The world has lost a Friend. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be looking at some of the most notable public responses to the tragic passing of actor Matthew Perry.
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00:00 I just wish we, I and the world, could have gotten like what the rest of his career would have been.
00:07 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at some of the most notable public responses
00:12 to the tragic passing of actor Matthew Perry.
00:15 "I'll never forget the schoolyard games we used to play," wrote the prime minister.
00:18 Maggie Wheeler. Those who worked with Matthew Perry over the years have taken to social media
00:25 to remember their time alongside the late actor. This includes Maggie Wheeler, who portrayed
00:30 Chandler's shrill-voiced ex-girlfriend Janice on the show Friends.
00:34 "Janice?"
00:34 "Oh my god."
00:40 In a statement shared with NBC News, Wheeler recounted how quote,
00:45 "Matthew was an incredibly generous actor," further saying quote,
00:49 "There was no single time I stepped onto a stage with him that I did not feel lifted by his brilliance."
00:54 "Hold on a little go, I've scared you, I've said too much.
00:58 I'm hopeless and awkward and desperate for love."
01:00 Speaking on Perry's documented battles with substance use,
01:05 she additionally noted in part that she hoped he was quote, "at peace beyond his suffering."
01:10 "Oh, little candy hearts. Chan and Jan forever."
01:16 Gwyneth Paltrow. A day after Perry's passing, actress Gwyneth Paltrow shared a touching story
01:22 of the actor from their early years in showbiz. She wrote about first meeting Perry in 1993 at
01:28 a theater festival in Massachusetts where they were both doing plays for the summer.
01:32 Paltrow recalled a quote, "magical time" with Matthew that included swimming in creeks,
01:36 having drinks at a college bar, and even kissing in a long grassed field.
01:40 "I forgot my purse."
01:42 "Oh."
01:48 She also noted that Perry had just shot The Friends pilot and was nervous about whether
01:53 this would be his big break. Of course, Friends premiered in September 1994 and would go on to
01:59 make Matthew Perry a household name. "Which is very, very weird because
02:02 she never calls me."
02:05 Paltrow concluded her Instagram note hoping that Matthew was quote, "at peace at long last."
02:12 Hank Azaria. The famous Simpsons voice actor paid tribute to his late friend Matthew Perry
02:17 on social media with a heartfelt Instagram video message.
02:20 "Matthew was the first friend I made in Los Angeles. When I moved there I was 21. He was 16."
02:28 In the post, Azaria opened up about his own struggles with substance use and revealed
02:33 that it was Perry who first took him to AA. Sober for 17 years, he credits Matthew for
02:38 helping him during difficult periods. "The whole first year I was sober we
02:42 went to meetings together."
02:43 The two had previously taken part in a failed TV pilot titled Morning Maggie,
02:48 but stayed friends ever since. Azaria later appeared on Perry's NBC sitcom Friends as
02:53 Phoebe's on-again, off-again boyfriend David the Scientist.
02:56 "You are luminous with a kind of a delicate grace.
03:00 Then that, that, that's when you started yelling."
03:05 He ended the emotional video by wishing that we all could have gotten to see what the quote,
03:12 "rest of his career would have been."
03:13 Rumor Willis
03:15 Rumor Willis, actress and daughter to Hollywood royalty Bruce Willis and Demi Moore,
03:20 shared a sentimental tribute to Matthew Perry on her own Instagram story.
03:24 Rumor took the opportunity to recall her interactions with Perry on the set of The
03:27 Whole Nine Yards and its sequel The Whole Ten Yards.
03:30 "I'll tell you one thing, you got balls."
03:32 "Yeah, who knew?"
03:34 The films featured Matthew starring alongside her father Bruce Willis.
03:37 She recounted how Perry was quote, "so kind, funny, and sweet" with her and her sister on
03:42 the movie sets. She went on to praise his physical comedy in the films and said that
03:46 the movies still make her laugh today.
03:48 "Do you know what kind of soil I have in this backyard? I've been here two days and
03:52 I got little tomato plants."
03:53 "Oh my god!"
03:54 Morgan Fairchild
03:56 Like Maggie Wheeler, Morgan Fairchild worked alongside Matthew in a guest-starring role
04:00 on Friends. But unlike Maggie, Morgan did not portray one of Chandler's ex-girlfriends,
04:05 but rather his mother, Nora Tyler Bing.
04:08 "I just get this craving for Kung Pao chicken."
04:11 "That's too much information!"
04:13 On X, Fairchild channeled her motherly character by writing that she was quote,
04:20 "heartbroken" about the untimely death of her quote, "son."
04:23 She also sent condolences to Perry's friends and family, including his biological father
04:28 John Bennett Perry, whom she worked with on Flamingo Road and Falcon Crest. In a response
04:33 to a user comment, she shared that Matthew would often visit both sets when he was a
04:37 little kid. Her post was accompanied by a photo of the two actors as mother and son
04:41 on Friends.
04:42 "Alright, well, be good. I love you."
04:45 Christina Ricci
04:48 The celebrity reactions to Matthew Perry's untimely death reach far beyond those that
04:52 he worked with. In fact, many celebrities who never even met the actor have shared tributes,
04:57 one such being actress Christina Ricci. Speaking to the impact Matthew had on those
05:02 who only watched him from afar, Ricci admitted that she quote, "burst into tears" when she
05:07 read the news about his passing. Alongside a photo of Perry's 2022 memoir Friends, Lovers,
05:12 and the Big Terrible Thing, Ricci revealed that the series Friends actually quote, "saved
05:17 her numerous times during hard and lonely times." She further confessed her love for
05:21 the character Chandler Bing, saying she wanted to marry him as a teenager.
05:31 "I'm still on London time, does that count?"
05:33 "Oh, that counts."
05:36 "Oh, good."
05:36 Shannon Doherty
05:40 Shannon Doherty appeared alongside Matthew Perry when the late actor guested on the hit
05:44 90s teenage drama series Beverly Hills 90210.
05:47 "You gotta learn how to take the heat."
05:48 "Okay, you got it. You're kidding."
05:56 But it turns out, the pair also had a quote, "lifetime of friendship" together.
06:01 In an emotional Instagram post, Doherty revealed that the pair go way back as part of a group
06:06 of friends who quote, "always had fun and supported each other." She recounted playing
06:10 a game of dare where Matthew had to say quote, "ridiculous things" to girls at a bar.
06:15 Doherty fondly remembered Matthew's sense of humor and silliness.
06:18 "Oh, I know, this must be so hard. Oh no, two women love me.
06:22 They're both gorgeous and sexy. My wall is too small for my 50s,
06:27 and my diamond shoes are too tight."
06:30 She also spoke of her state of shock and sadness,
06:32 acknowledging that many others were hurting as well.
06:35 Adele
06:36 If there was ever any wonder about Matthew Perry's reach,
06:40 singer-songwriter Adele actually paused her Las Vegas concert to pay tribute to the actor.
06:44 "And if anybody was having a bad day or feeling low, he would just pretend to be
06:48 Chandler. And I'll remember that character for the rest of my life."
06:52 On the night that his death was revealed, Adele took to the microphone to say quote,
06:56 "I'll remember that character for the rest of my life."
06:58 Speaking of Perry's role as Chandler Bing on Friends,
07:01 "I'm Chandler, I make jokes when I'm uncomfortable."
07:03 She also praised his openness as it related to his struggles with substance use and sobriety,
07:10 calling it quote, "incredibly brave."
07:12 The multi-Grammy award winner further thanked him for quote,
07:15 "what he did for us, especially what he did for me."
07:19 She closed her remarks by saying she hopes quote, "he can now rest in peace."
07:23 Justin Trudeau
07:25 The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, took to X to share a tribute to his former
07:29 classmate. Prime Minister Trudeau, who attended the same elementary school as Perry in Ottawa,
07:33 Ontario, Canada, referred to his passing as quote, "shocking and saddening."
07:38 "Perry went to school in Rockcliffe Park with Justin Trudeau."
07:41 He recalled schoolyard games they used to play and spoke of the joy and laughter
07:45 Matthew provided to many. Perry often lamented his time with Justin Trudeau in school,
07:50 even sharing a humorous story on Jimmy Kimmel Live about how he and his friends quote,
07:54 "beat Trudeau up," something he was not proud of.
07:57 In addition, the Ottawa Senators hockey team shared a video of Perry in attendance at a
08:09 game in Ottawa, saying that they were saddened to learn about the passing of Matthew, a noted
08:14 hockey fan.
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08:29 The Friends Cast
08:33 While celebrities of all types have shared their heartfelt messages on the passing of
08:36 Matthew Perry, the world waited to hear from Perry's 10-year co-stars and forever friends,
08:42 Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer.
08:46 The Friends Cast mourned their castmate in a joint statement sent to People magazine,
08:51 saying quote, "We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just
08:56 castmates. We are a family." They further stated that in time they will say more, but for now,
09:02 they're taking the moment to grieve this quote, "unfathomable loss" and send their love to Perry's
09:07 family, friends, and fans.
09:09 The best way that I can describe it is after the show was over at a party or any kind of social
09:17 gathering, if one of us bumped into each other, that was it. That was the end of the night.
09:22 You just sat with that person all night long.
09:27 Friends co-creators Marta Kaufman and David Crane, as well as executive producer Kevin Bright,
09:32 perhaps said it best when they declared quote, "This truly is the one where our hearts are
09:36 broken." Which comments regarding Matthew Perry's passing resonated with you the most?
09:41 Share your own tributes in the comments below.
09:43 Remembering a son, a role model, and a man with so many friends. Gone too soon.
09:50 [Music]
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