'Friends' creators remember Matthew Perry as show completes 30 years

Ahead of the beloved sitcom Friends celebrating its 30th anniversary on September 22 the occasion is bittersweet particularly in light of the passing of Matthew Perry who portrayed the iconic Chandler BingPerrys death less than a year ago has deeply affected fans and the shows creators bringing a sombre tone to what would otherwise be a jubilant milestoneMarta Kauffman David Crane and executive producer Kevin S Bright recently discussed the significance of this anniversary in an interview according to The Hollywood ReporterKauffman candidly acknowledged Its a huge loss and it does make the 30th a little fraughtBright reflected on Perrys impact stating He made us laugh every day as per The Hollywood ReporterPerrys struggles with addiction were widely known and Bright shared that the actor had seemed to be on a path to recovery in the years leading up to his deathHed been fighting the good fight for so long and it really did feel like he had finally found some peace Bright remarkedKauffman recalled a conversation she had with Perry just two weeks before he passed away describing him as happy and chipper and in a positive emotional stateShe expressed her disbelief at the suddenness of his passing stating It seemed so unfair He looked good He quit smoking Yes he was sober as per The Hollywood ReporterIn the aftermath of Perrys death an investigation revealed a broad underground criminal network linked to his use of ketamine which ultimately contributed to his untimely demise Following this five individuals were indicted in connection with the caseIn another interview according to The Hollywood Reporter Kauffman and Crane reflected on their relationship with Perry noting that they had grown close over the yearsCrane recounted There was a point where we said to him Do you want to stop being in the show And he was adamantly like No this is really important to meKauffman hopes that fans will remember Perry not just for his struggles but for the joy he brought to audiencesAs per The Hollywood Reporter she said Two things come to mind about how to celebrate him one of them is to donate to drug treatment centres lets fight the disease adding And the second way is to watch Friends and remember him not as a man who died like that but as a man who was hilariously funny and brought joy to everybodyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever