Chandler from "Friends" is Dead as You Already Know
And I'm not happy about it
10/30/2023 - Dan
In the mid to late 90s, Seinfeld was seeing its final days as one of the Larry David-driven pioneer sitcoms about minutiae. Seemingly riding off of its coattails, a much more twee series appeared right after its time slot, titled "Friends."
While giving the show a chance at first and embracing the 90s, Linklater-esque "Do Nothing other than hang out" element to the show, the series instantly began to sour on me and I found myself firmly planted in camp "Friends Sucks!" from then on. As "Friends" diaries, coffee mugs, shirts and merch flooded the market and the show became heralded by many as their "all time favorite shows," news of Matt Perry, the actor who played the cloyingly "cute" character swiftly fell from grace and entered the land of tarnished celebrities like Robert Downey Jr. and Scott Weiland, all of whom had the resources for rehab but seemingly lacked the discipline to adhere to a healthy, non life wrecking lifestyle after each extensive stint. Support for Chandler seemed mixed and the tabloids had a run with him. While I pondered whether or not his charm would still affect the young woman smitten with him, sullied by the reputation of drug use and the inevitable correlation that he's flawed and not actually Chandler.
As long as I've lived, I've grimaced at Friends VHS, DVD, Blu-ray box sets and recalled the words of my late mother "they should apologize for having made that show," and today will be the last time I make mention of my distaste for the series in such a flippant manner or scoff at Matt Perry, a man who suffered deeply and struggled with demons, who was unhappy, let down by fame, and struggled with what must have been a terrifying battle against addiction. Sorry Matt, I wasn't even an adult when I tossed all these considerations aside, and when I read your interviews and recounts of your travails, I only feel sadness.
With disregard to the risk of "over emphasizing" a celebrity's death over the countless tragedies world-wide, a man who was once a caricature and point of ridicule for my friends and myself, to someone quickly forgotten, now seems as real as ever. Behind the grating character was a man, and within that man was a deep pain and problem that alienated others rather than encouraging support. Before you say "cry me a river" for a celebrity, let me assure you these sentiments apply to anyone struggling, and to leave you with the words of Warren Zevon: "Hey hey, my shit's fucked up, it has to happen to the best of us, the rich folk suffer like the rest of us, it'll happen to you."
RIP Matt Perry.