Goodbye, Matthew Perry

 

     I was going to talk about Michael Gambon's death, but there is another that is more shocking and sudden. 

    Plus, I don't know much about Michael Gambon's life. 

    Matthew Langford Perry was born on August 19th, 1969, and sadly, the day after my father's birthday, he left Earth.

  First off, I thought it was one of those fake celebrity deaths somebody posted like they did with Montell Williams. Sadly, it wasn't. He was found unresponsive at his home as he drowned in his hot tub. He had been through a lot in his life, and it seemed the demons he tried to chase off, came back to him and killed him.

    If you never heard of the show friends, get help. If you have, then you knew he played the sarcastic fun-loving Chandler Bing. However, behind the scenes, Matthew was different. He was addicted to drugs and pain killers since he was a teenager. His father, John Bennett Perry, was a former model as an actor himself.

    While he was still on Friends, he also was in movie roles. Mostly comedic dramas or action films with Bruce Willis (who sadly is not doing well). I don't remember many of those movies except the Whole nine yards. Even before Friends, he would have guest roles in other tv shows.

  I wasn't a huge fan of friends like I was Seinfeld. However, there were a few episodes that were good. Chandler even hooked up with and married Monica, Ross's sister on the show. He was funny clever and at sometimes...showed his sensitive side. However, behind the scenes was a different story.

   Matthew was addicted to alcohol and eventually went to rehab when he realized, even finding out from Jennifer Aniston, that he needed help. He went to meetings to get help. He even had some of his friends that he worked with, get the help they needed as well.

   Recently, just last year, he had an autobiography out that explained about his past as well as his demons that he thought he slayed. Explaining how it all started to how he got the help he needed. He thought it would help people overcome their demons whether it was drinking, smoking, pill taking...anything. Even gambling. I don't have an addiction. If I did, I would have figured it out. I'm a chocoholic anyway. I try not to overdo it, and I'd rather be hooked on chocolate than drugs.

      Matthew Perry was found dead in his home and the outpour of people, whether celebrity or fan, tributes were pouring out like water in a waterfall. My heart broke because, next to Jennifer Aniston, I thought Matthew Perry was the best in the male lead of Friends. David Schwimer would be second and I'm not a fan of Matt LeBlanc. 

    He even hosted SNL one year. Mostly everyone from Jennifer to Courtney hosted SNL. I don't think David or Matt had. I'm not sure at the moment.

  Recently, Zac Efron Tweeted that it would be an honor to portray young Matthew in a documentary that they were going to make about him. Zac Efron did work with Matthew Perry in a movie called Seventeen again. I don't think I've ever seen it.

 Doctors have done autopsies to determine what killed Matthew. They thought it was the overuse of drugs, but there were none in his system. I think it might have been his heart just stopped. Overuse of drugs, even when you're clean can do damage to your heart. The funeral, which was sort of televised, showed all of the Friends actors in attendance.

 Watching Friends will never be the same again knowing Chandler is gone and there are only five left. They had a recent reunion where they talked about their lives as well as the characters they portrayed and what they were doing now. I could tell, from the reunion, Matthew Perry changed drastically. Matt LeBlanc did too but not as bad as Matthew Perry. It could have been what was going on in his life, but we never knew that would see all the friend's whole.

   We will miss you, Matthew/Chandler. Like the theme song in the show said, "I'll be there for you, and you'll be there for me too." Well, we'll be there for you while you look down on us. We miss you, Matthew Perry. Friends will never be the same without you.