How Every 'Friends' Star Paid Tribute to Matthew Perry
All five of Perry's former 'Freinds' co-stars have paid tribute to their late castmate.
'Friends' Cast Joint Statement
Shortly after Perry's death, his Friends co-stars — Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer, and Lisa Kudrow — issued a joint statement on the tragic news. "We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family," read the group statement. "There is so much to say, but right now we're going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss. In time we will say more, as and when we are able. For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty's family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world."
prevnextCourteney Cox
On Instagram, Cox shared a blooper clip of the show's iconic scene when it's revealed that Chandler (Perry) and Monica (Cox) slept together. Ross (Davis Schwimmer) runs into Chandler's hotel room, excited that he's getting married, and then when he runs back out, Monica emerges from under the covers. After "what aired" rolls through, the clip shows a funny outtake where Cox said, "OK, your turn."
Down in the caption, Cox paid tribute to her on-screen love, writing, "I am so grateful for every moment I had with you Matty and I miss you every day. When you work with someone as closely as I did with Matthew, there are thousands of moments I wish I could share. For now here's one of my favorites." She then went on to share. "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. 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."
prevnextMatt LeBlanc
In his own Instagram post, LeBlanc shared a series of photos of himself and Perry from Friends, as well as a picture of the cast in a behind-the-scenes group hug. "Matthew," he wrote in the caption. "It is with a heavy heart I say goodbye. The times we had together are honestly among the favorite times of my life. It was an honor 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," LeBlanc then concluded the message, "And I guess you're keeping the 20 bucks you owe me."
prevnextJennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston shared a BTS picture of herself and Perry, as well as a screenshot of a text message conversation wherein he confessed how it "made my day" to make her laugh. Aniston also shared a clip from Friends, featuring a sentimental moment between her character Rachel and Perry's Chandler, which is very sweet and eventually turns humorous.
"Oh boy this one has cut deep," the actress wrote in the post's caption. "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 6 of us. This was a chosen family that forever changed the course of who we were and what our path was going to be."
She continued, "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 poring 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. (See the second slide...)"
Speaking directly to her late friend, Aniston added, "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..."
prevnextLisa Kudrow
For her tribute, Lisa Kudrow shared an old image of her and Perry, and recalled the beginnings of their hit sitcom. "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," she wrote in the post's caption. Thank you for making me laugh so hard at something you said, that my muscles ached, and tears poured down my face EVERY DAY."
Kudrow continued, "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. 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."
prevnextDavid Schwimmer
Finally, David Schwimmer shared a picture from one of the Friends Thanksgiving episodes, where the pair were shown doing their best Miami Vice impersonations during a throwback scene. "Matty, Thank you for ten incredible years of laughter and creativity," Schwimmer wrote in the post's caption. "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."
Schwimmer contineud, "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 favorite moments with you. Now it makes me smile and grieve at the same time. I imagine you up there, somewhere, in the same white suit, hands in your pockets, looking around- 'Could there BE any more clouds?'"
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