Matthew Perry’s mother tearfully recalls her son’s death: “I couldn’t help him”

Matthew PerryFamily speaks out on first anniversary of his death in an emotional interview with TodayThis is Savannah Guthrie.

Perry’s mother, Suzanne Morrison, painfully expressed her disappointment at her failure to help her son with his addiction. “I am a very lucky woman. But there was one glitch, there was one problem that I couldn’t—couldn’t overcome. I couldn’t help him,” she said.

Perry’s stepfather and Date correspondent Kate Morrison and Perry’s three sisters – Caitlin, Emily and Madeline Morrison – spoke with Guthrie about his final days and the foundation founded days after his death to continue his life’s work.

“The Matthew Perry Foundation is the fulfillment of Matthew’s lifelong commitment to helping others struggling with the disease of addiction,” reads a description on the foundation’s website.

Perry spoke about his intention to help people suffering from addiction in his 2022 memoir: Friends, lovers and the big bad thing saying, “When I die, in terms of my so-called accomplishments, it would be nice if Friends were listed far behind the things I’ve done to try to help other people.”

“He focused on helping other people, getting other people to say, ‘I need help.’ He was trying to show people that it was a brave thing to do,” Suzanne Morrison said.

Perry, 54, was found dead in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home on October 28, 2023. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that he died from the acute effects of ketamine. Perry was treated with ketamine for depression and anxiety, but prosecutors say the actor used the drug unsupervised and became addicted.

“I don’t even know if he relapsed in his head,” his sister Madeline Morrison said.

Keith Morrison agreed, noting, “I don’t think he did it.”

Five people have been charged in the actor’s death, including two doctors and the actor’s assistant, and three have pleaded guilty, according to federal prosecutors.

Suzanne Morrison remembers Perry saying, shortly before his death, “I love you so much and I’m so happy to be with you now,” as if it were a “premonition.”

“There was an inevitability of what was going to happen around him, and he felt it very strongly. But he said, “I’m not afraid anymore.” And that bothered me,” Emily Morrison said.

His mother continues to be amazed by the dedication of her son’s fans, who continue to visit his Los Angeles burial site.

“Every time I’m there, people will come to him – and now. It usually goes away,” she said. “They leave him very nice letters. Like, “I was so sad. You helped me get through my teenage years,” she said, calling his influence on people “just incredible.”

She said she saved all the notes. “Maybe someday I’ll release them for people to see. But they really loved him because they could relate to him.”