Matthew Perry's close pal shares unexpected and bittersweet details from funeral

11 November 2023 , 22:25

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Matthew Perry's close pal shares unexpected and bittersweet details from funeral

Matthew Perry 's friend Hank Azaria has shared new details about the late Friends star's funeral.

The actor, who played the first serious love interest of Phoebe Buffay, David the Scientist Guy, in Friends, attended Perry's private funeral alongside his other co-stars including Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer.

And he revealed the funeral of the great comic actor who brought the much-loved series' funnyman Chandler Bing to life was bittersweet. "I was at the funeral last weekend. You know, sad. He was a hilarious man, so we would sort of [be] alternately laughing and crying remembering him," Azaria said.

READ MORE: Matthew Perry’s death certificate reveals exact time of death and informant

Hank Azaria and Matthew Perry were close friends (WireImage)

Matthew Perry's family created a foundation in his name to help those struggling with addiction (Getty Images)

In an interview with The Messenger, he added: "We’ve all had people we’ve lost. The world really lost him. In a way, it’s nice to have the world sort of sharing with you." After Perry's death, a charity called the Matthew Perry Foundation was set up to help people struggling with addiction.

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Azaria previously thanked Perry for helping him get sober and now wants to continue spreading awareness about the disease of addiction in his friend's memory. "Whatever I can do to continue his mission, of spreading the word of recovery, and helping folks, I’ll do whatever I can," Azaria said.

The actor, who is also known for voicing many characters in The Simpsons since 1989 - including barman Moe Szyslak, Police Chief Wiggum and Comic Book Guy - previously remembered his funny friend in an opinion piece for The New York Times. And also explained how Perry took him to his first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in 2005 - his first step in getting sober.

"Matthew Perry said that he wanted to be remembered as someone who helped people get sober, even more than he wanted to be remembered as a very funny, famous Friend. I think he’ll be remembered as both," Azaria wrote. "I know that I will always think of him that way. We met almost 40 years ago, and he was, by far, the funniest friend I ever had. He also was the person who helped me get sober."

Jessica Gibb