‘Friends’ Creator Marta Kauffman on What She Hopes Matthew Perry Will Be Remembered By: ‘Brought Joy’

In light of recent arrests in regards to Friends actor Matthew Perry’s death, a July interview with the sitcom's co-creator Marta Kauffman is resurfacing, as she shared her thoughts on Perry’s legacy and what she hopes fans will remember him by. Keep scrolling to read her touching words.

Marta Kauffman’s thoughts on Matthew Perry and his death

In an interview celebrating the 30th anniversary of Friends , Kauffman addressed Perry’s addiction, death and legacy, telling The Times that they maintained their relationship up until his passing in October 2023.

“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,” the creative said, before discussing his legacy.

“Two things come to mind [about how to celebrate him]: one of them is to donate to the drug [ketamine] treatment centers — let’s fight the disease ,” Kauffman said. “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.”

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Perry himself echoed very different thoughts in his memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Bad Terrible Thing , however, writing, “ When I die, I don’t want Friends to be the first thing that’s mentioned . I want [helping people] to be the first thing that’s mentioned, and I’m gonna live the rest of my life proving that.”

In a separate interview, Kauffman revealed that during her last exchange with Perry, “ He was happy and chipper . He didn’t seem weighed down by anything. He was in a really good place, which is why this seems so unfair."

What happened to Matthew Perry?

Perry was found lying face down in the hot tub at his Pacific Palisades home after overdosing on ketamine on October 28, 2023. In recent weeks, authorities have made arrests in connection to his death, including  Dr. Mark Chavez and Dr. Salvador Plasencia, Perry’s assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, his acquaintance Erik Fleming and drug dealer Jasveen Sangha, who is commonly referred to as the “the Ketamine Queen.”

Those charged in connection to Perry’s death due to acute effects of ketamine have fallen on both sides of the aisle. Iwamasa, Chavez and Fleming have all agreed to plead guilty to the charges as of publication, while Plasencia and Sangha have pleaded not guilty.

“They knew what they were doing was wrong. They knew what they were doing was risking great danger to Mr. Perry. But they did it anyways. In the end, these defendants were more interested in profiting off of Mr. Perry than caring for his well being,” Attorney Martin Estrada said in a news conference, detailing the text messages sent between the doctors and the alleged attempts to take advantage of Perry, his money and his struggles with addicition.

David Crane reveals shocking things about Matthew Perry

David Crane — another one of the show's creators — also opened up to The Times about his time with Perry. Even when the actor’s substance use was extensive, Friends was always there for him.

Says Crane: “By the time we became aware of it, we were already a family on a lot of levels. There was a point where we said to him: ‘Do you want to stop [being in the show]?’ And he was adamantly like: ‘ No, this is really important to m e.’”

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Perry remained on the show but did have to take several steps back during some of its seasons to go to rehab, with the most noticeable time being in season 9 when his character Chandler Bing moves to Tulsa, Oklahoma. This was written in so Perry could still appear on the show but in a much smaller role, allowing him to enter addiction care.

Crane also revealed that they “ never knew how [Matthew Perry] was going to come back after the summer. Is he going to be skinny? Is he going to be fat? Is he going to be an addict? Is he going to be clean ?”

Perry did detail in his memo ir that fans of Friends could also tell if he was using or if he was clean by how he looked on camera.

Phil Solem, from The Rembrandts, remembers Matthew Perry

The Rembrandts — who created the Friends theme song “I’ll be There For You — member Phil Solem also remembered  the late actor when discussing the show’s 30th anniversary, saying, “ Matthew Perry was the easiest to get along with. He and I spent a couple of nights at the bar in the hotel.”

Matthew Perry’s thoughts on Marta Kauffman

Perry’s relationship with Kauffman was decades in the making, with the actor recalling that he asked her if he could  deliver the last ever line of Friends because he thought the show meant more to him than any of the other leads.

Wrote the late actor, “Before that final episode, I’d taken Marta Kauffman to one side. ‘Nobody else will care about this except me. Nobody else will care about this except me,’ I said. ‘So, may I please have the last line?’ That’s why as we all troop out of the apartment, and Rachel has suggested one last coffee, I got to bring the curtain down on Friends .”

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