Matthew Perry

Matthew Perry (born Matthew Langford Perry; August 19, 1969 – October 28, 2023) was a Canadian and American actor known mainly for comedy. He was raised largely by his mother in Ottawa, Ontario, and at 15 moved to Los Angeles to live with his father, where he began studying acting.

Perry became world-famous as Chandler Bing on the NBC sitcom Friends (1994–2004), earning his first Primetime Emmy nomination for the role in 2002. His guest role on The West Wing brought him two Emmy nominations, and the TV film The Ron Clark Story (2006) earned him Golden Globe and Emmy nominations. He starred in the NBC series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006–2007), and his films include Fools Rush In (1997), The Whole Nine Yards (2000), Serving Sara (2002), and 17 Again (2009). He later co-created and starred in the ABC sitcom Mr. Sunshine (2011), led the NBC sitcom Go On (2012), and from 2015 to 2017 starred in CBS's revival of The Odd Couple.

Perry struggled with severe drug and alcohol addiction for most of his life and, through his recovery, became an advocate for rehabilitation; in 2013 he received the Champion of Recovery Award from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. In 2022 he published the memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. He died on October 28, 2023, at age 54, from the acute effects of ketamine, made worse by accidental drowning. Five people were charged with helping him obtain lethal doses of the drug; all five pleaded guilty and were sentenced to house arrest or prison.