Matthew Perry to Be Remembered in Tribute Special With Never-Before-Seen Footage

A special on Perry's life premieres on Tuesday, Nov. 7 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

By Michael Hein

VH1 is airing a special tribute to Matthew Perry on Tuesday, Nov. 7 titled Matthew Perry: Life and Legacy. Perry passed away on Saturday, Oct. 28 at the age of 54 leaving many fans shocked and grieving. The special hopes to highlight the actor's legacy on and off screen, featuring some never-before-seen footage of him.

Matthew Perry: Life and Legacy will premiere on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET with an encore presentation on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 10 a.m. ET. It is presented by VH1 and Entertainment Tonight, and according to a report by ET it will show some never-before-seen interviews from Perry and from his friends and colleagues. It will also use archival footage to illustrate Perry's career. It won't just focus on his acting, either, but his outreach for addiction recovery over the years.

Perry is best known for playing Chandler Bing on Friends – a role that gave him his big break in Hollywood and made him a household name. He appeared in other shows including Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Mr. Sunshine and Go On, as well as movies like The Whole Nine Yards and Fools Rush In. Of course, many fans also know about Perry's infamous struggles with addiction which he tried to find an effective treatment for for years. Once he had achieved stable sobriety, Perry worked hard to help others do the same.

The special promises to go deep on these "definitive moments in his life," as many of the darkest moments in Perry's life came during the run of Friends. Perry became addicted to Vicodin after it was prescribed to him in 1997 while he was recovering from a jet ski crash. He would later struggle with other prescription drugs as well as illicit substances like cocaine, and alcoholism.

Perry worked with some of the highest-level advocacy groups for addiction recovery in the U.S., even lobbying Congress in 2011. He also converted his former home in Malibu into a rehab center called Perry House, which eventually moved to a new location. Last year, he wrote about his experiences with addiction in his memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, with the hope that his stories would help others find their way through.

Fans can revisit Perry's work on Friends now on Max, and his book is available in print, digital and audiobook formats. The special Matthew Perry: Life and Legacy will premiere on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET on VH1.

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