Matthew Perry, one of the stars of the hit 90’s sitcom Friends, tragically passed away last October. Although he is most known for playing Chandler Bing, the star actor appeared in several other productions such as The Odd Couple reboot, Cougar Town, and The Good Wife.
Perry, at 54-years-old, was relatively young. So naturally, his untimely passing sent shockwaves through the entertainment industry. But some were more shocked than others. Perry’s ex-girlfriend Maeve Quinlan says the actor’s death did not come as a surprise.
Maeve Quinlan Sounds Off on ‘Friends’ Star’s Death
“It wasn’t a shock but I still couldn’t believe it happened. And although we hadn’t seen each other in a while, I miss him very much. He was truly a close friend,” she said.
She also said that knowing the famed actor when he was sober was the greatest gift of all.
“As the years went on, so many of us lost Matty little by little to his disease — and the important part of that sentence is that it is a disease,” she added.
Matthew Perry’s Death Linked to Ketamine
It has been less than six months since his untimely death in October 2023. Perry’s cause of death was initially thought to be a drowning incident. He was found face down in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home.
But after an autopsy, the L.A. Medical Examiner found that Perry had been heavily sedated by ketamine one source told PEOPLE magazine.
“The Friends actor died due to acute effects of ketamine, according to an autopsy report obtained by PEOPLE. Drowning, coronary artery disease, and buprenorphine effects (a medication used to treat opioid use disorder) were also listed as contributing factors in his death, which was ruled accidental,” PEOPLE wrote.
The autopsy also reported that the star had been clean for nearly two years before he took the fatal dosage.
“The autopsy states that Perry — who was ‘reportedly clean for 19 months’— was on ketamine infusion therapy, with his latest treatment taking place just ‘one and a half weeks before’ his death. However, the coroner noted that ‘the ketamine in his system at death could not be from that infusion therapy, since ketamine half-life is 3 to 4 hours, or less,’” PEOPLE added.