Friends series co-creator Marta Kauffman hopes that fans will remember Matthew Perry for his legacy and not for his death from an accidental drug overdose.
“He is the one I had the most contact with. About two weeks before [he died] he and I were FaceTiming and he seemed really good,” Kauffman, 67, who created the sitcom with David Crane, said in an interview with London’s The Times published on Friday, August 16, for the 30th anniversary of the classic sitcom.
“Two things come to mind [about how to celebrate him]: one of them is to donate to drug treatment centers — let’s fight the disease,” she told the outlet. “And the second way is to watch Friends and remember him not as a man who died like that but as a man who was hilariously funny and brought joy to everybody.”
Perry died at the age of 54 from an accidental overdose on October 28, 2023, with an autopsy revealing his death was caused by “acute effects of ketamine.”
On Thursday, August 15, authorities announced that five people had been charged in Perry’s death investigation, including his former personal assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, Erik Fleming, Jasveen Sangha (a.k.a. “the Ketamine Queen”), Dr. Mark Chavez and Dr. Salvador Plasencia.
“These defendants took advantage of Mr. Perry’s addiction issues to enrich themselves,” U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Martin Estrada told reporters when the charges were announced, per CBS. “They knew what they were doing was wrong. They knew what they were doing was risking great danger to Mr. Perry, but they did it anyways. In the end, these defendants were more interested in profiting off Mr. Perry than caring for his well-being.”
A source close to Perry exclusively told Us Weekly that his friends and family were “blindsided” and “saddened” by the arrest of Iwamasa, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine. “Matthew kept secrets,” the insider said. “I wouldn’t be shocked if Kenny was the only one who knew how bad it really was.”
The plea agreement stated that Iwamasa injected the actor with “approximately 6-8 shots” of ketamine every day and had found Perry “unconscious at his residence on at least two occasions” throughout October 2023.
During an appearance on Today shortly after Perry’s death, Kauffman recalled the last time she spoke to him. “It was great. He was happy and chipper,” she recalled in November 2023. “He didn’t seem weighed down by anything. He was in a really good place, which is why this seems so unfair.”
She added, “He seemed better than I had seen in a while. I was so thrilled to see that. He was emotionally in a good place. He looked good. He quit smoking … He was sober.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
