One of the creators of Friends, Marta Kauffman, is urging fans to remember the late Matthew Perry not for the way he died, but for all the joy he brought to others during the course of his life. Perry starred as Chandler Bing in the long-running sitcom, which lasted 10 seasons on NBC from 1994 to 2004, and became a pop culture phenomenon that still resonates with viewers 20 years after it ended. Perry passed away on October 28, 2023, and since then, several people have been charged in connection with his death – which was said to be due to the acute effects of ketamine – including his assistant, and two doctors.
Speaking with The Times for a 30th anniversary piece on Friends, Kauffman mentioned that we should put all that aside for now, and look to the good times that Perry brought us. As tragic as his untimely passing was, Kauffman said that people can memorialize him by doing two things: donating to drug treatment centers, and watching Friends. Check out her comments below.
“Two things come to mind [about how to celebrate him]: one of them is to donate to drug treatment centers – let’s fight the disease. And the second way is to watch
Friends
and remember him not as a man who died like that but as a man who was hilariously funny and brought joy to everybody.”
Friends
- Release Date
- September 22, 1994
- Seasons
- 10
Kauffman also revealed that out of all the cast members on Friends, Perry was the one she stayed in touch with the most. Prior to his death, the two were speaking on a regular basis, and Kauffman said that he “seemed really good.”
“He is the one I had the most contact with. About two weeks before [he died] he and I were FaceTiming and he seemed really good.”
In addition to discussing Perry, Kauffman and fellow Friends creator David Crane spoke about the show’s longevity, and if they still watch it today. With the sitcom coming under fire over the years for its humor, which was definitely a product of its time, the duo say that it’s not something they watch often.
“I watch it back on occasion when nobody’s going to see me doing it,” Kauffman said, with Crane adding, “I can watch it for like a minute. Sometimes I’m delighted, but more often I’m like, ‘Wow, really? That’s the joke? We couldn’t have spent five more minutes? That’s the joke?'”
Friends has often been slammed for a number of its problematic elements, including its lack of diversity and many off-color jokes that came at the expense of the LGBTQ+ community. Jennifer Aniston, who portrayed Rachel Green on the sitcom, spoke about those issues last year at an event in Paris, saying that they “were never intentional.”
“There’s a whole generation of people, kids, who are now going back to episodes of
Friends
and find them offensive. There were things that were never intentional and others… well, we should have thought it through — but I don’t think there was a sensitivity like there is now.”
Related
Matthew Perry’s Best Quotes as Chandler in Friends
A fan favorite in Friends, Matthew Perry’s time as Chandler will never be forgotten. These were his most memorable lines as the character.
Despite its more controversial elements, Friends has remained a beloved sitcom by many, and is undoubtedly one of the most influential shows of the 1990s and early aughts. It helped make its young cast, including Perry, global superstars, and while he may have been taken from us too soon, it would serve us all well to go back and watch some of his funniest moments, especially those with his co-star, Matt LeBlanc.
All 10 seasons of
Friends
are available to stream on Max.
