Matthew Perry had been sober and very active in his recovery program, even speaking at meetings and sponsoring other addicts, in the run-up to his tragic death over the weekend.
A close friend of the late TV star confirmed that Perry had not been drinking and appeared to be “feeling good” before he was found dead at his Pacific Palisades home on Saturday.
But a colleague from his recovery program said: ‘Matty certainly didn’t drink. He was a big part of our AA community. He attended meetings, spoke at meetings, and worked with the newcomers.”
A source said the actor has focused on helping others struggling with addiction and has recently expressed an interest in sharing his story through public speaking.
“Matty said he wanted to go around universities and talk about alcoholism. This was his gift. He could speak so well and motivate people,” the source added.
“It was important for him to reach out to the younger generation and spread his message of ‘Don’t give up.’ He really lived by those words.”
“He always made people laugh, even at meetings. But he was also spiritual, not religious but spiritual. He spoke and knew that this was his mission. To help other people, to give them hope.”
Initial reports of the TV icon’s death said Perry was found lifeless in a hot tub, but no drugs were found at the scene and there were no indications of violence.
He is believed to have drowned, although an official cause of death has yet to be determined and the initial result of an autopsy has been “deferred” with toxicology reports to follow.
In the months leading up to his death, Perry made numerous public appearances in which he spoke about overcoming addiction, a major theme in his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Awful Thing.
In his last interview to promote his book in November 2022, he insisted that, contrary to popular belief, “people can change” if they’re willing to put in the work.
He said: “I want people to know that they are not alone, that there are other people who feel exactly the way they do.
“That their behavior is not insanity, that they have an illness and it’s not their fault. There is a very famous line that people do not change. I happen to know that people change. And I see this every day. I see people getting better. I see the lights in their eyes go on and they go through the horrible part of addiction and detox and are able to live a normal life as long as they do a certain amount of work every day.”
Dozens of celebrities and former co-stars paid tribute to the beloved actor after his death, including his friend and comedian Hank Azaria – who credited Perry with helping him get sober.
In an emotional Instagram video on Sunday, Azaria recalled how Perry was “the first friend I made in Los Angeles.”
“When I moved there I was 21, he was 16. We did a pilot together called ‘Morning Maggie’ which never saw the light of day, but Matthew and I became really good friends,” Azaria added.
He added that “most nights we’ve spent with Matthew we’ve cried laughing. I really loved him. Many of us close to him really thought we had lost him to drugs and alcohol a long time ago. As he documented in his book, in his autobiography, there was so much suffering. I had to pick up and put down this biography 11 times, it was so painful for me to read,” Azaria continued.
The actor revealed that he himself has been sober for 17 years and that “the night I joined AA, Matthew took me.”
“The whole first year I was sober, we went on dates together, and he was so great… He was so caring and giving and wise and totally helped me get sober,” Azaria added.
“And I really wish he could have found the strength to stay more consistent with sober living, but as someone in recovery, that was hard to read as well.”
“One of the terrible things about this disease is that it just takes away the person you love, and, you know, professionally, as an actor, he was so brilliant.
“I just wish that me and the world would get what the rest of his career would be,” Azaria concluded, reports vesti.bg
The 54-year-old Friends actor, who has spoken candidly about his road to recovery and numerous relapses over the years, sparked fears he may have turned to alcohol after he is believed to have drowned in his hot tub.
2023-11-01 09:23:00
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