I hate to say it but it was either because of drugs or alcohol (or both).

https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/matthew-perry-tributes-death-1235772014/

https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/28/entertainment/matthew-perry-dead/index.html

R.I.P.

When I die, I'd like 'Friends' to be listed behind 'helping people.' - Matthew Perry

R.I.P.

I am late to this, but I'd been meaning to add something here for awhile, and now that I'm on vacation I have the time . . .

In the past, when celebrities whom no one on these websites has known personally have passed away, and then people post about how these "faraway" deaths affect them personally, I have always found to be a bit corny. I can understand feeling sad, but a deep personal impact, when you never knew them/they were not in your life? I was always skeptical. And yet now (actually weeks ago, when I heard about Mr. Perry's death like everyone else), I find myself eating crow:

I was never a fan of Friends, but I always liked Matthew Perry. Loved, loved him in The Whole Nine Yards (2000).

You see, as soon as Matthew Perry arrived on the scene with Friends, and for the rest of his life, my family and I have said, "He looks just like Ron!" Ronald was my dear beloved Uncle.

Matthew Perry was born in 1969. My Uncle Ron was born in 1966.

Matthew Perry grew up in Canada. Thanks to a family cottage, my Uncle Ron spent much of every summer from his birth until around 2012 in Canada.

Matthew Perry died in 2023, after a long struggle with drugs and alcohol. My Uncle Ron died in 2022, after decades of alcohol and drug-abuse.

Matthew Perry, despite all his struggles, seemed a kind and creative man, as was my Uncle Ron. Both, weirdly, also appeared even to share the same mannerisms (I can only say this of Perry based on seeing both his acting and his interviews. Of course, I never met him).

At my Uncle's remembrance earlier this year-- following his death in 2022 and before Perry died --my Mother, speaking of my Uncle (her youngest sibling), said "that guy from Friends always reminded us of Ron". To which many of those gathered-- even non-family members whom we barely knew --shouted out "Matthew Perry!"

It was eerie.

I just needed to share all this. It probably all sounds so stupid. I know I used to think so whenever people said that celebrities they'd never met felt close to them. But when Matthew Perry died, it brought back my Uncle's death, and I felt so bad for both of them. As I get older, I am reminded more and more about how I have been so wrong about so many things.

I miss my Uncle Ron terribly.

I'm not really looking for sympathy or replies, I just wanted to share. Thank you for allowing me to do so.

Thank you very much for sharing the memories and emotion, north. And, RIP to your dear Uncle Ron. 🍁

Nothing you shared and expressed sounded at all corny. It was beautiful. Again, thank you.

@northcoast Thank you for sharing. My condolences to you and your family, and may the soul of your Uncle Ron rest in peace.😔