‘Saturday Night Live’ pay tribute to Matthew Perry after ‘Friends’ actor dies, aged 54

Saturday Night Live has paid tribute to Friends star Matthew Perry after reports emerged yesterday (October 28) that the actor died, aged 54.

Perry was reportedly found unresponsive due to suspected drowning on Saturday (October 28), per reports from TMZ and the LA Times. While Perry is believed to have drowned, a confirmed cause of death has yet to be announced.

Perry was best known for playing the role of Chandler Bing in the beloved ’90s sitcom, Friends, alongside Courtney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and Lisa Kudrow.

Perry hosted Saturday Night Live in 1997 at the height of his Friends fame and following his starring role opposite Salma Hayek in Fools Rush In.

This week’s episode was hosted by Nate Bargatze with the Foo Fighters as musical guests. The show last night paid tribute to Perry by displaying his name alongside a black and white portrait of him, which you can see below:

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Besides Friends, Perry has also starred in shows and films like 17 Again, The Whole Nine Yards, Growing Pains, Beverly Hills 90210, Three To Tango and more.

Last year, Matthew released his book Friends, Lovers and The Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir. While promoting its release, he opened up about his drug addiction and recovery, saying that doctors had given him a 2 per cent chance of survival after his colon burst due to opioid abuse. He spoke about being put on life support, and being the only patient on the machine who survived that night.

He also disclosed that he was not able to re-watch episodes of Friends. “I was taking 55 Vicodin a day, I weighed 128lbs, I was on Friends getting watched by 30 million people – and that’s why I can’t watch the show, cause I was brutally thin,” he said.

Meanwhile, tributes from the entertainment world have poured in for the actor.

Maggie Wheeler, who played Bing’s on-off girlfriend Janice Hosenstein, wrote on Instagram: “What a loss. The world will miss you Mathew Perry. The joy you brought to so many in your too short lifetime will live on. I feel so very blessed by every creative moment we shared.”

While Perry’s on-screen mother, Morgan Fairchild, shared this statement via X/Twitter: “I’m heartbroken about the untimely death of my “son”, Matthew Perry. The loss of such a brilliant young actor is a shock. I’m sending love & condolences to his friends & family, especially his dad, John Bennett Perry, who I worked with on Flamingo Road & Falcon Crest.” You can read more of the tributes here.