Nearly six months after his stepson Matthew Perry tragically passed away suddenly at the age of 54, Keith Morrison speaks out about the late actor’s relationship with his mother, Suzanne.
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During his appearance on Hoda Kotb’s Making Space podcast on Wednesday, March 13, Morrison reflected on the loss of the Friends star and how his absence continues to impact his family.
“It’s as other people have told me hundreds of times; it doesn’t go away yet,” Morrison explained about the weight of Matthew Perry’s death. He pointed out that it is constant.
“It’s with you all the time, and there’s some new aspect of it that assaults your brain, and it’s not easy.”
Morrison shared that his wife Suzanne is not having an “easy time” while grieving the loss of her son Matthew. “I don’t think I’m giving away too much if I say that toward the end of his life, they were closer than I had seen them for decades,” Morrison said.
He also noted that the mother-son duo had been texting each other constantly. Perry had been sharing things with her that most “middle-aged men” don’t share with their mothers.
Matthew Perry was discovered dead in his Los Angeles-area home on Oct. 28, 2023. He was 54 years old at the time of his death. The Los Angeles Coroner’s Office confirmed that the actor died from the acute effects of ketamine.
Keith Morrison Said Matthew Perry Was the ‘Happiest’ He Had Ever Been Right Before His Death
Morrison claimed that Matthew Perry was the happiest he had ever been before his death.
“He was happy, and he said so,” Morrison noted. “And he hadn’t said that for a long time.”
“It’s a source of comfort, but also, he didn’t get to have his third act, and that’s not fair. And as he said himself, ‘If I suddenly died, people would be shocked, but not too many people would be surprised.’ And he was right.”
When asked if he was caught off guard by Perry’s death, Morrison had some thoughts. “It was the news you never want to get, but you think someday you might. So yes, and no, I guess is the answer to that.”
Morrison then said he supported Matthew Perry “as much as possible” during the highs and lows of his career. “He came to understand he’d get to a certain point, and then he knew he had to go and get treatment,” Morrison said.
“And he’d accept help when he needed it. But as he said himself, it just kept happening, and it was it was a big bear. It was a tough thing to be — big, terrible thing.”