Friends stars Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer have paid tribute to Matthew Perry.
Aniston, who played Rachel Green in the show, wrote in an Instagram post: “Oh boy this one has cut deep… Having to say goodbye to our Matty has been an insane wave of emotions that I’ve never experienced before.
“We all experience loss at some point in our lives. Loss of life or loss of love.
“Being able to really SIT in this grief allows you to feel the moments of joy and gratitude for having loved someone that deep. And we loved him deeply. He was such a part of our DNA. We were always the six of us.
“This was a chosen family that forever changed the course of who we were and what our path was going to be.
“For Matty, he KNEW he loved to make people laugh. As he said himself, if he didn’t hear the ‘laugh’ he thought he was going to die. His life literally depended on it. And boy did he succeed in doing just that.
“He made all of us laugh. And laugh hard. In the last couple weeks, I’ve been pouring over our texts to one another. Laughing and crying then laughing again. I’ll keep them forever and ever. I found one text that he sent me out of nowhere one day. It says it all.
“Matty, I love you so much and I know you are now completely at peace and out of any pain. I talk to you every day… sometimes I can almost hear you saying “could you BE any crazier?”
“Rest little brother. You always made my day.”
Aniston also posted a picture of a text exchange with Perry where he said: “Making you laugh just made my day.”
Meanwhile, Schwimmer, who played Ross Geller in the sitcom, said: “Matty, thank you for ten incredible years of laughter and creativity.
“I will never forget your impeccable comic timing and delivery. You could take a straight line of dialogue and bend it to your will, resulting in something so entirely original and unexpectedly funny it still astonishes.
“And you had heart. Which you were generous with, and shared with us, so we could create a family out of six strangers.
“This photo is from one of my favourite moments with you. Now it makes me smile and grieve at the same time.
Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer in Friends. Pic: Everett/Shutterstock
“I imagine you up there, somewhere, in the same white suit, hands in your pockets, looking around – ‘could there BE any more clouds?'”
Perry, 54, died last month after an apparent drowning at his Los Angeles home. His death is being investigated by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office after a post-mortem examination with toxicology tests.
He played the quick-witted Chandler Bing in the beloved sitcom between 1994 and 2004.
LeBlanc, who played Chandler’s best friend Joey Tribbiani in the show, said in an Instagram post on Tuesday that “the times we had together are honestly among the favourite times of my life”.
Read more:
What Perry’s memoir revealed
Obituary: The one who made everyone laugh
Perry’s life in pictures
In an emotional tribute, LeBlanc wrote: “I am so grateful for every moment I had with you Matty and I miss you every day.”
“It is with a heavy heart I say goodbye.
“It was an honour to share the stage with you and to call you my friend. I will always smile when I think of you and I’ll never forget you. Never.
“Spread your wings and fly brother you’re finally free. Much love.
“And I guess you’re keeping the 20 bucks you owe me.”
(L-R) Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc, Courteney Cox in Friends. Pic: NBC/Everett/Shutterstock
Courteney Cox, who played Chandler’s wife Monica Geller on Friends, said on Tuesday: “I am so grateful for every moment I had with you Matty and I miss you every day.
On Instagram, she shared what she described as one of her favourite moments with her friend “Matty”.
“To give a little backstory, Chandler and Monica were supposed to have a one night fling in London. But because of the audience’s reaction, it became the beginning of their love story.
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“In this scene, before we started rolling, he whispered a funny line for me to say. He often did things like that. He was funny and he was kind.”
Tributes poured in following Perry’s death, including messages from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – who attended the same school as the actor – and Sarah, Duchess of York, who had a cameo appearance in Friends.
The six stars at the 2021 Friends reunion special
In a joint statement released after his death on 28 October, his Friends co-stars – LeBlanc, Cox, Aniston, Schwimmer and Lisa Kudrow – said: “We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family.
The cast of Friends
“There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss.”
They were also among 20 mourners at Perry’s funeral in the Hollywood Hills earlier this month.
Perry was open about his battle with substance abuse and addiction, and set up a sober living facility for men with similar issues.
A foundation has now been set up to help others struggling with the disease.