Lisa Kudrow thanks Matthew Perry for 'open heart' in emotional tribute

15 November 2023 , 19:28

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Lisa Kudrow thanks Matthew Perry for 'open heart' in emotional tribute

Lisa Kudrow has paid tribute to Matthew Perry following the actor's untimely passing at the age of 54.

Friends actor Matthew, 54, was found unconscious in his Los Angeles home after emergency responders came to his home after receiving a call that the star had suffered a cardiac arrest. Once they arrived, medics reportedly found the actor dead in his hot tub.

Remembering her beloved friend on Instagram Phoebe Buffay actress Lisa wrote: "Shot the pilot, Friends Like Us, got picked up then immediately, we were at the NBC Upfronts. Then… You suggested we play poker AND made it so much fun while we initially bonded. Thank you for that.

"Thank you for making me laugh so hard at something you said, that my muscles ached, and tears poured down my face EVERY DAY. Thank you for your open heart in a six way relationship that required compromise. And a lot of 'talking.' Thank you for showing up at work when you weren’t well and then, being completely brilliant.

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"Thank you for the best 10 years a person gets to have. Thank you for trusting me. Thank you for all I learned about GRACE and LOVE through knowing you. Thank you for the time I got to have with you, Matthew," she concluded.

Lisa was exceptionally close to Matthew, even penning the foreword to the Fools Rush In actor's memoir last year. In Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, released in November 2022, Lisa reflected on her friendship with Matthew and began telling readers she is often asked: "How is Matthew Perry doing?"

"Over the many years since I was first asked, it's been, at different times, the most asked question for me. I understand why so many people asked it: they love Matthew and they want him to be OK. Me too," Lisa wrote in the bestselling autobiography. "But I always bristled at that question from the press, because I couldn't say what I wanted to say: 'It's his story to tell and I'm not authorized to tell it really, am I!'"

Lisa continued to explain how Matthew had to "deal with this disease" of addiction, something the actor discussed in great detail throughout his memoir, and recalled how she tried to help him as a friend throughout the years - noting how the late actor could always make her laugh "so hard" in spite of whatever battles he was facing.

Lisa wrote the forward for Matthew's memoir (AFP via Getty Images)

The Friends actress penned: "Over those years I didn't really try to intervene or confront him, because the little I knew about addiction was that his sobriety was out of my hands. And yet, I would have periods of wondering if I was wrong for not doing more, doing something. But I did come to understand that this disease relentlessly fed itself and was determined to keep going.

"So, I just focused on Matthew, who could make me laugh so hard every day, and once a week, laugh so hard I cried and couldn't breathe. He was there, Matthew Perry, who is whip smart, charming, sweet, sensitive, very reasonable and rational. That guy, with everything he was battling, was still there. The same Matthew who, from the beginning, could lift us all up during a gruelling night shoot for the opening titles inside that fountain."

TMZ claims that Matthew had returned home following a round of pickleball (a mash-up of tennis, badminton and ping-pong) on Saturday and sent his assistant out on an errand shortly thereafter, but was found unresponsive when the aide returned home just two hours later, prompting him to call for help.

The official Twitter account for the TV show Friends confirmed his death on Saturday night, posting: "We are devastated to learn of Matthew Perry’s passing. He was a true gift to us all. Our heart goes out to his family, loved ones, and all of his fans." It's reported there were no drugs at the scene of Matthew's death, nor did it seem that there was any foul play that occurred.

Zoe Delaney