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30th October 2023
08:13pm GMT
BY Patrick McCarry
The main cast of Friends are said to be "reeling" at the tragic passing of their co-star Matthew Perry, on Saturday, October 28. Matt LeBlanc and his cast-mates always referred to Perry as 'Matty' and described him as 'their brother'.
The 54-year-old died at the weekend after being found in the hot tub at the rear of his Los Angeles home. Emergency responders attempted a 'water rescue' but it was, unfortunately, in vain.
Since the news of Perry's death was confirmed, tributes have flowed in from fans and follower's of the actor's career, those that have been inspired by his openness about addiction and recovery battles, co-stars and crew that worked with him, and others that tracked his story and were moved by his words and deeds.
Many have spoken of the deep bond that existed between the six main cast members of Friends, the hit TV show that ran from 1994 to 2004. Perry himself spoke of that bond in the 2021 Friends reunion, which was hosted by James Corden and aired on NBC.
"The best way that I can describe it is after the show was over, at a party or any kind of social gathering, if one of us bumped into each other, that was it.
"That was the end of the night. You just sat with the person all night long and that was it. You apologised to the people you were with, but they had to understand you had met somebody special to you and you were going to talk to that person for the rest of the night. And that’s the way it worked."
Of all the relationships in Friends, the most cherished one was between Perry's Chandler Bing character and Joey Tribbiani, played by LeBlanc. Chandler and Joey were room-mates and best friends, who had no shame in telling each other how much they loved each other.
Evidence of how close and collegial the main cast members were is very clear in an Entertainment Tonight interview Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc featured in, around the time of that reunion special.
Chatting to Nischelle Turner from Entertainment Tonight, over Zoom, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer were all in top form, and excited about their reunion show.
Schwimmer was chatting away to Turner about his early memories of his cast mates when Perry started gesticulating to people off camera to quieten down. Perry was unaware, though, that he was still in shot as Schwimmer was speaking.
Realising that Perry's actions were being picked up, LeBlanc gave him a gentle nudge and explained, "Matty, that's the girls doing an interview."
"You're on camera," he added, before breaking into a grin.
Embarrassed, Perry asked, "Are you on a three-shot, seeing me do that?"
As his cast-mates laughed, Perry observed, "I look crazy. I looked like a crazy person!"
Schwimmer then mimicked his actions as Perry fielded the next question. You can watch that moment from 1:55 in the video below, with lots of comments below praising LeBlanc for how he had Perry's back.
In a 2016 interview with People, Matt LeBlanc described the main Friends cast as a family to him. Courtney Cox and Lisa Kudrow were like big sisters, and David Schwimmer a big brother, he explained, with 'Jen' Aniston and 'Matty' Perry his little sister and brother.
"I saw him yesterday," LeBlanc said of Perry. "I love that guy! I can not see him for five years and then get in a room together and still have that shorthand with each other."
"It's amazing, really. 10 years in a building with no windows and the doors locked, we got to know each other pretty well."
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