LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The co-creator of the hit sitcom ‘Friends’, Marta Kauffman and David Crane, shared their memories of late actor Matthew Perry.
Kauffman said Perry who played Chandler Bing on the iconic series was in a really good place emotionally as Crane said some people may have braced for it in an interview with 'Today' host Hoda Kotb.
Matthew Perry was 'happy and chipper' Marta Kauffman says
Kauffman said she spoke to Perry just two weeks before his death and he seemed “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,” she said.
Marta said she was in “utter shock” when she heard the news and her first impulse was to text him.
“It’s hard to grasp: one minute he’s here and he’s happy, and then poof. And doing good in the world, really doing good in the world,” she said.
David Crane says it was hard to believe Matthew Perry was gone
Crane, too, agreed with Marta that Perry was “such an alive person” that it was hard to believe he was gone.
He also acknowledged that Perry had a long history of struggling with drugs and alcohol abuse, which may have made some people brace for something like this.
"...given the journey he’d been on...we were all aware of it. There was a part that was kind of bracing for something like this,” Crane said, agreeing with host Hoda Kotb.
Kotb said, "Though Perry’s death was shocking, it may not have been surprising to some given his history with drugs and alcohol abuse."
“It is still hard to believe because he was such an alive person that it’s hard to believe he’s not here,” he replied.
Marta Kauffman said Matthew Perry was sober at the time of his death and had quit smoking
However, Kauffman said that Perry was sober at the time of his death and had quit smoking.
“He seemed better than I had seen in a while. I was so thrilled to see that,” she said, adding “He was emotionally in a good place. He looked good.”
Perry had also dedicated his life to helping others who were facing similar challenges with addiction.
In one of his interviews, he said, “When I die, I don’t want ‘Friends’ to be the first thing that’s mentioned."
"I want that to be the first thing that’s mentioned. And I’m gonna live the rest of my life proving that," he said at the time.
Crane said that Perry’s purpose was clear. “As important as the show was and continues to be, I think that absolutely became his reason for being,” he said.
