Matthew Perry’s childhood friends remember his final days: EXCLUSIVE

To Death of Matthew Perry In October 2023, the embattled actor seemed to be enjoying a new energy and zest for life, according to two men closest to him.

Two of the Friends star’s longtime friends, brothers Brian and Chris Murray, spoke exclusively with TODAY’s Savannah Guthrie about the last year of Perry’s life and how inspired they were by what they saw in him.

“He was absolutely on the right track,” Brian Murray said. “He wrote. He read scripts. He wanted to direct. The book had just given him a boost and he was ready to get back into business for real. So this is one of the greatest tragedies.”

Perry’s death seemed to reflect his own predictions.

“If I died suddenly, people would be shocked, but few would be surprised.” The 54-year-old once remarkedaccording to him stepfather, Dateline correspondent Keith Morrison.

Perry took an open book approach when it came to his subject matter long-standing struggle with drug and alcohol abuse. He was in and out of rehab 15 times and spent, by his own estimation$9 million trying to get sober.

However, those close to him said in interviews that he rallied after the 2022 release of his memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Bad.

“He seems to be doing a lot better. He seemed much calmer,” Morrison told Savannah in an interview.

This reflects that “Friends” creator Marta Kaufman spoke to TODAY’s Hoda Kotb. last year.

“He was happy and cheerful,” she said of Perry before his death. “He didn’t seem burdened by anything. He was in a really good place, which is why it seems so unfair.”

In the final stretch, Perry showed passion that had been missing for a while, Chris Murray said.

“It was really, ‘Let’s do this.’ Let’s do this,’” he recalls. “And it even went beyond work, you know? Just (when) we were talking about traveling and the like. He traveled extensively. We were together in France for three weeks. We met him in New York at the US Open.”

When they learned of his death, they were confused.

“Shocked would be a good word” – Brian Murray, who is now serves on the council the new Matthew Perry Foundation in Canada, Savannah said. “His trajectory was exactly where it needed to be. He was on his way. He looked forward to waking up every day. That’s where the shock lies.”

Perry died on October 28, 2023 at the age of 54. He was found in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office, the actor died from acute effects of ketamine.

Perry was looking for a controlled ketamine therapy – which he also wrote about this in his memoirs – for the treatment of anxiety and depression. But, according to prosecutors, it was uncontrolled use of the drug that caused his death from an accidental overdose.

Five people, including Perry’s assistant and a drug dealer, were detained. charged in connection with his deathThe US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced this in August.

Brian and Chris Murray, who had known Perry since elementary school, called Perry’s loss “tragic” and “wildly disappointing.”

Friends’ jokes told Perry’s character from Friends, Chandler Bing, about how he was known for turning statements into questions.

“We didn’t expect the world to start saying that,” Chris Murray said.

“We still say that,” Brian said.

Despite their grief, they say what they miss most is laughing with Perry.

“Funniest guy I’ve ever met,” Brian Murphy said.