James Burrows Says Cast Is Destroyed Over Matthew Perry’s Death
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00:00 Matthew Perry, who struggled with addiction
00:02 for much of his life, passed away Saturday afternoon.
00:05 James Burroughs, who directed more than a dozen episodes
00:07 of Friends, told the Today show how the cast is holding up.
00:11 I texted the girls the day we found out
00:14 and they were destroyed.
00:15 It's a brother dying.
00:16 I had to have a couple of days to just let it soak in.
00:20 He was part of a family and he was the first one
00:24 to not be part of that family anymore.
00:26 And we continue to learn more about the timeline
00:29 leading up to Matthew's death.
00:30 One day he was completely normal and fine.
00:33 The next day, he was gone.
00:35 Friday, he got together with his friend,
00:37 entertainment journalist Athena Crosby,
00:39 at the Hotel Bel Air.
00:40 How was he feeling when you had lunch with him?
00:43 He was doing great.
00:45 He was cracking jokes the whole time.
00:47 He was speaking to me about some of the up and coming
00:51 projects that he wanted to work on.
00:53 He was absolutely looking forward to life.
00:55 He wanted Zac Efron to play him as a younger version
00:58 and an up and coming biopic about him.
01:00 That was also one of his last meals.
01:04 He wasn't eating much.
01:06 He wanted to split a burger.
01:08 He got, you know, a Diet Coke and I got a regular Coke.
01:12 Where were you when you heard about his passing
01:14 and how shocking was it to you
01:16 because you had just been with him?
01:18 I was absolutely shocked and devastated.
01:22 I remember thinking that this can't be real and, sorry.
01:27 It's just, it's just really insane
01:32 the way that this has all happened.
01:34 You posted a picture showing where Matthew signed
01:37 his memoir for you and he's a number one bestseller
01:40 from the number one girl.
01:41 What did he mean by that?
01:42 I told him that I've never had a nickname before
01:45 and he, being the loving and nice person that he is,
01:50 decided to give me a nickname and write it in the book.
01:54 That just goes to show how loving and caring
01:56 and kind he was to everybody.
01:57 He just treated them like they were number one.
02:00 (gentle music)
02:02 [MUSIC PLAYING]