't take it anymore, you win. And because of that, I stand tall now ready for what comes next.

I'm Laura Coates. Good night, friends.