
Christina Ricci, Aisha Tyler and Other Friends Guest Stars Remember Matthew Perry
The Friends family is paying their respects to the beloved Chandler Bing.
Days after the shocking news of Matthew Perry’s death at age 54 by an apparent drowning at his L.A. home on Saturday, his costars from the hit ‘90s sitcom have been weighing in on the loss.
Aisha Tyler, who portrayed David Schwimmer’s character Ross’ girlfriend, Charlie Wheeler, for nine episodes of the show — becoming the first Black person with a recurring role on the sitcom — wrote on Instagram that Perry “had a gentleness and generosity of spirit that was unparalleled.”
“I learned how to tell a joke perfectly just by watching him work. And I will never forget the moment he leaned in, on my first night of taping Friends, to tell me warmly, ‘get ready for your life to change,’ ” she continued. “Rest well, Matthew Perry. Thank you for the kindness and laughter.”
Elliott Gould, who played Monica and Ross’ father on the sitcom and became Chandler’s father-in-law after he wed Monica in season seven, also paid tribute to Perry, who he described as “kind, thoughtful, smart, funny and just a terrifically, talented actor.”
Gould, 85, continued in his post, “Matthew told me he was so honored to be working with me. What he didn’t know until I told him, was that it was my privilege to play his father-in-law. My heart goes out to his wonderful family. He will be missed by so many but he will never be forgotten.”
Christina Ricci, who guest starred as one of Joey Tribbiani’s (Matt LeBlanc) seven sisters in the spinoff series Joey, praised Perry as a “genius” on Instagram as she shared, “Friends saved me numerous times during hard and lonely times in my life. I adored his character and wanted to marry Chandler Bing as a teenager. I watched all his movies.”
Despite never having met Perry, Ricci, 43, said that she “burst into tears” when she read the news of his death and encouraged people to read his book, which she called “another gift he gave us.”