David Schwimmer, who starred alongside Matthew Perry on the hit NBC sitcom “Friends,” paid tribute to his late co-star in an Instagram tribute on Wednesday.
“Thank you for ten incredible years of laughter and creativity. I will never forget your impeccable comic timing and delivery. You could take a straight line of dialogue and bend it to your will, resulting in something so entirely original and unexpectedly funny it still astonishes,” Schwimmer wrote.
“And you had heart. Which you were generous with, and shared with us, so we could create a family out of six strangers. This photo is from one of my favorite moments with you. Now it makes me smile and grieve at the same time,” he continued.
“I imagine you up there, somewhere, in the same white suit, hands in your pockets, looking around — ‘Could there BE any more clouds?’ “
Schwimmer and his other four “Friends” co-stars — Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and Jennifer Aniston — issued a joint statement nearly 48 hours after his death to People.
“We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family,” their statement read. “There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss.”
“In time we will say more, as and when we are able,” they continued. “For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty’s family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world.”
Cox, LeBlanc and Aniston have also shared individual Instagram tributes to Perry on their respective social media accounts.
When it came to Perry’s struggles with alcohol and opiod addiction, Schwimmer’s public comments were few and far between, but in a 2003 sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey, he responded, “It was really hard” when asked if it was “hard to see a friend in trouble.”
Perry was found dead at age 54 in his hot tub at his California home on Oct. 28. He was unresponsive and already deceased before first responders arrived at the scene.
In a statement, the Los Angeles Police Department told The Post: “We responded to the 1800 block of Blue Sail Rd for a death investigation on a male 4:10 p.m. this afternoon. He was in his 50s.”
The caller’s identity has not been revealed by authorities, although TMZ reported it was Perry’s assistant, who made the call after returning from an errand.
Read more about Matthew Perry’s life and struggles:
- ‘I had a 2 percent chance to live’: Matthew Perry opens up about addiction in new memoir
- Matthew Perry: I ‘was so dead inside’ during ‘Friends’ finale, I ‘felt nothing’
- Matthew Perry reveals what made him quit drugs: ‘It was pretty hellish’
- Matthew Perry reveals ‘Friends’ co-stars confronted him about sobriety
- Matthew Perry admits he ‘probably spent $9 million’ trying to get sober
“We are shocked and deeply, deeply saddened by our beloved friend Matthew’s passing,” “Friends” co-creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane and director Kevin Bright said in a joint statement following Perry’s premature death.
“It still seems impossible. All we can say is that we feel blessed to have had him as part of our lives. He was a brilliant talent,” the trio continued. “It’s a cliche to say that an actor makes a role their own, but in Matthew’s case, there are no truer words. From the day we first heard him embody the role of Chandler Bing, there was no one else for us. We will always cherish the joy, the light, the blinding intelligence he brought to every moment — not just to his work, but in life as well. He was always the funniest person in the room. More than that, he was the sweetest, with a giving and selfless heart.”
They concluded: “This truly is The One Where Our Hearts Are Broken.”