Morgan Fairchild on Starring Alongside Matthew Perry as Chandler’s Mom on 'Frien
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00:00 >> Hollywood is grieving Matthews
00:03 while Matthews passing when did you first hear about his
00:07 past.
00:08 >> Well I first heard I'm doing a play in Kansas City and I was
00:13 just getting ready to go on stage Saturday night and I saw
00:16 pop up on my phone when I was in the dressing room.
00:19 And I tried to hide it from the other cast members because I
00:23 knew that be upset. I was upset, but you know have to
00:27 cut into a comedy hello. And I'm sure Matthew felt that
00:30 same way many times. So yes, it was it was a very depressing to
00:36 see I was hoping that it was wrong, you know how sometimes
00:39 these things can come out and they're not right.
00:41 So that's how I found out.
00:44 >> I thanks for wearing something.
00:50 >> What was it like working with him playing his mother.
00:56 >> Well it was very interesting playing his mother because it
01:00 was such a fraught relationship. I know the first
01:05 time we were working together just trying to work through you
01:08 know who are these people. Why are they so messed up.
01:14 But I think the mother's and go ongoing anxiety and anger at
01:20 the father for leaving them had spilled over a lot into a
01:24 Chandler's life and so we would talk about that you know the
01:28 reaction to that and his quirky reaction to his weird mother
01:32 who all of his friends had learned about 6 by reading her
01:35 novels. Always a embarrassing for a young man.
01:40 >> Also what was it like for you to be on that set with
01:43 Matthew and the others because I mean let's be honest,
01:46 you're Morgan Fairchild when you popped up on the screen
01:48 or buzz like oh my God is not as Morgan Fairchild wow.
01:51 >> Well, I think that's kind of what they were thinking of when
01:55 they cast me. But it was a lot of fun, I you know that first
01:58 day on the set. Matthew as was his one came bounding over and
02:03 said oh you won't remember me. But I used to visit you on
02:07 Flamingo Road and Falcon Crest with my dad and I said oh who's
02:11 your dad and he said John Bennett Perry, I said oh my
02:13 God you're you're that little kid that I used to see on the
02:16 set and so right away we kind of had that familial kind of
02:21 bond right away I felt like I knew him better than I actually
02:25 did at the time. But also just he was so interesting to work
02:30 with because he would always come up with the weird off the
02:33 way of phrasing something that made it even funnier than it
02:37 was on the page the script are always really funny but then he
02:40 would come up with ways to make it even funnier with his
02:44 double takes and his his little tweak of the word here and
02:48 there. It was always fun watching him try to deal with
02:51 Nora in and just trying to work through everything trying to
02:55 deal with his mother.
02:57 >> It's kind of embarrassing but
02:59 occasionally after I've been intimate with the man.
03:03 >> Now why would you say that's embarrassing.
03:05 >> I just get this craving for compound chicken.
03:10 >> That's too much information.
03:12 >> There was this explosion that happened with that show
03:16 that all of a sudden it went crazy was everywhere. What do
03:21 you remember about that and what was it like for you and
03:24 that.
03:25 >> It was interesting, you know when they offered me the show
03:30 it wasn't a huge hit yet. But I've seen it and I liked it,
03:34 I thought that I thought the young actors all were very good
03:37 individually and that they were really good at ensemble work
03:41 which is kind of 2 different talents and I thought the show
03:44 had a lot of potential that was I right and so I I was excited
03:49 to be part of it. But then when it really took off.
03:53 It was it was kind of amazing, I mean in this business,
03:58 you never know the ones that are going to be hit you know
04:00 you do you do work and then and then when something takes off
04:04 and becomes kind of a cult classic or whatever like I did
04:07 with like he was big adventure who knew that would take off
04:10 and
04:12 and and you just you do things and then you see what happens
04:17 and but I do remember after it's been on the show because
04:20 they did promote it very heavily with me and and I ran
04:23 into the 2 Matthews Matt and and Matthew Perry in a
04:27 blockbuster oddly enough on Ventura Boulevard, I guess
04:29 their lunch hour and then they keep running up to me and did
04:32 this big like sandwich of me and said you can send the top
04:35 5 you guys 5 we're like jumping up and down like a bunch of
04:39 kids. Buster.
04:41 >> And they were so they were always so dear, you know,
04:45 I remember one time just driving up a bar Boulevard and
04:48 I guess metal block it got out of the work and pulled up
04:53 alongside of me and I kind of hopped out of the river like
04:55 waving each other like mad people on the freeway. But it
04:59 just just the fun of the whole cast the way they cared about
05:04 each other which is not something sometimes you see
05:06 happen on shows when they become hits people get can get
05:10 snippy and jealous and and all of that and they really bonded
05:14 together I think it was a a nice thing for that cast that
05:18 the same in the sudden
05:20 kind of launch into the stratosphere instead of
05:24 splitting them apart it it bonded them together that they
05:29 were all in it together and I think that helped all of them
05:34 individually to to weather the storm as it were.
05:39 >> I agree with you it was quite a storm. What do you
05:41 remember about the little boy that you saw on set one
05:44 Falcon Crest and when he was visiting is that what you
05:48 remember about that kid.
05:49 >> Well, I mean he he was friendly, but he also seemed
05:53 kind of shy and you know little did I know that he would go up
05:56 to be you know that I got to work with him. Mainly I'm so
06:00 fond of his father John Bennett Perry who had a recurring part
06:04 on Falcon Crest and let me go road so I we saw him often and
06:09 and you know when he would bring his son it was always
06:11 kind of a treat yet I like having kids on the set,
06:14 you know they were always kind of fun at a little little juice
06:17 to the day so it's not all the same old same old. It kind of
06:20 trying to show him around and talk to him and find out what
06:23 he was doing in any city wanted to be an actor but but who
06:26 knew what was your relationship with
06:28 with Matthew today, what was it like you ever have a chance to
06:32 speak to him.
06:33 Well I hadn't talked to him in a long time at this point.
06:37 You know once the show and it is as often happens people kind
06:40 of go their separate ways and have separate interests and
06:42 things I ran into him once in a while out about town and he he
06:47 was he was just such a lovely person, you know he was he was
06:51 a kind person and I was so proud of them for how they come
06:54 through some of these hard times and and turn to trying to
06:58 help other people which I think is kind of the legacy that he
07:01 would like to be known by that not only was he a friend but
07:06 that he would be there for you is the song goes I'll be there
07:10 for you know that he was there for other people and I think
07:14 that was one of the great things about him not only his
07:16 great talent. His great talent as an actor, but especially as
07:20 a comedian his incredible timing. What a joy it always
07:24 was to work with him, but also his giving nature, the fact
07:29 that he was always trying to give to other people I think
07:33 part of his big legacy will be the fact that he did seem to
07:37 help so many people on the road to recovery even since I just
07:41 been online this morning. I've been having people DM me and
07:47 social media saying you know he inspired me to get never met
07:50 him, but he inspired me to get sober and he leaves that legacy
07:55 as well as the great legacy of his work as an actor and as a
07:59 comedian.
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