Matthew Perry, known for his role as sarcastic Chandler Bing on the hit NBC show “Friends,” died Saturday at 54 after apparently drowning in the hot tub at his Los Angeles home.
TMZ reported illegal drugs were not found at the scene Saturday, and foul play is not suspected. Prescription drugs were reportedly found inside the home, per TMZ sources.
Perry achieved global fame for his “Friends” role, even as he struggled with drug and alcohol addiction.
“The Whole Nine Yards” star reported last year in his memoir that he had attended 6,000 AA meetings, gone to rehab 15 times, and been in detox 65 times.
Perry once estimated he spent around $9 million trying to get sober.
Here’s a look at Perry’s personal battles.
1997 — Jet ski accident
Perry’s addiction to drugs began after the “17 Again” star was involved in a jet ski accident on the set of “Fools Rush In” in 1997 — about three years after “Friends” premiered in 1994.
He was prescribed Vicodin.
His addiction became so bad, he admitted to ingesting 55 of the pills per day, causing his weight to plummet to 128 pounds at one point.
Perry was admitted to the Hazelden center in Minnesota in 1997 for 28 days.
2000 — Hospitalized with pancreatitis
Three years after his addiction got underway, Perry was treated for pancreatitis.
He spent 30 days in the hospital while filming “Friends” in 2000.
In his memoir “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing,” Perry recalled being “fed fluids through an IV” after doctors told him he had a drinking problem.
“‘F–k that,’ I said,” Perry wrote. “No. I don’t drink too much.’ Pancreatitis at the age of 30 was unheard of. Yay for me! Another record.”
While in the hospital, Perry was given Dilaudid, an opioid that alters the brain’s relationship to pain.
“It was my new favorite drug,” he wrote. “And I would have stayed in that hospital for a hundred days if they kept [administering] it.”
2001 — Perry enters rehab
Perry forced the production of his 2002 film “Serving Sara” to be postponed after entering rehab in February 2001 for addiction to Vicodin, methadone, amphetamines, and alcohol.
He spent two and a half months in treatment at an undisclosed rehab center.
“Everything’s clear for one split second,” Perry told The New York Times in 2002, following his stint in the facility. “I realize, I’ve got to go save myself. I got on the phone and called the people who were willing to help me.”
2011 — Perry determined to ‘focus on my sobriety’
In 2011, the actor announced he was planning to go off the grid to “focus on my sobriety.”
“I’m making plans to go away for a month to focus on my sobriety and to continue my life in recovery,” Perry said in his statement. “Please enjoy making fun of me on the World Wide Web.”
According to a since-deleted People article, the star had checked himself into rehab but had not suffered a relapse.
2013 — Perry converts home into a sober living home
In 2013, the Massachusetts native left his Malibu beach home and reorganized it as the Perry House, which helped men battling addiction to alcohol.
“I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in my life and a lot of wonderful accolades,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2015. “The best thing about me is that if an alcoholic comes up to me and says, ‘Will you help me stop drinking?’ I will say, ‘Yes. I know how to do that.’”
Perry sold the Malibu estate for $10.7 million in 2015 and said he was looking to open a center elsewhere.
“I’m keeping the business going because I like it; it’s a good way to help alcoholics,” Perry told THR.
Another location never happened.
2018 — Perry suffers a gastrointestinal perforation
Perry said he nearly lost his life in 2018 after suffering a gastrointestinal perforation — doctors reportedly told him he only had a 2% chance of survival.
He told Diane Sawyer last year that he was hooked up to a breathing machine while in a medically induced coma.
“The doctors told my family that I had a 2% chance to live,” Perry explained. “I was put on a thing called an ECMO machine, which does all the breathing for your heart and your lungs. And that’s called a Hail Mary. No one survives that.”
Perry spent nearly two weeks in a coma and five months in the hospital.
He was forced to use a colostomy bag for nine months.
2021 – 2022 — Perry overcomes addiction
In early 2021, Perry overcame his addiction to alcohol and drugs, claiming to live a healthy life since then.
Shortly before the release of his memoir in November 2022, Perry told People that he was “grateful to be alive.”
“I’m an extremely grateful guy. I’m grateful to be alive, that’s for sure. And that gives me the possibility to do anything,” Perry shared with People for its Oct. 31, 2022 cover story.
Although his journey toward sobriety was tough, Perry said that it made him stronger “in every way.”
“What I’m most surprised with is my resilience. The way that I can bounce back from all of this torture and awfulness,” Perry said. “Wanting to tell the story, even though it’s a little scary to tell all your secrets in a book, I didn’t leave anything out. Everything’s in there.”
Perry said that his story is one “that’s filled with hope” — “because I am here.”
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