Matthew Perry’s family spoke out in an emotional interview with the “Today” show, which aired in full on the one-year anniversary of his death on Monday.
“Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie was joined by Perry’s mother, Suzanne Perry, stepdad Keith Morrison and sisters Emily, Caitlin and Madeleine Morrison.
“[To light up a room is] something you’re born with or you’re not born with. And he was certainly born with it in spades,” the “Dateline” host, 77, gushed about his stepson.
“But it must be said, I think,” Suzanne chimed in. “That he was also very lonely in his soul.”
The “Friends” alum died on Oct. 28, 2023 at his home in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. He was 54.
An autopsy performed by the Los Angeles County revealed he died from a ketamine overdose. The report listed the manner of death as accidental drowning.
“I’m a very lucky woman, but there was one glitch. There was one problem that I couldn’t conquer,” Suzanne went on. “I couldn’t help him.”
She added: “You’ve got to stop blaming yourself because it tears you up.”
Morrison, who married Suzanne in 1981, noted that Matthew was “often [a] very sad guy.”
Perry’s parents were John Bennett Perry and Suzanne. Suzanne previously served as press secretary to Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. She and Keith had four children together: Caitlin, Emily, Will and Madeline. Matthew had a fifth half-sibling, Maria Perry. Maria is the daughter of Perry’s dad and his second wife, Debbie.
“It was always a jubilant thing when he would come over,” Caitlin told Guthrie. “Even when he was struggling in dark times we were always proud of him. We were always proud of the fact that he kept fighting and that he made it a big focus of his life to help other people.”
Emily, who paused to hold back tears, joked that Mathew “was grumpy all the time but he was funny all the time.”
She continued: “All he ever wanted was to love and to be loved. He struggled so much to feel peace. And I think he got to a place where he did.”
The “17 Again” star described in his memoir, “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible,” that he attended about 6,000 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and went to rehab 15 times during his lifetime. At the height of his struggles, he also would take 55 Vicodin pills a day, dropping his weight to 128 pounds at one point.
Additionally, he estimated that he spent around $9 million trying to get sober.
Suzanne and Keith were photographed at Matthew’s residence shortly after the news of his death went public.
“Somebody called Suzanne and he just said ‘Matthew’s dead,’” Keith recalled on Today, not giving context on who had called.
“‘Matthew’s dead,’” Suzanne said. “‘Your son is dead.’”
His loved ones have since launched the Matthew Perry Foundation, which will aid those battling substance abuse.
“What he taught the world was that no amount of money will cure an addict. It needs something else. And that’s what we are trying to do,” Keith explained.
For Keith, it “appeared to be as if” Matthew was sober before he passed.
“Although, you know, he was a guy who would make decisions. ‘I can handle this. I can do this. I can tell you what’s right. I know the whole system inside and out. I know what the drug will do to me.’ And so there was that worry of, ‘What is he really doing?’” he asked.
One of his sisters added: “I don’t even know if in his mind he had relapsed.”
Keith agreed, noting “I don’t think he did.”
For Suzanne, she often goes to call her son when something funny happens in her life — and she’ll sit and chat with him “for a while” at the cemetery.
Earlier this month, Dr. Mark Chavez, 54, pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute the surgical anesthetic ketamine that contributed to Matthew’s fatal overdose in exchange for cooperating with the feds. He faces up to 10 years in prison, though he is likely to get a lighter penalty under the federal sentencing guidelines.
Perry was receiving off-label doses of ketamine through his regular doctor to help treat depression.
In addition to Chavez, drug dealer and so-called “Ketamine Queen” Jasveen Sangha allegedly sold Perry the lethal dose of the substance, and Dr. Salvador Plasencia allegedly hawked the drug to the actor in the month leading up to his death.
As for how the family feels about the ongoing investigation, Suzanne told “Today”: “I’m thrilled.”
