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“I’ll be there for you” is the catchy line of the Friends theme song, but it’s also the motto of a lifetime for the cast. Courteney Cox just opened up about Matthew Perry as officials are investigating his ketamine use upon his death.
In an interview with CBS Morning, Cox remembered Perry as “probably one of the funniest human beings in the world.” The two played Chandler Bing and Monica Geller in the hit 90s TV show, where their characters married. “He’s just so funny. He is genuinely, a huge heart. Obviously struggled. I’m so thankful I got to work so closely with him for so many years.”
The Scream actress says that she still feels his presence after his death. “He visits me a lot, if we believe in that,” she added, before sharing: “I talk to my mom, my dad, Matthew.” She continued, “I feel like there are a lot of people that are — I think that guide us. I do sense, yeah, I sense Matthew’s around for sure.”
On May 21, 2024, the LAPD and the Drug Enforcement Administration opened up an ongoing investigation into where Perry got the ketamine that ended up playing a part in his death. Police told TMZ that the main questions are who provided the drug, and under what circumstances. The gossip site reported that officials have spoken to key people in Hollywood and with people who have a history of drug abuse.
Matthew Perry died at the age of 54 from an apparent drowning, according to TMZ. The publication reported that the Friends actor was found dead in a hot tub at his home in Los Angeles, California, on Saturday, October 28, 2023. “At the high levels of ketamine found in his postmortem blood specimens, the main lethal effects would be from both cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression,” the report, obtained by THR, stated.
In his book, Perry detailed undergoing ketamine therapy. “I often thought that I was dying during that hour. Oh, I thought, this is what happens when you die. Yet I would continually sign up for this shit because it was something different, and anything different is good.” He compared using it as “hit in the head with a giant happy shovel” but noted the hangover from it was too much for him and “outweighed the shovel.”
Ketamine infusion reportedly treats depression, anxiety, PTSD, drug and alcohol problems, and chronic pain. However, Perry’s last treatment was a week and a half before his death. His autopsy deducted that “the ketamine in his system at death could not be from that infusion therapy since ketamine’s half-life is three to four hours or less.”
Perry’s battle with drug addiction started after he had a skiing accident on the set of the film When Fools Rush In in 1997. The doctor prescribed Vicodin for his pain, but as a highly addictive substance, Perry’s use escalated to taking up to 55 pills a day. Along with his opioid addiction, he suffered from alcoholism. In his 2022 memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, he explained how to tell which substance he was using based on his appearance on Friends: “When I’m carrying weight, it’s alcohol; when I’m skinny, it’s pills. When I have a goatee, it’s lots of pills.”
‘Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing’ by Matthew Perry
For more about Matthew Perry, read his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing
. The New York Times bestseller takes readers through Perry’s life and career, from his childhood dreams of becoming an actor to how he was cast in Friends to his struggle with addiction and his stints in rehab. “Hi, my name is Matthew, although you may know me by another name. My friends call me Matty. And I should be dead,” Perry writes in the book. Told in his own words for the first time ever, the memoir is an “unflinchingly honest, moving, and uproariously funny” account of Perry’s trials and triumphs. Described as an “unforgettable memoir that is both intimate and eye-opening,” Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing is a must-read for Friends fans.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, help is available. Call the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) for free, confidential support.
