Matthew Perry, 54, known for his role as Chandler Bing on the popular sitcom “Friends” from 1994 to 2004, was found dead in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home, according to multiple reports.
Outlets carrying the story include TMZ, the Los Angeles Times and
People magazine.
Perry was born in Massachusetts and grew up in Canada and Los Angeles, per Biography.com. His first film role was in “A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon” alongside River Phoenix in 1988. Before landing his iconic role on “Friends” he was in a sitcom that didn’t manage to stay on-air.
As Chandler, Perry’s unique line delivery made him a standout. In his recently published memoir, “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing”, Perry explained how he “was inspired to give Chandler a speech pattern that stood out, with its emphasis on unusual words and syllables,” said Deadline.
According to Jennifer Dorman, an expert sociolinguist from language learning app Babbel, Perry’s choice has even changed the way English speakers talk.
“I didn’t know it yet, but my way of speaking would filter into the culture across the next few decades. For now, though, I was just trying to find interesting ways into lines that were already funny, but that I thought I could truly make dance,” Perry said.
In addition to his success on “Friends” and films such as “The Whole Nine Yards”, Perry struggled with addiction. He details parts of his journey in the memoir.
“I wanted to share when I was safe from going into the dark side of everything again,” he told People. “I had to wait until I was pretty safely sober – and away from the active disease of alcoholism and addiction – to write it all down. And the main thing was, I was pretty certain that it would help people.”
Perry was active on X through this week. His last post was on Thursday: “Perfect movies: 1) Back to the Future, 2) Midnight Run, 3) _________? -I'm Mattman.”