The Friends official Instagram account has paid tribute to Matthew Perry after the actor’s tragic death aged 54.
Perry, who played Chandler Bing in the beloved sitcom, has been found dead in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home.
Fans have been left devastated by the passing of the iconic actor, who was beloved for playing the sarcastic and hilarious character.
An official joint statement from Friends and Warner Bros TV paid tribute to Perry on Saturday in the wake of the sad news.
The accounts wrote: ‘We are devastated to learn of Matthew Perry’s passing. He was a true gift to us all.
Sad: The Friends official Instagram account has paid tribute to Matthew Perry after the actor’s tragic death aged 54
‘Our heart goes out to his family, loved ones, and all of his fans.’
Perry, who shot to fame as the sarcastic Chandler Bing in the seminal 90s sitcom, was found dead at his house in Los Angeles on Saturday after emergency crews were called at around 4pm local time.
He had reportedly played a two-hour game of Pickleball – a sport similar to tennis but played on a smaller court – earlier in the day, before sending his assistant out on an errand. When they returned, Perry was said to be found unresponsive in his hot tub.
Friends, which followed the lives of six friends in their 20s living in New York, was a smash hit across the globe when it aired between 1994 and 2004, and re-runs still remain hugely popular years later.
Perry won a worldwide fanbase for his role as Chandler, earning him an Emmy nomination in 2002 – but behind the glitz and glamour, he secretly battled substance abuse for decades.
There was no indication of foul play and no drugs were found at the scene of his death, sources said this morning.
The cast of Saturday Night Live also paid tribute to the star shortly after the former Friends star’s sudden death at the age of 54 was confirmed.
A black and white image of Perry closed the latest instalment of NBC’s late night sketch show – hosted on this occasion by comedian Nate Bargatze.
Star role: Perry rose to fame for his role as ‘Chandler Bing’ on the hit 90s sitcom Friends, which ran for 10 seasons
Heartbreaking: Friends star Matthew Perry ‘s cause of death has been revealed, after his worldwide fanbase was left in shock by news of his passing; pictured November 2022
Perry himself had previously hosted the show on October 4 1997, at the the height of his mainstream fame with American sitcom Friends, during which indie band Oasis featured as musical guests.
He was fourth star of the hit show to feature as Saturday Night Live host after Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox served as joint hosts in 1995, while Lisa Kudrow featured the following year.
Perry’s one episode tenure featured a Friends parody, in which the actor played womanising roommate Joey – a character made famous by Matt LeBlanc – while Colin Quinn played an effeminate version of Chandler.
Others who have paid their tributes to the late star include singer Adele, who paused her show at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, site of her ongoing Vegas residency, to speak about the actor, who she described as ‘probably the best comedic character of all time.’
‘It is always so shocking, especially someone that made you laugh and who bought so much joy to your life that you don’t know. This is what I find so strange, I never met him in my life. There is something, you feel so sad about it especially because you don’t necessarily known what was going on,’ she told the crowd.
‘I’ll remember that character for the rest of my life,’ she added of Perry’s Friends character Chandler Bing. ‘He’s probably the best comedic character of all time.’
In his last post to his Instagram, shared earlier this week, the star shared images of him in his pool, saying: ‘Oh, so warm water swirling around makes you feel good? I’m Mattman.’
Perry has been candid publicly about his problems with drugs and alcohol, having first went to rehab in 1997 for what was said to a pain medication addiction after a jet skiing accident.
Throwback: He is pictured in a publicity shot for season one of Friends, which began in 1994
Sad: In his last post to his Instagram, posted earlier this week, the star shared images of him in his pool
Following this initial stint, he then went to rehab again in 2001 and 2011. He told an interviewer in 2016 that he doesn’t remember filming three seasons of Friends.
A longtime friend of Perry’s – who was in recovery with him – told .com: ‘Everyone is in a total state of shock. People are crying on the phone and struggling to accept this news.
‘It’s no secret that he struggled with drugs and alcohol for years but the last time I spoke to him, which was within the last few weeks, he seemed to be in a good place.
‘He was upbeat and sounded sober and positive.
‘He’d been to rehab 17 times and nearly died from opioid abuse but he was someone who was sincere about taking his life, and his sobriety, one day at a time.
‘It’s such tragic news. Everyone is praying he didn’t relapse. Matt was a genuinely lovely guy. He was always the first to welcome newcomers to the group and would always volunteer to help and be of service.
‘We are all struggling to come to terms with this terrible news.’
The Friends star laid bare the height of his terrible drug and alcohol addiction battle which nearly cost him his life in a memoir titled ‘Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir’.
Pictured: (l-r) Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay, Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing, Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green, David Schwimmer as Ross Geller, Courteney Cox as Monica Geller, Matt Le Blanc as Joey Tribbiani
Perry also revealed that his colon ruptured as a result of his opioid addiction when he was 49.
Doctors gave him only a two percent chance of survival and he was in a coma for two weeks followed by months more in the hospital.
Perry required 14 surgeries to help repair all of the abdominal damage, and he admitted to having gone to rehab 15 times over the years in hopes of kicking his drug addiction.
At one point during his Friends career, he admits he was taking 55 Vicodin a day and was down to 128 pounds but yet he ‘didn’t know how to stop.’
He told an interviewer in 2016 that he doesn’t remember filming three seasons of Friends.
‘I had this odd rule that I would never drink on a set,’ Perry said. ‘But I went to work in extreme cases of hangover. It’s so horrible to feel that way and have to work and be funny on top of that.’
He even revealed he would go to real estate open houses – not because he was interested in buying property but to see if he could steal drugs from medicine cabinets.